Premiering in 2004, The Venture Bros. quickly became a fan-favorite on Adult Swim, as it was wildly different from any other show on the network. The sci-fi comedy deconstructed several boy adventure/space-fiction shows that were popular in the ‘60s and parodied many tropes. The density of jokes in each episode gained a cult following.
After seventeen years (the longest production time for the network), the show came to a close with the movie Radiant Is the Blood of the Baboon Heart, which premiered in 2023 on HBO Max and Adult Swim. Twenty-two years after its premiere, here is where all the cast members of the show are and how they are doing now.
1. James Urbaniak – Dr. Rusty Venture
James Urbanaik was known for his roles in Hal Hartley’s indie films, most notably in Henry Fool. He played the the former boy genius and adventurer, Dr. Rusty Venture. He is a parody of boy adventurer archetypes in old TV shows and leads the series with his crazy inventions and schemes, while also dealing with his less-than stellar family.
Urbanaik has become a noteworthy character actor since his time on The Venture Boys. He played Kurt Gödel in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a school principal in Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, and roles in Better Call Saul, For All Mankind, and FBI. He remains active in theater and voice work, including in Thelma the Unicorn.
2. Patrick Warburton – Brock Samson
Patrick Warburton’s booming voice and imposing frame made him one of animation’s most reliable tough guys well before The Venture Bros., thanks to Kronk in The Emperor’s New Groove, Buzz Lightyear, and Joe Swanson on Family Guy, not to mention David Puddy on Seinfeld and the title role in The Tick.
As bodyguard Brock Samson, he got to play the ‘murder machine’ ironic to his own shy, bullied childhood. Post-show, he’s continued voicing Joe on Family Guy, appeared across sitcoms, and become a major philanthropist, raising over $22 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual golf tournament (via St. Jude).
3. Christopher McCulloch – Hank Venture And Other Characters
Christopher McCulloch co-created the show, under the pseudonym, Jackson Publick, and forms one half of the Venture twins, playing Hank Venture. McCulloch is not just a voice actor like most of the others on this list, but he is also a director, storyboard artist, writer, and more. McCulloch worked on several shows, including the animated series The Tick and its live-action version, as well as other shows like King of the Hill and Metalocalypse.
4. Doc Hammer – Multiple
Co-creator Doc Hammer not only took up showrunning duties with McCullock (Jackson Publick), he also voiced multiple other characters in The Venture Bros. He has a background in gothic rock (fronting Requiem in White and Mors Syphilitica) and low-budget filmmaking before co-creating the series with McCulloch, voicing over a dozen recurring characters including the sultry Dr. Girlfriend/Dr. Mrs. The Monarch.
Since the show ended, Hammer seems to have gone back to music, being the frontman of the band Weep and a founding member of Pageant Girls.
5. Michael Sinterniklaas – Dean Venture
A veteran of anime dubbing since the 1990s, Sinterniklaas voiced Leonardo in the 2003 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles around the same time he landed Dean Venture, the sweeter, more sheltered Venture brother. He’s also the founder of NYAV Post, a New York/LA dubbing studio behind hundreds of English-language anime localizations.
His voice work has only expanded since, with major anime roles including Taki Tachibana in Your Name. and Origami Cyclone in Tiger & Bunny, alongside ongoing directing and producing work through his studio.
6. Steven Rattazzi – Doctor Byron Orpheus
Theater actor Stecen Rattazzi voices one of the most quotable characters in The Venture Bros., Doctor Byron Orpheus. Beyond the show, however, there is little known about the actor, who has mostly worked on stage since the show. Rattazzi worked with the likes of Mandy Patinkin and Liev Schreiber before getting the voice role.
In 2018, the actor was in the Tony Warad-winnning play, Indecent, and in the animated series, OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes.
7. Dana Snyder – The Alchemist
Already an Adult Swim mainstay as Master Shake on Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Snyder brought his rapid-fire comic delivery to The Alchemist, a member of the show’s occult superhero trio the Order of the Triad.
A trained stage actor with a BFA from Webster University, he has kept a busy post-Venture Bros. voice career, including Granny Cuyler on Squidbillies, Scratch on Disney’s The Ghost and Molly McGee, and continued work reviving Master Shake for Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm in 2022.
8. Charles Parnell – Jefferson Twilight
A Chicago-raised, stage-trained actor, Parnell was already logging steady live-action work. He played authority figures on Sex and the City and Third Watch, then a three-year run as Police Chief Derek Frye on All My Children, before he played Jefferson Twilight, the show’s blaxploitation-inspired vampire hunter and Order of the Triad member.
His live-action career only grew from there: a regular role on TNT’s The Last Ship, appearances on Constantine, and a breakout turn as Rear Admiral Solomon “Warlock” Bates in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, putting him in one of the decade’s biggest blockbusters.
9. Cristin Milioti – Sirena Ong
Cristin Milioti voiced Sirena Ong in The Venture Bros., with her role being a mainstay in the final seasons of the show. However, Milioti is possibly the most successful and popular actress on the list, as her post-Venture Bros. career has skyrocketed. After playing The Mother in How I Met Your Mother, she has had a ton of film and TV roles.
She starred alongside Andy Samberg in Palm Springs, and had roles in The Mindy Project, Black Mirror, and The Wolf of Wall Street. Her most prominent role recently has been Sofia Falcone in the DC series The Penguin, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Anthology Series or Movie.
Do you remember The Venture Bros.? Comment below what you thought of the show.
The Venture Bros. is available to stream on Netflix.
