Ray Porter is an American actor and audiobook narrator who is most widely known for portraying the DC Comics villain Darkseid in Zack Snyder's Justice League. He also did some voice acting work for The Scarecrow, The Path of Atticus: Gods and Monsters, and The Little Engine That Could.

Ray Porter
Born
Ray Porter
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
  • Actor
  • Audiobook narrator
Years active1990–present

Career

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After appearing in many television series, he gained attention when he was cast as Darkseid in the 2017 film Justice League, becoming the first actor to have been cast as the character in a live-action feature film.[1] However, Darkseid did not appear in the theatrical cut,[2] meaning Zack Snyder's Justice League marked the character's first appearance in a live-action film.[3] Porter played Darkseid through the use of motion capture[4] and "went through a few different vocal gymnastics trying to figure out the voice".[5] In February 2022, he was cast in Snyder's film Rebel Moon.[6]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2000 Almost Famous Roadie Mick[7]
The Scarecrow Count Grisham
(voice)
Voice, direct-to-video
2003 Sin Jeff
2009 The Path of Atticus: Gods and Monsters Typhon Voice, direct-to-video
2010 The Runaways Band Member[8]
2011 The Little Engine That Could Nightmare Train Voice, direct-to-video
2012 Argo First A.D.[7]
2021 Zack Snyder's Justice League Darkseid[9][10][11][12] Voice and motion capture
2023 Rebel Moon: Part One – A Child of Fire Hickman [13]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1998 Murphy Brown Young Man Episode: "The Last Temptation of Murphy"
1999–2001 ER Sam Broder 3 episodes
2001 Frasier Dwayne Episode: "The Show Must Go Off"
2002 Will & Grace Dad Episode: "He Shoots, They Snore"
2003 In-Laws Jeff Episode: "Two Rooms"
2003 Dragnet Episode: "Well Endowed"
2003–2004 Teen Titans Additional characters Voice, 16 episodes
2005 The Suite Life of Zack and Cody Derrick Episode: "Dad's Back"
2005 Bible Battles Abraham Documentary
2006 Medium Putt Putt Golf Man Episode: "Four Dreams"
2007 Last Stand of the 300 Priest of the Oracle Documentary
2008 Monk Dale "the Whale" Biederbeck Episode: "Mr. Monk Is on the Run"
2009 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Gerry Episode: "The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis"
2009 Southland Roy Episode: "Two Gangs"
2009 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Carl Van Goe Episode: "The Gone Dead"[14]
2009 The Closer Adrian Beck Episode: "Strike Three"
2010 Justified Hestler Jones 3 episodes[7]
2010 Sons of Anarchy Head Red Episode: "Home"[9]
2012 Curious George Howlin' Hal Voice, episode: "DJ George/Curious George Paints the Town"
2014 Shameless Lip's Boss Episodes: "Like Father, Like Daughter" and "Hope Springs Paternal"[9]
2014 The Mentalist Wick Ammon Episode: "Nothing But Blue Skies"[14]
2018 Modern Family Lazlo Episode: "In Your Head"
2019 The Kids Are Alright Ernie Episode: "Nine Birthdays"
2022 Naomi Brutus Episode: "Who Am I?"
2024 Twilight of the Gods Bolverkr Voice, 3 episodes[15]
TBA Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas TBA Voice[16]

Video games

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Year Title Voice role Notes
1996 Clandestiny Magnus Og / Vicar / Jester / Doll
1998 Tender Loving Care Radio Voice #1
2010 BioShock 2 Mark Meltzer
Medal of Honor Gunfighter 06
2021 The Elder Scrolls Online Rynkyus

Audiobook

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Year Title Voice role Notes
2008 And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks All characters
2008 Hell House All characters
2009 The Amityville Horror All characters
2010 Patient Zero All characters Joe Ledger, Book 1
2011 The Four Hour Workweek Timothy Ferris
2014 Half-Off Ragnarok All characters (except Verity Price) InCryptid, Book 3
2015 Pocket Apocalypse All characters InCryptid, Book 4
2016 We are Legion (We are Bob) All characters Bobiverse, Book 1
2017 For We Are Many All characters Bobiverse, Book 2
2017 All These Worlds All characters Bobiverse, Book 3
2018 The Terminal List All characters The Terminal List Series, Book 1
2019 True Believer All characters The Terminal List Series, Book 2
2020 Savage Son All characters The Terminal List Series, Book 3
2020 The Sandman Gilbert / Martin Tenbones / Wesley Dodds / Hector Hall / Beelzebub / Security Guard / Richard Burbage / Griffin / Mark / Mulligan
2021 Heaven's River All characters Bobiverse, Book 4
2021 The Devil's Hand All characters The Terminal List Series, Book 4
2021 Project Hail Mary All characters
2021 The Bridge Sequence Lost Contact All characters
2021 The Apollo Murders All characters Apollo Murders, Book 1
2021 The Bridge Sequence Lost Time All characters
2022 Roadkill All characters
2022 In The Blood All characters The Terminal List Series, Book 5
2023 Only the Dead All characters The Terminal List Series, Book 6
2023 The Defector All characters Apollo Murders, Book 2

Awards and nominations

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Audiobook narration

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Year Award Work Result
2011 Audie Award for Business and Personal Development The 4-Hour Workweek Nominated
2013 Audie Award for Science Fiction 14 Nominated
2014 Audie Award for Science Fiction Extinction Machine Nominated
2015 Audible Narrator of the Year[17] N/A Won
2017 Audie Award for Short Stories or Collections The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke Nominated
2018 Audie Award for Paranormal Nights of the Living Dead: An Anthology Nominated
2019 Audie Award for Thriller or Suspense The Terminal List Nominated
2021 Audie Award for Science Fiction Heaven's River Nominated
2021 Audie Award for Business and Personal Development Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers Nominated
2022 Audie Award for Science Fiction Project Hail Mary Won
2022 Audie Audiobook of the Year[18] Project Hail Mary Won

References

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  1. ^ Porter, Ray [@Ray_Porter] (May 22, 2020). "That said, and because I've been given permission... Hi, I'm Ray. I played Darkseid in Zack Snyder's "Justice League". There. It's out now" (Tweet). Retrieved July 27, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ Kit, Borys (May 20, 2020). ""It Will Be an Entirely New Thing": Zack Snyder's $20M-Plus 'Justice League' Cut Plans Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  3. ^ Beasley, Tom (May 28, 2020). "Zack Snyder unveils first look at Darkseid in the Snyder Cut of 'Justice League'". Yahoo.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  4. ^ Jirak, Jamie (May 24, 2020). "Ray Porter Confirms He Worked With Steppenwolf Actor Ciaran Hinds on Zack Snyder's 'Justice League'". ComicBook.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  5. ^ Chichizola, Corey (June 3, 2020). "The Snyder Cut's Darkseid Actor Reveals How He Played The Iconic Villain In 'Justice League'". CinemaBlend. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  6. ^ Kit, Borys (February 9, 2022). "Charlie Hunnam, Djimon Hounsou, Bae Doona, Ray Fisher Join Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Fisher, Jessica (May 25, 2020). "Actor Ray Porter Opens Up About Playing Darkseid in Zack Snyder's 'Justice League'". Geek Tyrant. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  8. ^ Scott, Ryan (April 15, 2019). "Here's Who Zack Snyder Wanted as Darkseid in 'Justice League'". MovieWeb. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Hadden, James (May 24, 2020). "Actor Playing Darkseid For Zack Snyder 'Justice League' Cut Confirmed". Screen Geek. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  10. ^ Lederer, Donnie (July 25, 2020). "Darkseid Actor Ray Porter Teases Snyder Cut Big Bad: He 'Doesn't See Himself As The Villain'". Syfy Wire. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  11. ^ Bonomolo, Cameron (May 24, 2020). "Zack Snyder's 'Justice League' Actor Ray Porter Recalls "Harsh" Online Comments Over Darkseid Casting". Comicbook.com. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  12. ^ Williams, Tommy (May 24, 2020). "Darkseid Was Going to Be Played by Ray Porter in 'Justice League'". Geek Tyrant. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  13. ^ White, James (August 22, 2023). "First Teaser For Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon". Empire. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  14. ^ a b Ellis, Philip (May 27, 2020). "Zack Snyder Reveals First Look at Darkseid in His 'Justice League' Cut". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  15. ^ "Bolverkr Voice". behindthevoiceactors.com. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  16. ^ McClellan, Scott (April 18, 2021). "Spotlight on Harry J. Lennix". YouTube. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  17. ^ Journey, The Working Actor’s (April 13, 2019). "Ep #16: Ray Porter (Oregon Shakespeare Festival, 300+ Audiobooks) on Delivering the Mail, Being…". Medium. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  18. ^ "2022 Audie Awards® - APA (en-US)". www.audiopub.org. Archived from the original on October 6, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
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