Stephen Root (November 17, 1951, Sarasota, Florida, USA) is an American actor. He has starred as Jimmy James on the NBC sitcom NewsRadio (1995–1999), as Milton Waddams in the film Office Space (1999), and voiced Bill Dauterive and Buck Strickland on the animated series King of the Hill (1997–2010, 2025–present).
Root has appeared in numerous Coen brothers films including O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Ladykillers (2004), No Country for Old Men (2007), The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), and The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021). Other notable film roles include Dave (1993), Dodgeball (2004), Idiocracy (2006), Cedar Rapids (2011), Selma (2014), Trumbo (2015), Get Out (2017), and On the Basis of Sex (2018).
His television roles have included Capt. K'Vada in the Star Trek: The Next Generation two-part episode "Unification" (1991) and Hawthorne Abendsen in seasons 2–4 of the series The Man in the High Castle. He has supporting roles in a variety of HBO series, including Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, Perry Mason, and Succession. He starred as Monroe Fuches in the HBO dark comedy series Barry, for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2019.
Root was born in Sarasota, Florida, on November 17, 1951, the son of Leona Estelle and Rolland Clair Root, a project superintendent and site manager on major civil engineering projects throughout the US and Mexico. Root has likened his childhood to that of an Army brat, as his family frequently relocated while his father finished each construction project.
Root graduated from Vero Beach High School in Vero Beach, Florida. He received his Associate of Arts degree from the University of Florida and trained in the Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA) acting program. The university recognized him as one of its distinguished alumni in 2008. Subsequently he was granted a BFA after completion of his final semester based on the quality and character of his acting career, having left college to pursue Broadway theater in his final semester.
| Year | Image | Character | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2022 | 
|
Earl Grant | Blade Runner: Black Lotus |
| 2016 | 
|
Bubbles | Finding Dory |
| 1997-2009 | 
|
Bill Dauterive | King of the Hill |
| 2003 | 
|
Bubbles | Finding Nemo |
| 2002 | 
|
Frank | Ice Age |
| 2002 | 
|
Start 1 | Ice Age |