# Cedric Yarbrough
**Cedric Yarbrough** (birth name Cedric Percell Yarbrough; born 1973) is an American comedic actor and voiceover artist best known as Deputy S. Jones on the [Comedy Central](https://www.edgepedia.org/comedy-central) mockumentary series *Reno 911!* and as the voice of Tom DuBois and Colonel H. Stinkmeaner on [Adult Swim](https://www.edgepedia.org/adult-swim)'s *The Boondocks*. He was born in Burnsville, Minnesota, stands 6 feet 2 inches tall, and has built a career across television, film, animation, and stage.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) • [2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973, Burnsville, Minnesota; birth name Cedric Percell Yarbrough[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) |
| Signature role | Deputy S. Jones on *Reno 911!*, eight seasons on Comedy Central[3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/) |
| Voice roles | Tom DuBois and Colonel H. Stinkmeaner on *The Boondocks*; work on *Bojack Horseman*, *Family Guy*, *Bob's Burgers*, and *Kung Fu Panda 4*[2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/) • [3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/) |
| Sitcom starring role | Kenneth, a school janitor turned aide, on ABC's *Speechless* (three seasons)[4](https://www.assignmentx.com/2018/speechless-actor-cedric-yarbrough-exclusive-interview/) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946382/) |
| Notable films | *The 40-Year-Old Virgin* (2005), *Reno 911!: Miami* (2007), *Black Dynamite* (2009) as Chocolate Giddy-Up, *The House* (2017), *Juror #2* (2024)[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cedric_yarbrough) |
| Emmy nomination | *Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon* (Paramount+), nominated for Outstanding TV Movie in 2022[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946382/) |
| Training | Community college, then a theater major at Minnesota State University; improv start at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis[7](https://ndigo.com/2026/07/06/actor-cedric-yarbough-goodmans-iceboy/) • [1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) |
## Early life and training
Yarbrough grew up in Minnesota and got his start in improv at Dudley Riggs' Brave New Workshop, the [Minneapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/minneapolis) comedy workshop.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) He has described acting as something he always knew he wanted to do; his mother's habit of waking the children at 2 a.m. for popcorn and films such as *To Sir with Love* and *Twelve Angry Men* fed his love of cinema, and *Schoolhouse Rock* sparked his interest in voice work.[7](https://ndigo.com/2026/07/06/actor-cedric-yarbough-goodmans-iceboy/)
He deliberately built a broad education for the trade. After a community college start he transferred to Minnesota State University as a theater major, studying Shakespeare, August Wilson, Chekhov, Tennessee Williams, Stephen Sondheim, musicals, dance, theater history, and voice work, on the theory that versatility would keep him employed.[7](https://ndigo.com/2026/07/06/actor-cedric-yarbough-goodmans-iceboy/) After college he worked in local Minneapolis theater, which he found easy to break into, and has called theater his first love.[8](https://www.hobotrashcan.com/2008/08/07/one-on-one-with-cedric-yarbrough/) • [2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/)
## Reno 911! and breakthrough
Yarbrough moved to Los Angeles on July 4, 2000, and met the *Reno 911!* creators that October, when the project was a Fox sketch show titled *Ugly Americans*.[9](https://abilitymagazine.com/speaking-speechless-cedric-yarbrough/) The pilot sat on the shelf for a couple of years after Fox passed; Comedy Central eventually picked it up, and the series became a hit, running 2003 to 2009 with Yarbrough as a series regular for eight seasons as Deputy S. Jones.[8](https://www.hobotrashcan.com/2008/08/07/one-on-one-with-cedric-yarbrough/) • [3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/)
The show's method suited his improv background. Yarbrough has estimated that *Reno 911!* was about 90 percent improvised: scripts gave only a loose synopsis, and the dialogue and much of the plot were invented on the spot.[8](https://www.hobotrashcan.com/2008/08/07/one-on-one-with-cedric-yarbrough/) He credits the ensemble with teaching him professional habits, from punctuality to how a cast treats its crew, that he carried to later shows.[10](https://starrymag.com/cedric-yarbrough-reno-911/)
The series opened doors in film. Yarbrough took a small role in *The 40-Year-Old Virgin* (2005), co-starred in the big-screen *Reno 911!: Miami* (2007), and played supporting parts in [Paul Feig](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-feig)'s *Unaccompanied Minors* (2006) and Scott Sanders' blaxploitation sendup *Black Dynamite* (2009), where his character Chocolate Giddy-Up became one of his best-known turns.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) • [2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/) He later appeared in *The House* (2017) with [Will Ferrell](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-ferrell) and [Amy Poehler](https://www.edgepedia.org/amy-poehler) and *The Boss* (2016) with Melissa McCarthy.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946382/)
## Television and voice work
Television became the center of his career, with his height and physical presence turned into comic roles on series including *The Soul Man* ([TV Land](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-land) 2012–16), *Rake* (Fox 2014), and *The Goldbergs* (ABC 2013– ).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) His credits also include *Arrested Development*, *Comedy Bang! Bang!*, *Key & Peele*, *The Bernie Mac Show*, *Crazy Ex-Girlfriend*, *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, and a starring role on CBS's *Carol's Second Act*.[9](https://abilitymagazine.com/speaking-speechless-cedric-yarbrough/) • [3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/) • [7](https://ndigo.com/2026/07/06/actor-cedric-yarbough-goodmans-iceboy/)
**Speechless.** In 2016 he took a weekly starring role on the ABC sitcom *Speechless* as Kenneth, a school janitor who becomes the aide and voice for JJ, a high school student with cerebral palsy who uses a wheelchair and cannot speak, opposite [Minnie Driver](https://www.edgepedia.org/minnie-driver).[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) • [4](https://www.assignmentx.com/2018/speechless-actor-cedric-yarbrough-exclusive-interview/) He has described the ensemble ethos of the show as carrying over the mutual care he learned on *Reno 911!*.[11](https://weliveentertainment.com/welivetvshows/tca-interview-cedric-yarborough-speechless-bojack-horseman/)
**Voice acting.** [Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/animation) runs alongside his on-camera work. He voiced [Black Lightning](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-lightning) and [Firestorm](https://www.edgepedia.org/firestorm) in the direct-to-video *Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths* (2010) and Firepower in the *Iron Man 2* video game (2010), then took recurring roles on *The Penguins of Madagascar* (Nickelodeon 2009–2012) and *The Boondocks* (Adult Swim 2005–2014), where he voiced Tom DuBois and Colonel H. Stinkmeaner.[1](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/) • [2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/) His other voice credits include *Bojack Horseman*, *Paradise P.D.*, *Mike Tyson Mysteries*, *Family Guy*, *Bob's Burgers*, and *Kung Fu Panda 4*.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946382/) • [3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/)
## Later work
Yarbrough returned to the *Reno 911!* franchise in the [Paramount+](https://www.edgepedia.org/paramount) movie *Reno 911! The Hunt for QAnon*, nominated for a 2022 Emmy for Outstanding TV Movie, and in the revival *Reno 911! Defunded* and the special *Reno 911!: It's a Wonderful Heist* for Paramount+.[5](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946382/) On film he appeared in [Clint Eastwood](https://www.edgepedia.org/clint-eastwood)'s *Juror #2* (2024), his highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes at 93 percent with critics, as well as the Netflix film *Unfrosted* and the AMC series *Lucky Hank*.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cedric_yarbrough) • [3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/)
He has also returned to the stage. In 2026 he played Floyd Richards in the Goodman Theatre's world premiere musical *Iceboy!* in Chicago, alongside [Megan Mullally](https://www.edgepedia.org/megan-mullally) and [Nick Offerman](https://www.edgepedia.org/nick-offerman), and has called creating a character from scratch in live theater, with no second takes and singing layered on emotion, one of the most challenging roles he has done.[3](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/) • [2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/)
Across more than two decades he has accumulated close to 100 series regular, recurring, or guest-star television credits, a body of work he attributes to versatility and preparation rather than a single defining part.[7](https://ndigo.com/2026/07/06/actor-cedric-yarbough-goodmans-iceboy/) • [2](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/)
## References
1. [Cedric Yarbrough – Actor, Comedian, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/cedric-yarbrough/)
2. [Actor Cedric Yarbrough Brings Heart, Humor and Originality to Goodman Theatre's Iceboy!, Chicago Defender](https://chicagodefender.com/actor-cedric-yarbrough-brings-heart-humor-and-originality-to-goodman-theatres-iceboy/)
3. [Cedric Yarbrough, Goodman Theatre artist page](https://www.goodmantheatre.org/artists/cedric-yarbrough/)
4. [SPEECHLESS: Actor Cedric Yarbrough talks year two of the ABC sitcom, Assignment X](https://www.assignmentx.com/2018/speechless-actor-cedric-yarbrough-exclusive-interview/)
5. [Cedric Yarbrough, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0946382/)
6. [Cedric Yarbrough Movies & TV Shows List, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cedric_yarbrough)
7. [Actor Cedric Yarbrough – Goodman's ICEBOY!, N'DIGO](https://ndigo.com/2026/07/06/actor-cedric-yarbough-goodmans-iceboy/)
8. [One on One with Cedric Yarbrough, HoboTrashcan](https://www.hobotrashcan.com/2008/08/07/one-on-one-with-cedric-yarbrough/)
9. [Speaking About Speechless – Cedric Yarbrough, ABILITY Magazine](https://abilitymagazine.com/speaking-speechless-cedric-yarbrough/)
10. [Cedric Yarbrough – Reno 911!, StarryMag](https://starrymag.com/cedric-yarbrough-reno-911/)
11. [Cedric Yarbrough on 'Speechless' and 'Bojack Horseman', We Live Entertainment](https://weliveentertainment.com/welivetvshows/tca-interview-cedric-yarborough-speechless-bojack-horseman/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames X to Z*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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