Thomas McGrath (born August 7, 1964) is an American voice actor, animator and filmmaker. He is known for the DreamWorks animated film Madagascar, which he co-wrote and directed with Eric Darnell while voicing the character of Skipper the Penguin. The film spawned two direct sequels, along with a spin-off animated series and film based on the penguins in which McGrath reprised his role as Skipper. McGrath also directed the DreamWorks animated films Megamind (2010) and The Boss Baby (2017), the latter of which received an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nomination. McGrath returned as director for its 2021 sequel.

Life and career

McGrath was born and raised in Lynnwood, Washington. He studied Industrial Design at the University of Washington and graduated from the Character Animation program at Cal Arts. McGrath's experience in both television and feature animation includes work as an animator on Cool World and Space Jam, storyboard artist and director for seasons 3-5 of The Ren and Stimpy Show, and storyboard artist on the live action film Cats & Dogs. He worked as a storyboard artist, concept artist and prop and set designer for How the Grinch Stole Christmas. McGrath also stepped in on Flushed Away by Aardman, the creators of The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, to help make improvements prior to its release. McGrath made his film directing debut as the co-director and co-writer of Madagascar along with Eric Darnell, where he also voiced the leader of the squad of penguin characters, Skipper. He reprised his role as Skipper and co-directed and co-wrote the sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and co-directed Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. He worked on The Penguins of Madagascar, a spin-off TV series, as a creative consultant and as the voice of Skipper. He directed Megamind, released in November 2010. In 2017, he directed The Boss Baby and the 2021 sequel The Boss Baby: Family Business.

Filmography

Feature films

Short films

Television series

Video games