Jaleel White

Jaleel Ahmad White (born on November 27, 1976) is an African American actor, and voice actor. In 1989, he was cast in the role of Steve Urkel on the hit sitcom Family Matters. The character, which was originally intended to be a one time guest appearance, was an instant hit with audiences and White became a regular cast member. The series aired for a total of nine seasons, from 1989 to 1997 on ABC, and from 1997 to 1998 on CBS. Aside from this character, White is also known as the original voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in the animated series Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic (SatAM) & Sonic Underground. He reprised the voice of Sonic in the 2013 fan film, Sonic.

Films
Lead Roles are in bold
 * 5th of July – Orlando
 * The 15:17 to Paris – Garrett Walden
 * The Bob Robinson Project – Himself
 * Big Fat Liar – Himself
 * Call of the Wild – Dr. Spencer
 * The Choir Director – Deacon James Black
 * Dreamgirls – Talent Booker
 * Dumbbells – The Leader
 * Faithfully – Dwayne
 * Green Flash – Jason Bootie
 * Guardians of Luna – Kahn
 * Jay Leno's Comedy Hour – Kid Eating Cake #5
 * Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer – Mr. Todd
 * Kids Don't Tell – Christofer
 * Kissing Cousins – Antwone
 * Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus – Dr. McCormick
 * Miracle Dogs Too – Leo
 * Mommy I Didn't Do It – Detective Hamer
 * Our Friend, Martin – Martin at age 15
 * Puff, Puff, Pass – Tenant #2
 * Quest for Camelot – Bladebeak
 * Rhymes with Banana – J
 * Road to the Altar – Simon Fox
 * Santa Con – Paul Greenberg
 * Silence of the Heart – Hanry
 * Sonic movie 1 – Sonic the Hedgehog
 * Sonic movie 4 – Sonic the Hedgehog
 * The Preachers Son – James Back
 * The Wrong Woman – Detective Hamer
 * Who Made the Potatoe Salad? – Michael

TV Shows
Lead Roles are in bold
 * Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog – Sonic the Hedgehog, Masonic (Episode: Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme) & Mummified hedgehog (Episode: Robotnik's Pyramid Scheme)
 * Atlanta – Himself (Episode: "Nobody Beats the Biebs")
 * Are We There Yet? – Ray Savage (Episode: "The Nick Gets Jealous Episode")
 * Boston Legal – Kevin Givens (Episode: "Guise 'n Dolls")
 * Camp Cucamonga – Dennis Brooks
 * Castle – Mickey Franks (Episode: "Dead in New York")
 * Celebrity Family Feud – Himself (Season 2, Episode 7)
 * Celebrities Undercover – Himself (Episode: "Joey Fatone & Jaleel White")
 * Charlie & Co. – Robert Richmond
 * Crime Scene Investigation – Kenny/Passenger (Episode: "Keep Calm & Carry On")
 * Drop Dead Diva – Bob/Game Show Host (Episode: "Guess Who's Coming?")
 * Drunk History – Grandmaster Caz/Bass Reeves
 * Fake It Till You Make It – Reggie Culkin
 * Family Matters – Steve Urkel, Stefan Urquelle, Myrtle Urkel & Cornelius Urkel aka OGD (1 Episode)
 * Full House – Steve Urkel (Episode: "Stephanie Gets Framed")
 * Good Morning, Miss Bliss – Bobby Wilson (Episode: Pilot)
 * Grown Ups – J. Calvin Frazier
 * Half & Half – Hershel (Episode: "The Big State of the Reunion Episode")
 * Hawaii Five 0 – Nolan Fremont (Episode: "Ho'amoano")
 * Hell's Kitchen – Himself (Episode: "11 Chefs Compete")
 * House Portland – Himself (Episode: "Twenty Vicodin")
 * Legends of Chamberlain Heights – Class President
 * Love That Girl! – Director (Episode: "Director's Cut")
 * Meego – Steve Urkel (2 Episodes)
 * Me, Myself & I – Darryl (Ep. 2 to 7)
 * Mr. Belvedere – Ernie Masters (Episode: "Jobless")
 * NCIS – Martin (Episode: "A Desperate Man")
 * Psych – Tony
 * Regular Show – Cool Shade & Darryl (Episode: "TGI Tuesday")
 * Step by Step – Crew Member & Steve Urkel (Episode: "A Star is Born")
 * Scooby Doo and Guess Who? – Steve Urkel (Episode: "???")
 * Sonic the Hedgehog – Sonic the Hedgehog & Super Sonic (Final Episode)
 * Sonic Underground – Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonia the Hedgehog, Manic the Hedgehog & Aman Rapi (Episode: "Mummy Dearest")
 * SuperF*ckers – Percy/Omnizod (Webseries)
 * Survivor's Remorse – Derek (Episode: "The Photoshoot")
 * The Disney Sunday Movie – Jake (Episode: "The Leftovers")
 * The Edge and Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness – Himself (Episode: "The 90's")
 * The Fresh Prince of Bel Air – Derek (Episode: "Not with My Cousin You Don't")
 * The Game – Chris (Episode: "The Big Chill")
 * The Jaleel White Special – Himself & Steve Urkel
 * The Jeffersons – Van Van Morris (Episode: "Ebony and Ivory")
 * The Problem Solverz – K 999 (2 Episodes only)
 * Total Blackout – Host (22 Episodes)

Video Games

 * Sonic Generations – Classic Sonic (originally)

Quotes

 * "The conventions of an almighty agency tapping you for greatness and signing you up and telling you this is going to be the next big thing; that has not been my career".
 * "You need fans in high places, I always tell people. I don't care how talented you are".
 * "You have to be respectful of pop culture, because people interpret it in the way they want".
 * "Writing is still on my slate".
 * "I've been in this business 31 years. I've never had a movie deal".
 * (About his view on playing Steve Urkel) "It’s one of those things that it’s very unfortunate how quotes are taken out of context. I remember that interview very vividly. I loved playing those characters [...] But the fact is that I was maturing. [...] To be honest, I was retarding my own growth as a man in order to maintain the authenticity to what I thought that character should be. I’ll always say never say never; I’m a pretty creative person. I can’t envision how I could do it in a way that would be irreverent and fun for both me and the viewing audience...".

Knownable Roles

 * Steve Urkel (1989 to 1998 & 2019)
 * Myrtle Urkel (1990 to 1998)
 * Stefan Urquelle (1993 to 1998)
 * Sonic the Hedgehog (1993 to 2000 & 2013)
 * Kahn in the Guardians of Luna
 * Sonia the Hedgehog in Sonic Underground.
 * ??? in ???

Trivia

 * While playing Steve's cousin, Myrtle Urkel on Family Matters when the female character was first introduced. White got into the character very quickly making his co stars be very impressed with his performance. However after he finished shooting the episode (Cousin Urkel), he broke down in tears fearing that kids in the school he was going at the time was going to tease him. But he admits the very next day at school, no one didn't tease him for playing a girl character which surprised him. It was this idea during the later seasons of Family Matters, that White had to do switch around with the characters he was cast to do in the series.
 * Jaeel White admits out of all the celebrity personas Steve had to do after using his transformation chamber. He loved playing when Steve is dress up as the late legendary martial arts legend, Bruce Lee!.
 * His acting mentor was Reginald VelJohnson, who played Carl Winslow.
 * Likes writing short stories & drawing cartoons.
 * Before auditioning for Steve Urkel on Family Matters, he was looking for the classic nerd glasses (black, thin, with tape around the center) but had no luck. His father, a dentist, tossed him the glasses that he used to keep particles out of his eyes. Jaleel just figured that he would find different glasses at another time. The crew loved the look, so he kept them.
 * Is against alcohol & drugs.
 * According to an interview with Aaron Webber, he claims that if anyone were to voice Classic Sonic in Sonic Generations, it would be Jaleel White. Aaron had to choose between Classic Sonic being voiced by Jaleel White, or having no voice at all. Aaron also mentioned that he grew up with the classic cartoons of Sonic like Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, and he thought Jaleel White did a fantastic job.
 * In Sonic the Hedgehog #8, while Robotnik summoning robots based on comic book characters, he summons a Wolverine bot (based on the comic book character of the same name), but due to a communications glitch, a Wolvurkel (a combination between the superhero Wolverine and Steve Urkel) was sent and started dancing. Sonic states that he sounds familiar, and a side bar even said, "It's true! Jaleel 'Urkel' White is the voice of Cartoon Sonic!".
 * Likes saying black instead of African American.
 * He has a daughter, and his star sign is a Sagittarius.
 * Has played a character name Darryl twice, one in a cartoon and one in live action.