Donald Glover

Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (born September 25, 1983) is an American actor, rapper, singer, songwriter, comedian, musician and record producer.

Donald Glover
Donald Glover TIFF 2015.jpg
Donald Glover in March 2010
Born
Donald McKinley Glover Jr.

(1983-09-25) September 25, 1983 (age 40)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • comedian
  • musician
  • record producer
Years active2002-present
Websitewww.iamdonald.com

He is best known for portraying the character Troy Barnes on the comedy television series Community. He was originally a writer for the comedy series 30 Rock.

Aside from acting, Glover is also a rapper where he performs under the stage name Childish Gambino. He said that he got his stage name from the Wu-Tang Clan name generator.[1]

Career

From 2006 to 2009 Glover wrote for 30 Rock.[2] In 2008 he and his co-writers were presented with the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series for his work on the third season.[3]

 
Glover at a panel for Community at PaleyFest 2010

In June 2008, he released the independent mixtape Sick Boi.[4] In September 2009, he released his second mixtape Poindexter.[4]

In July 2010, Glover received the Rising Comedy Star award at the Just for Laughs festival and was featured in Gap's 2010 holiday advertising campaign.[5][6]

He released a couple albums and mixtapes by himself before he released his first album Camp for Glassnote Records on November 15, 2011.

In 2015 he played a scientist who brings dead people back to life with disastrous consequences in The Lazarus Effect.[7]

In May 2018, he released a single titled "This Is America" while performing as both host and musical guest on Saturday Night Live.[8] The song debuted at number one, becoming both Glover's first number one and top ten single in the United States.[9]

In 2019, he starred as Simba in the live action remake of The Lion King.

On March 15, 2020, Glover streamed his surprise fourth album on his website Donald Glover Presents.[10]

Television

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2005 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Criminal 1 episode
2006–2008,
2012
30 Rock Homosexual Kid
Producer
Young P.A.
Young Tracy Jordan
Writer
Cameo (3 episodes)
Guest star (1 episode)
2007 Bronx World Travelers Scoopy Brown Short film
Human Giant College Webcam Guy 1 episode
2009–present Troy and Abed in the Morning! Troy Barnes
2009–present Community Troy Barnes
2010 Comedy Central Presents Himself Stand-up special
2011 Woodie Awards Host
Regular Show Alpha-Dawg 1 episode
Weirdo Himself Stand-up special
2012 Hip Hop Squares Childish Gambino 1 episode
2013 Girls Sandy
Adventure Time Marshall Lee Guest voice

Personal life

Glover began dating Michelle White and they had three sons Legend Glover, Drake Glover and Donald Glover III.

Influences

Glover stated actors like Cuba Gooding Jr., Tom Hanks, Giancarlo Esposito, Robert Wisdom, Johnny Depp, Benicio del Toro, Freddie Prinze Jr., Charlie Sheen, Nicolas Cage, Wes Studi, Vin Diesel, Val Kilmer, John Ritter, Will Smith, Brendan Fraser and John Travolta and music artists like Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Outkast, Lupe Fiasco, Frank Ocean, Schooley Q, MF Doom, LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Wu-Tang Clan, Ghostface Killah and The-Dream as influences.

Discography

Donald Glover Media

References

  1. "Tina Fey makes her rap debut on Childish Gambino's new mixtape 'Royalty'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2013-01-12.
  2. Cobb, Kayla (September 25, 2018). "Never Forget That Donald Glover Played '30 Rock's Young Tracy Jordan" (in en). Decider. https://decider.com/2018/09/25/donald-glover-30-rock-cameo/. Retrieved December 30, 2019. 
  3. Writers Guild of America (December 8, 2008). "2009 Writers Guild Awards Television, Radio, News, Promotional Writing, and Graphic Animation Nominees Announced". Press release. http://wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=3410. Retrieved January 19, 2012. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Mench, Chris (August 26, 2015). "But I'm Not a Rapper: Everything You Need to Know About Childish Gambino's First Three Mixtapes". Complex. http://www.complex.com/music/2015/08/everything-you-need-to-know-about-childish-gambinos-first-three-mixtapes. Retrieved February 1, 2018. 
  5. "Aziz Ansari & Donald Glover To Be Honored in Montreal". Access Hollywood. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on November 6, 2018. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  6. Bowers, Brandon (December 4, 2010). "Net-savvy Merced native featured in Gap ad campaign". Merced Sun-Star. http://www.mercedsunstar.com/latest-news/article3256961.html. Retrieved January 5, 2018. 
  7. Foutch, Haleigh (February 26, 2015). "Donald Glover Talks THE LAZARUS EFFECT, MAGIC MIKE XXL, and Ridley Scott's THE MARTIAN". Collider. Archived from the original on February 6, 2018. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  8. Asward, Jem (May 6, 2018). "Childish Gambino Performs Brand-New Song, 'Saturday,' on 'SNL' (Watch)". Variety. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
  9. Trust, Gary (May 14, 2018). "Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' Blasts in at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/8455823/childish-gambino-this-is-america-no-1-hot-100. Retrieved May 14, 2018. 
  10. Nash, Brad (March 23, 2020). "Picking The Highlights From Childish Gambino's Latest Album". GQ Australia. Archived from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.

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