David Brian Ury (born September 30, 1973) is an American actor, stand-up comedian, YouTuber, and Japanese translation specialist.
Ury was born and raised in Sonoma, California. He graduated from Sonoma Valley High School, where he acted in theatre productions. He earned a bachelor's degree in linguistics at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington and studied abroad in Japan, where he became fluent in Japanese. Ury is a descendant of German Jewish impressionist painter Lesser Ury.
Since studying abroad in Tokyo, Ury and has worked as a translator in film, television, and manga and currently (As of May 2011) translates and writes English adaptations for manga. Ury moved to Los Angeles in August 2001 where he began performing stand-up comedy. Cartoonist Keith Knight, a neighbor of his, described Ury's acting career as "Spooge man" and "a cavalcade of reprobates, sleazeballs, derelicts, & weirdos."
Ury has made several film and television appearances, including an episode of Tim Kring's Crossing Jordan and in Shoot 'Em Up. He also appeared in Heroes, Malcolm in the Middle, Life, Without a Trace, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Zeke and Luther, and The Librarians. In March 2015, Ury was cast for Rob Zombie's slasher film 31 as Schizo-Head. A character actor, Ury has died on screen in almost every role he has portrayed.
Ury also has several YouTube channels/accounts/personalities and alter-egos, which include Karaoke Steve and Ken Tanaka, the fictional adopted twin brother of David Ury. Tanaka is described as an Ashkenazi Jewish man adopted as an infant by Japanese parents Hideo and Mari Tanaka, and raised in Shimane Prefecture of Japan; he returns to Los Angeles to find his birth parents Jonathan and Linda Smith.
2024
as Petey
2023
2022
as Fan (Autograph)
2022
as Bill
2022
as Frank Patterson
2020
as Gerry
2020
as Minimart Cashier
2020
as Al Durian (aka Trench Coat)
2020
as Scooter Grubbs
2020
as Sleazy Breeder
2019
as Travis O'Rourke
2019
as Himself
2019
as Larry Bressert
2019
as Buffalo Phil
2018
2016
as Schizo-Head
2016
as Freddie Marks
2016
as Trucker
2015
as Sir Pent
2015
as Dr. Death
2015
as Spooge
2015
as Homeless Man
2014
as William Shakespeare
2014
as Dan Dan
2013
2013
as Randy
2013
as The Green Ghoul
2013
as Homeless Guy
2012
as Garr Booth
2012
as Rizzi
2011
as Hofmann
2010
as Sandy Grotty
2010
as Hiram
2009
as Rick
2009
as ATM Robber
2008
as Bixler
2008
as Col. James Harris
2008
as Spooge
2007
as Barkeeper
2007
as Hard Case #1
2007
as Diner Holdup Leader
2006
as Attendant #1
2006
as Super
2006
as Landlord
2005
2005
as Larry Wolfram
2005
as Spa Worker
2004
as Fan
2004
as Franklin Wallace
2002
as Gil
2001
as Arthur Hay
2000
as Jayson Walt
2000
as Mechanic
1998
as Shapeshifter
as Reggie