2006–2015: Early roles and voice acting On television, Schwartz guest-starred as
Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on
NBC's
Parks and Recreation and was a lead in the Showtime show
House of Lies. In 2010, Schwartz played series regular Bill Hoyt on
J. J. Abrams' one-hour spy drama
Undercovers for NBC. Schwartz had his own segment on
HBO's
Funny or Die Presents called
Terrible Decisions with Ben Schwartz and has appeared in multiple
CollegeHumor sketches including the popular web series
Jake and Amir. Schwartz has been nominated for four
Emmys and won the 2009 Emmy Award for
Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for coauthoring
Hugh Jackman's opening number for the
81st Academy Awards. Schwartz voiced Randy Cunningham, a 14-year-old freshman student and
ninja protecting his hometown Norrisville from forces of evil in
Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja. In September 2013, he was hired by
Paramount Pictures to re-make the 1991 comedy
Soapdish, retitled
El Fuego Caliente and reworking the original's American soap opera into a Latin telenovela, with producers
Rob Reiner and Alan Greisman and he sold an original pitch to
Universal Studios based on an idea by
Brian Grazer with
Imagine Entertainment attached to produce. He was a staff writer for the third season of
Adult Swim's
Robot Chicken and served as a freelance writer for the
Weekend Update segment of
Saturday Night Live as well as the monologues for the
Late Show with David Letterman. Schwartz also played a Stormtrooper in the film. Since 2014, Schwartz has appeared in episodes of the
Comedy Bang! Bang! podcast as the only guest in "Solo Bolo" (2014), "Solo Bolo Dos Lo" (2015), "Solo Bolo Trolo" (2016), "Solo Bolo Cuatrolo" (2016), "Solo Bolo Cincolo" (2017), "Solo Bolo Sonicolo" (2020), "Solo Bolo Hallowolo" (2021), and "Solo Bolo Ho Ho Holo" (2024). In nearly each episode he and host Scott Aukerman compete in the Olympic Song Challenge. Ben has also appeared on episodes of comedy podcasts
If I Were You, ID1OT, You Made It Weird with Pete Holmes, and ''
Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend.''
2016–present: Animation roles and Sonic films In 2017, Schwartz began voicing
Dewey Duck in the
Disney XD revival of
DuckTales. Schwartz has been featured as himself in
Netflix's
Home: Adventures with Tip & Oh's 2017 animated Christmas special -
Home for the Holidays - alongside
Kelly Clarkson. He provided the voice of
Leonardo in
Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In August 2018, Schwartz was announced to voice the
titular character in the 2020 film
Sonic the Hedgehog. On September 26, 2019, it was announced that Schwartz was cast as F. Tony Scarapiducci in the
Netflix comedy series
Space Force. Ben Schwartz co-starred alongside
Billy Crystal in the film
Standing Up, Falling Down, initially released on April 25, 2019. In April 2020, Schwartz and fellow comedian
Thomas Middleditch starred in Netflix's first long-form improv special,
Middleditch and Schwartz, a three-part series of hour-long performances filmed at
New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. In 2022, Schwartz was in the main cast of the first season of the
Apple TV+ mystery comedy series
The Afterparty, reprising his role in a guest capacity in the series' 2023 second season. In January 2023, Schwartz guest voiced a character, TAY-0, a droid who participates in races for
Cid Scaleback, on
Star Wars: The Bad Batch.
Books Schwartz has co-written four books, three with writer Amanda McCall: ''Grandma's Dead: Breaking Bad News with Baby Animals
; Maybe Your Leg Will Grow Back!: Looking on the Bright Side with Baby Animals
and Why is Daddy in a Dress?: Asking Awkward Questions with Baby Animals
and (with writer Laura Moses), Things You Should Already Know About Dating, You F-king Idiot''. ==Filmography==