Ross Marquand Explained

Ross Marquand
Birth Name:Roscoe Wayne Marquand
Birth Date:August 22, 1981
Birth Place:Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.
Education:University of Colorado Boulder
Occupation:Actor
Years Active:2000s–present

Roscoe Wayne Marquand (born August 22, 1981) is an American actor. He has played Aaron on the television series The Walking Dead (2015–2022), Red Skull and Ultron in various projects connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and voices numerous characters in the animated television series Invincible (2021–present).

Early life

Marquand was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. His initial foray into acting began at the age of nine when he played a small part in a church play. Soon thereafter, he joined the Boy Scouts of America (where he attained the rank of Eagle Scout) and began impersonating celebrities at campfire ceremonies.[1]

According to Marquand, he suffered from bullying in his youth due to being part of "all nerdy things" such as the Boy Scouts, the student government and the chess club. When he was 11 years old, Marquand watched and "fell in love" with the show, taking a particular liking for Wolverine due to all the pain and pathos within his character. Wolverine's line "There's no peace for me here. There's no peace for me anywhere" marked Marquand's life, making him feel like if he could convey a shred of what Cal Dodd could do with Wolverine, that's what he wanted to do in life, deciding to pursue acting.[2]

While in attendance at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Marquand starred in several productions including To Kill a Mockingbird, The Passion of Dracula, and The Cherry Orchard. He graduated with a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in Theatre Performance.

Career

After college he moved to Los Angeles and quickly garnered attention in several film and television projects. He played a crooked cop with entertaining gusto in The Sabi Company's Down and Dangerous (2013).[3] Marquand portrayed screen legend Paul Newman on AMC's Mad Men.[4] Marquand is best known for the recurring role of Aaron on The Walking Dead,[5] [6] the popular TV series' first gay male character.[7] [8]

Since 2018, he has portrayed and voiced two characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Red Skull in the films (2018) and (2019), as well as Ultron in the virtual reality experience (2019) and as an alternate version of the character in the film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), replacing Hugo Weaving and James Spader.[9] Marquand voiced both characters in the television series What If...? (2021).[10]

An accomplished voiceover actor, Ross has lent his talents to productions such as Phineas and Ferb, Conan, and video games like Battlefield Hardline. He is also known for impersonating a plethora of celebrities including Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Matthew McConaughey and over 50 others.[11] [12] This expertise led to a starring and producing role on Pop TV's Impress Me, helmed by Ben Shelton and Rainn Wilson.[13]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2006 Love Sick Short film
2007 Saturday Night Special Aaron Nash Short film
The Deadening Newscaster Short film
2008 There Will Be Bud Daniel Puffington Short film, also executive producer
Sex & Los Angeles Detective
Kate Wakes Neighbor
2009 A Lonely Place for Dying Nikolai Dzerzhinsky Also producer
The Inappropriate Behavior of Our Alleged Loved Ones Eric
2010 Happily After Tristan
Woodshop Gary
Slings and Arrows Charley
2011 The Congregation John Christner
2012 Eden Max
Sabbatical Short film
Broken Roads David Warwick
2013 Down and Dangerous Henry Langlois
Christmas Party Conversations: Part I Angry Young Dad Video short
The Program Michael Short film
2014 Amira & Sam Greg
Camera Trap Jack
2015 Une Libération Jean
Spare Change Mr. Hartman
2016 Sheep and Wolves Ziko Voice
2018
2019
2022 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Voice

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006 LA Forensics FBI Agent Episode: "Under the Rug"
2009 I <3 Vampires Siona's Publicist 5 episodes
2012 The Flipside Actor Episode: "Second Chance"
2013 Mad Men Episode: "The Flood"
2013–2014 Conan Voice
2014 Voice
2015 Impress Me Ross Marvin Lead role, also producer
2015–2022 The Walking Dead AaronRecurring (season 5), also starring (seasons 6–7), main (season 8–11); 70 episodes
2016 Deadbeat Hugh Janus Episode: "The Duchess of Stourbridge"
2017 Brockmire Brockmire's Father Episode: "Road Trip"
The Last Tycoon Prince of Wales 2 episodes
2018–2021 Robot Chicken Han Solo, Jack Reacher, Jerry Seinfeld, Ethan Hunt, Bob Belcher, Seth Brundle, Ian Malcolm, Red Skull, various Voice, 7 episodes
2021–present Invincible Immortal, Rudy Connors / Robot, various Recurring voice role
2021–present What If...? Johann Schmidt / Red Skull, Infinity Ultron, Sub-Ultron Sentries, W.E.R.N.E.R. Voice, 4 episodes: "What If... Captain Carter Were the First Avenger?", "What If... Ultron Won?", "What If... Happy Hogan Saved Christmas?"
2024–present X-Men '97 Main voice role
2024Megamind Rules!Music ManVoice, 2 episodes
LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Voice[14]

Video games

Year Title Voice role Notes
2015 Battlefield Hardline Actor
2016 Star Wars: Trials on Tatooine Han Solo
2024 Disney Speedstorm

Theme parks

YearTitleRoleNotes
2019
2022

Podcasts

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2013Maverick Movie AwardsBest Supporting Actor: FeatureDown and Dangerous[15]
2015Maverick Movie AwardsBest Actor: ShortUne Libération[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 'The Walking Dead': 5 things you didn't know about Ross Marquand. March 21, 2021. Leigh Miller, Victoria. www.yahoo.com. August 20, 2017 . en.
  2. Web site: X-Men '97 Star Ross Marquand Reveals How X-Men: The Animated Series Inspired Him to Become an Actor. May 10, 2024. Perine, Aaron. comicbook.com. May 4, 2024. en.
  3. News: Down and Dangerous: Film Review. The Hollywood Reporter. April 14, 2018. en.
  4. Web site: The Walking Dead Q&A – Ross Marquand (Aaron). AMC. October 8, 2016.
  5. Dalton. Ross. 'The Walking Dead': Ross Marquand promises 'brutal, insane' season 7 premiere. Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. New York City. July 7, 2016. October 4, 2016.
  6. Web site: Quinn. Keaney. The Walking Dead's Ross Marquand Confirms All of Our Worst Fears About Season 7. popsugar.com. Popsugar Inc.. San Francisco, California. August 11, 2016. October 4, 2016.
  7. Web site: Actor Ross Marquand talks about playing a gay character on Walking dead and his thoughts on dating and marriage. hubmesh.com. October 4, 2016.
  8. Dalton. Ross. 'Walking Dead' star Ross Marquand talks about the show's first gay male relationship. Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. New York City. February 22, 2015. October 4, 2016.
  9. Web site: Avengers: Infinity War Recast a Character, and You Probably Didn't Even Notice. Gizmodo. Pritchard. Tom. April 26, 2018. April 26, 2018.
  10. Web site: Donohoo . Timothy . September 29, 2021 . Who Voices Ultron in Marvel's What If? . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210930025410/https://www.cbr.com/what-if-who-voices-ultron-ross-marquand/ . September 30, 2021 . September 29, 2021 . Comic Book Resources.
  11. Web site: More Dead-On Celebrity Impressions by Ross Marquand . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/hTtngvXEOHg . December 15, 2021 . live. youtube.com . April 20, 2016.
  12. Web site: Ross Marquand Does Celebrity Impersonations . https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211215/8mt3M2P7qHA . December 15, 2021 . live. youtube.com . April 20, 2016.
  13. Web site: James. Knight. 'Walking Dead' Gay Aaron Ross Marquand New Pop Show 'Impress Me:' Han Solo Actor Does 'Breaking Bad' Jesse Pinkman Impression. Classicalite. October 8, 2016. March 14, 2015.
  14. Web site: D23 2024: New Official Trailer for LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy Revealed. Star Wars. StarWars.com Team. August 9, 2024. August 9, 2024. August 9, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240809193811/https://www.starwars.com/news/d23-2024-lucasfilm-reveals. live.
  15. Web site: 2013. MAVERICK MOVIE AWARDS: Where moviemakers honor moviemakers from all over the world!. November 1, 2016.
  16. Web site: 2015. MAVERICK MOVIE AWARDS: Where moviemakers honor moviemakers from all over the world!. November 1, 2016.