Seth Macfarlane

Seth MacFarlane (born 26.10.1973)

Seth MacFarlane is a comedy writer and voice actor best known for creating animated comedy series 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad'.

Seth MacFarlane: Childhood

Seth MacFarlane was born in Kent, Connecticut. His parents are Ann Perry, who worked in admissions at several schools, and Ronald Milton MacFarlane, a teacher.

He was always interested in cartoon and animation as a young boy and was paid $5 a week for producing a comic strip entitled 'Walter Crouton' in his local newspaper The Kent Good Times Dispatch. He once depicted a man taking communion and asking, 'Can I have fries with that?' which prompted the local priest to send an angry letter.

He attended Kent School and graduated in 1991 before studying film, video and animation at the Rhode Island School of Design and leaving with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Seth MacFarlane: Comedy Career

Seth MacFarlane started his career with animation giant Hanna-Barbera Cartoons after his professor at school sent them Seth's animated short 'The Life of Larry'.

He did writing and animation on various Cartoon Network shows such as 'Dexter's Laboratory', 'Johnny Bravo' and 'Cow and Chicken' as part of the channel's 'Cartoon Cartoon' series. While working here he met voice actors Adam West and Jack Sheldon who later appeared on 'Family Guy'.

Seth created 'Family Guy' after a decision to go into prime time animation. He pitched the show idea to Fox who gave him $50,000 to create a pilot episode. The Fox Broadcast Company debuted the first episode of the first series in 1999 and Seth became the youngest executive producer on TV at 24.

He is also a voice actor on the show and does the voices for Peter Griffin, Stewie Griffin, Brian Griffin, their neighbour Glenn Quagmire and news reader Tom Tucker.

He became the world's highest paid TV writer after signing a $100 million deal with Fox in 2008 to keep 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad' until 2012.

'Family Guy' receives constant criticism for its crude content and has been pulled off the air frequently by Fox.

Seth created 'American Dad' in 2005 along with Matt Weitzman and Mike Barker. It was inspired by President George W. Bush with the main character being a strictly conservative CIA agent. The show also includes an effeminate alien rescued from Area 51 and a goldfish with a transplanted brain from a German skier.

In 2005, he launched 'Seth MacFarlane's Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy' which was a series of short webisodes. In 2007, he was an executive producer on the short-lived TV series 'The Winner'.

In 2009, he created 'The Cleveland Show' - a spin-off of 'Family Guy' focusing on Peter Griffin's friend Cleveland Brown.

In 2012, he directed the live action comedy movie 'Ted' about a man who owns a talking teddy after making a wish when he was a little boy. It stars Mark Wahlberg, Seth's 'Family Guy' co-star Mila Kunis and Seth himself as the voice of Ted.

Seth MacFarlane: Other career ventures

Seth MacFarlane is a regular panellist on the annual 'Comedy Central Roasts' show.

He is an avid pianist and singer appearing on the BBC Proms alongside the John Wilson Orchestra in 'A Celebration of Classic MGM Film Musicals'. He released his debut album 'Music Is Better Than Words' in 2011 on Universal Republic Records which was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

He has voiced characters on 'Robot Chicken' and 'Yin Yang Yo!' as well as in 'Hellboy II: The Golden Army'. He sang the opening theme in the film 'Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder' and played Ziggy in 'Tooth Fairy' in 2010.

He often speaks at university campuses and has even made appearances at Stanford University and Harvard University.

He is a gay rights activist and became so after hearing a family member questioning whether his cousin could be 'cured' of his homosexuality. He told The Advocate in 2008 that it was 'f****** horrifying to hear from somebody that you love'.

In 2011, he was named the Harvard Humanist of the Year.

Seth MacFarlane: Personal Life

Seth MacFarlane is a 'Star Wars',' Star Trek' and sci-fi fan and often holds sci-fi themed parties.

Seth is an atheist.

His mother Ann Perry passed away in 2010 due to cancer.

In 2012, he was dating 'Game of Thrones' actress Emilia Clarke though their relationship seems to have been on and off and it is not clear if the pair are currently a couple.

On September 11th 2001, Seth was scheduled to take the flight that was hijacked and subsequently flown into the World Trade Center. However, after a slow morning and incorrect times being given to him, he arrived just after the flight was scheduled to leave, missing the fated flight by minutes.

Seth has been subject to two lawsuits regarding 'Family Guy'. In 2007, Bourne Co. Music Publishers accused the show of copyright infringement after parodying their song 'When You Wish upon a Star' into a song called 'I Need a Jew'. The court later ruled that no infringement was made in the parody.

Again in 2007, actor Art Metrano attempted to sue the show for a scene in the episode 'Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story' where the Jesus character copied Metrano's ridiculous magician-esque hand motions. The case was later settled out of court in 2010.