Stand-up comedian, actor, voice artist, and comedian Aries Spears is set to perform in Music City this weekend. Spears was a regular on Fox’s sketch comedy series MADtv, appearing in 198 episodes, making him the second longest serving cast member on the show falling behind Michael McDonald. He left at the end of its 10th season in 2005. During his stay, he created characters such as comedian Belma Buttons, Dollar Bill Montgomery, James Brown, Jr., and controversial rapper Emcee Esher. He is well known for his impressions of celebrities, including rappers Jay-Z, LL Cool J, DMX, and Snoop Dogg, as well as actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sylvester Stallone, Denzel Washington, Eddie Murphy, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and fellow comedian Paul Mooney.
Spears, from Manhattan, New York, became a comedian at age 14, doing his own comedy routine and performing in various comedy clubs around his hometown.
At 16, Spears landed a part in the movie Malcolm X. Spears’ first television appearance was on Russell Simmons’s Def Comedy Jam, followed by It’s Showtime at the Apollo in 1987. He moved to Los Angeles in 1992, landed a recurring role on A Different World and became a regular at The Comedy Store, The Improv and The Laugh Factory. He was also cast in a starring role opposite Glenn Frey in South of Sunset. Other television credits include Crosstown Traffic, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. and Soul Train. He had a host of other movie appearances also, including such films as Home of Angels, The Pest, Jerry Maguire, Out-of-Sync and The Proud Family. Most recently, Spears played the role of a gay gangsta rapper named HomoThug in the sex comedy Promoted.
Aries continues to spread his comedic wings with the development of feature film projects, which he is currently involved in writing. He is presently developing a feature project based on an original character that he created on Mad TV, as well as a thriller about a young Black man immersed in hip-hop culture. Additionally, Spears has made appearances on many talk shows including: Loveline, Vibe, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Soul Train, and Late Friday.
He has also lent his voice to an animated character on C-Bear and Jamal and had a recurring stint on Fox’s The Best Damn Sports Show Period, where he created some of the show’s funniest characters during his short time there.
Aries maintains a strong connection to his African roots and is involved in many charitable events, including a number of organizations that help abused women. He feels blessed to have been able to achieve everything that he has, but he in no way intends on stopping. Given the extreme growing success rate of action comedies coming out of Hollywood, it’s safe to say that Aries Spears will be in demand for quite some time.
