Anthony Padilla

Summary

Daniel Anthony Padilla (/pəˈdjə/ pə-DEE-yə; born September 16, 1987) is an American internet personality, filmmaker, host, and actor. He gained prominence for co-founding the YouTube comedy collective Smosh with Ian Hecox, where he wrote, directed, and starred in sketch comedy videos with Hecox from 2005 to 2017; after leaving Smosh, Padilla announced his return to the channel in 2023. Outside of Smosh, Padilla hosts a series of interviews titled I Spent a Day With..., where he interviews fellow Internet celebrities, as well as survivors of crime and natural disasters.

Anthony Padilla
Padilla in 2019
Personal information
Born
Daniel Anthony Padilla

(1987-09-16) September 16, 1987 (age 36)
Occupations
YouTube information
Channel
  • AnthonyPadilla
Years active2005–present
Subscribers7.57 million[1]
Total views1.09 billion[1]
Associated actsSmosh
100,000 subscribers
1,000,000 subscribers2013

Last updated: November 21, 2023

Padilla made his film debut in Smosh: The Movie in 2015 and had a voice role in The Angry Birds Movie (2016) and its 2019 sequel.

Early life edit

Daniel Anthony Padilla[2] was born on September 16, 1987, in Sacramento, California and is a native of Carmichael, California.[3][4] His father is of Filipino and Spanish descent and his mother is German. His parents separated when he was two, and he was raised mostly by his mother alongside his two younger half-brothers. As his mother has severe agoraphobia, she was unable to work or even leave the family home, resulting in the family surviving off food stamps; Padilla took on a great deal of responsibility from an early age, especially after his grandmother, who was the primary caretaker of the family, died.[5] He graduated from Del Campo High School[6] and attended American River College for two years before dropping out due to Smosh's success.[7]

Career edit

Smosh edit

 
Padilla at VidCon in 2012

In 2002, Padilla registered smosh.com, where he posted Adobe Flash animations. It also functioned effectively as an early form of social media, where he would communicate with his friends while bedridden with Henoch-Schönlein Purpura.[5] He has stated that the name "Smosh" came from an incident where he mistook a friend explaining a mosh pit as a "smosh pit". He was later joined by his friend, Ian Hecox, whom he first met in their sixth grade science class, when the two quickly discovered their shared interest in comedy. They joined YouTube in 2005, making several videos together. Many of their early videos were of them lip syncing, including to the theme songs of Mortal Kombat, Power Rangers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.[3]

One of Smosh's earliest videos, "Pokémon Theme Music Video," was released on November 28, 2005. It followed the same style as their other earlier videos, with the duo lip-synching the original English theme song for the Pokémon anime. The video became much more popular than any of their other videos. It became one of the most-viewed videos on YouTube at that time,[3] but was removed for being a copyright violation.[8] They later started focusing more on short comedy skits.[3]

 
Padilla at Vidcon in 2014

Leaving Smosh edit

Smosh was acquired by Defy Media in 2011, who remained the owner until it shut down in 2018.[9] Padilla left in June 2017, making the announcement on his personal YouTube channel.[10][11] He mentioned a "lack of creative freedom."[9][12][11] Following the liquidation of Defy Media in November 2018, he claimed that the company had attempted to steal his social network pages and prevented him from joining the Screen Actors Guild after he departed from the company.[13] Mythical Entertainment would later acquire the Smosh brand on February 22, 2019.[14]

Reunion and Owning Smosh edit

Alongside Hecox, Padilla announced on June 20, 2023, that the duo had bought a majority stake in Smosh from Mythical Entertainment and would be rebooting the main channel to create their own sketches, similar to those in the early years of the channel. In an interview with Variety regarding the acquisition, Padilla expressed his desire to "return to [their] roots" by owning the company so that they "[could] really take Smosh in any creative direction".[15]

Outside Smosh edit

Since his initial departure from Smosh in 2017, Padilla has found continued success on his personal YouTube channel. He created a series of videos titled I Spent a Day With..., interviewing people in particular fandoms.[16][17] Padilla stated that he uses the series as a way to have in-depth conversations with people who tend to be left out; he wanted to avoid "poking fun at people, cringe reaction humor-type stuff." For his work, he has been described as "YouTube's Interview King" by The Washington Post.[18] He has interviewed people such as then-YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, American YouTuber Dream,[19] and American musician Corpse Husband.[20][18] His other subjects included furries, ex-cult members, and survivors of police brutality.[16][17]

In 2020, Padilla founded Pressalike Productions to develop and create a slate of unscripted content. The company currently produces the I Spent a Day With... series.[21]

Filmography edit

Film edit

Year Film Role Notes Ref.
2015 Smosh: The Movie Himself also executive producer [22]
2016
The Angry Birds Movie Hal Voice [23]
Hal and Bubbles Hal Voice; short film
Hedgehogs Bobby Voice [24]
Ghostmates Charlie also executive producer [25]
2019 The Angry Birds Movie 2 Hal Voice [26]
2020 You Monster Ashton Kennedy Short film

Television edit

Year Film Role Notes Ref.
2015 Ridiculousness Himself Episode: "Smosh" [27]
2016 Scare PewDiePie Himself Episode: "Naughty Pie" [27]
2016 Chelsea Himself [28]
2018 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself Episode: "Social Media Kings Into Queens" [29][30]

Web edit

Year Film Role Notes Ref.
2005–2017
2023–present
Smosh Himself,
various characters
2010–2012 Annoying Orange Banana 1 Episode: "The Exploding Orange"
Episode: "Annoying Orange Comedy Roast!"
2013 Ray William Johnson Himself Episode: "RWJ vs Smosh" [31]
2016 Part Timers Anton Main role [32]
2012–2015
2017
YouTube Rewind Himself Episode: "Rewind YouTube Style 2012"
Episode: "What Does 2013 Say?"
Episode: "Turn Down for 2014"
Episode: "Now Watch Me 2015"
Episode: "The Shape of 2017"
[33]

References edit

  1. ^ a b "About AnthonyPadilla". YouTube.
  2. ^ G. Lange, Patricia (November 15, 2019). Thanks for Watching: An Anthropological Study of Video Sharing on YouTube. University Press of Colorado. p. 230. ISBN 978-1-60732-955-8. LCCN 2019025982. OCLC 1110676050. Retrieved May 24, 2023. Original content was also offered by Smosh, [...], officially known as [...] and Daniel Anthony Padilla.
  3. ^ a b c d Borden, Jane (July 16, 2015). "How Sacramento's YouTube darlings Smosh went Hollywood and scored big time". Sacramento News & Review. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  4. ^ Grzesiak, Mateusz (April 3, 2018). Personal Brand Creation in the Digital Age: Theory, Research and Practice. Springer Publishing. pp. 75–76. ISBN 978-3-319-69696-6. LCCN 2017957652. OCLC 1029352544. Retrieved May 24, 2023. ...Anthony Padilla (born September 16, 1987 also in Sacramento).
  5. ^ a b DRAW MY LIFE - Anthony Padilla (2016), retrieved August 12, 2023
  6. ^ "SMOSH turns sketch comedy into cash". news10.net. April 8, 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  7. ^ Kelly, Cynsere. "10 famous ARC alumni". The American River Current. Retrieved August 12, 2023.
  8. ^ "Smosh: YouTube Gods and Unlikely Online Video Superstars". Streaming Media Magazine. October 4, 2012. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  9. ^ a b Spangler, Todd (June 14, 2017). "Anthony Padilla on Why He Left Smosh: 'I Haven't Been as Creatively Excited Recently'". Variety. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  10. ^ Padilla, Anthony. "Why I Left Smosh". Retrieved July 21, 2022 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ a b Lockett, Dee (June 14, 2017). "Anthony Padilla Just Left YouTube Comedy Duo Smosh to Go Solo". Vulture. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  12. ^ Spangler, Todd (June 14, 2017). "Smosh Co-Founder Anthony Padilla Is Leaving the YouTube Comedy Group". Variety. Retrieved January 29, 2019.
  13. ^ Weiss, Geoff (November 8, 2018). "Smosh Co-Founder Anthony Padilla Shares Why He Departed "Evil and Shady" Defy Media After Sudden Shutdown". Tubefilter. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  14. ^ Smosh Acquired by Rhett & Link's Mythical Entertainment Archived November 12, 2020, at the Wayback Machine Variety. February 22, 2019. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  15. ^ Spangler, Todd (June 20, 2023). "Smosh Co-Founders Anthony Padilla, Ian Hecox Reunite to Acquire Comedy Brand From Rhett & Link (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Harris, Margot (May 7, 2020). "Anthony Padilla is YouTube's microphone for the people, interviewing everyone from furries to COVID-19 survivors". Insider. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Bender, Brittany (April 10, 2022). "Anthony Padilla Is The Best Interviewer Working Today & Here's Why". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  18. ^ a b Grayson, Nathan (November 10, 2022). "We spent a day with Anthony Padilla, YouTube's interview king". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Baj, Lavender (June 9, 2021). "Minecraft Cheater Dream Says He 'Handled The Situation Horribly' In New Interview". Kotaku Australia. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  20. ^ Weiss, Geoff (June 24, 2021). "Here's Why YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki Says She Follows Platform Drama". Tubefilter. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  21. ^ Spangler, Todd (December 14, 2020). "Smosh Co-Founder Anthony Padilla Launches Production Company, Sets Premiere of First Documentary Film (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  22. ^ Gutelle, Sam (April 16, 2015). "'Smosh: The Movie' To Arrive On July 23rd At VidCon". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on April 22, 2015. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  23. ^ McNary, Dave (October 1, 2014). "'Angry Birds' Movie Casts Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage, Maya Rudolph". Variety. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  24. ^ Weiss, Geoff (December 18, 2017). "Anthony Padilla, Jenn McAllister Lend Voices To Lionsgate's 'Hedgehogs' Film". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  25. ^ Solsman, Joan (December 4, 2016). "Smosh's 'Ghostmates' is dead serious about storytelling". CNET. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  26. ^ Noble, Alex (August 16, 2019). "'The Angry Birds Movie 2': Meet the Voices Behind Each Animated Performer". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  27. ^ a b "Anthony Padilla". TV Guide. Archived from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  28. ^ Nededog, Jethro (September 29, 2016). "We spent a day with Chelsea Handler on the set of her Netflix talk show — here's your behind-the-scenes look". Insider. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  29. ^ Nolfi, Joey (May 24, 2018). "RuPaul's Drag Race star Kameron Michaels awkwardly explains 'hyper-feminine' drag to a straight man". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  30. ^ Gutelle, Sam (May 22, 2018). "YouTube Stars Anthony Padilla, Kingsleyyy, Tyler Oakley To Receive Makeovers On 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  31. ^ Cohen, Joshua (January 16, 2013). "#1, #2 YouTubers Smosh, Ray William Johnson Collab In Funny Video". Tubefilter. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  32. ^ Spangler, Todd (November 5, 2015). "YouTube's Smosh Guys to Star in 'Part Timers' Scripted Comedy". Variety. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
  33. ^ Griffin, Andrew (December 9, 2014). "YouTube Rewind: Vloggers team up to re-create a year of viral videos". The Independent. Retrieved March 25, 2024.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Anthony Padilla at Wikimedia Commons
  • Anthony Padilla at IMDb