Janet Maureen Varney is an American comedic actress best known for hosting TBS's Dinner and a Movie. She voiced Korra, May, and additional characters in The Legend of Korra.
Varney hosts the official podcast, Avatar: Braving the Elements, with Dante Basco.
The Legend of Korra credits[]
Korra[]
- Character information: Korra
May[]
- Character information: May
- 210. "A New Spiritual Age"
Additional voices[]
- 102. "A Leaf in the Wind"
- 105. "The Spirit of Competition"
- 108. "When Extremes Meet"
- 112. "Endgame"
Avatar: Braving the Elements credits[]
Host[]
| 113 free episodes and 7 premium episodes |
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Selected other credits[]
Television work[]
- Best Player (TV movie)
- Bones
- Burning Love
- Childrens Hospital
- Dinner & a Movie
- Entourage
- Hot in Cleveland
- How I Met Your Mother
- Stan Against Evil
- The Exes
- The Legend of Vox Machina
- You're the Worst
Filmography[]
- Injustice (2021)
- Diani & Devine Meet the Apocalypse (2014)
- Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011)
- The Selling of Scarry Manor (2011)
- Still Waiting ... (2009)
- Drillbit Taylor (2008)
- Dante's Inferno (2007)
- Catwoman (2004)
- Stuck (2003)
Other credits[]
- Dinner & a Movie (writer)
- Neil's Puppet Dreams (executive producer, soundtrack writer, and writer)
- Noel Coward's Last Play (short - producer)
- The Haunted World of El Superbeasto (soundtrack vocalist)
- The Legend of Korra (video game)
Personal life[]
Janet Varney was born in Arizona and eventually moved to San Francisco. An alumnus of San Francisco State University, Varney has worked for and co-founded several comedy troupes, and was in a relationship with Chris Hardwick, who voiced the adult Sokka in The Legend of Korra, between 2004 and 2011. In film, Varney has appeared alongside Owen Wilson in Drillbit Taylor, Halle Berry in Catwoman, and in the Lionsgate feature Still Waiting as part of a comedy ensemble that includes Justin Long, John Michael Higgins, and Luiz Guzman. Varney recently played the female lead in the teen comedy Nic & Tristan. She also starred opposite iCarly's Jerry Trainor and Jennette McCurdy in the 2010 Nickelodeon Original television movie Best Player.
Varney is the co-creator and co-producer of one of the largest and most successful comedy festivals in the country, the San Francisco Sketchfest. She is well known for co-hosting TBS' Dinner & a Movie and the Mark Burnett-Steven Spielberg-produced film competition On the Lot. She has also starred in the sketch series HPC with Dave Koechner, Diedrich Bader, and Kristin Wiig, and Sean Hayes' sketch series for Fox, Man Stroke Woman.
She has guest starred on many hit shows, including How I Met Your Mother, Better Off Ted, Psych, Bones, What About Brian?, and Halfway Home. Varney continues to recur as smart, sexy television executive Amy Miller on HBO's Entourage. In 2009, Varney signed on to star in an ABC comedy series from Jeff Strauss titled Married Not Dead.
Trivia[]
- Janet Varney identifies with the character of Korra in the fact that she shares Korra's impatience and enthusiasm for a lot of things, as well as the loyal friendships and the concern about right and wrong in the world. However, she does believe that Korra is about a hundred times cooler than she will ever be.[1]
- Varney has stated that if she could be a bender, she would be either a firebender, as she has always had a serious fascination with fire, or a waterbender, because she likes its effects and because she was fascinated by large bodies of water growing up in a desert area. On the other hand, she thinks she would be the worst at airbending.[1][2]
- During an exclusive San Diego Comic-Con 2014 interview for Wikia, Varney mentioned that Varrick and Lin Beifong are her favorite characters on the show.[3]
- In an interview with Nick Animation, Varney stated that her favorite book is Book Four: Balance and her favorite antagonist is Kuvira.[4]
- Janet Varney wrote a song with Paul Gilmartin and Grey DeLisle, the voice actor who voiced Azula in Avatar: The Last Airbender, called "Daddy Drank" for the characters she and Grey DeLisle play opposite Paul's Republican Congressman character, Richard Martin.[5]
- Varney came out as bisexual on her Instagram page in June 2018 to celebrate Pride month, though she had previously been open about her sexuality on her podcast.[6]
- Varney participated in a live reading of Turf Wars Part One with Seychelle Gabriel on April 6, 2020, where she reprised her role of Korra, as well as providing the voice of Tonraq.[7] She also took part in a second live reading with Gabriel and joined by fellow Korra voice actors P. J. Byrne, David Faustino, and Mindy Sterling on May 27.[8]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Caleb Goellner (May 11, 2012). 'The Legend of Korra' Star Janet Varney on Voicing The New Avatar [Interview]. comicsalliance.com. Retrieved on May 13, 2012.
- ↑ Janet Varney (November 27, 2013). I am Janet Varney, comedian and voice of Korra on The Legend of Korra, AMA.
- ↑ Avatar The Legend of Korra - SDCC 2014 Cast Interview
- ↑ Nick Animation Podcast (October 20, 2017). Episode 46: The Legend of Korra Cast. Nick Animation (via YouTube). Retrieved on October 20, 2017.
- ↑ Daddy Drank. Retrieved on July 15, 2012.
- ↑ Janet Varney Instagram page. Instagram (June 28, 2018). Retrieved on July 9, 2019.
- ↑ Dark Horse Comics (April 6, 2020). The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Live Reading. Twitch.com. Retrieved on April 6, 2020.
- ↑ Dark Horse Comics (May 27, 2020). The Legend of Korra: Turf Wars Live Reading. Twitch.com. Retrieved on May 28, 2020.