Tony Cox is an actor who played Knuck in Oz the Great and Powerful. Persumably he will reprise his role in a sequel.
Cox was born in Uniontown, Alabama, the son of Henrietta Cox-Penn and Joe Cox. He spent his childhood in Uniontown, with his grandmother and grandfather, Lottie and Henry Jones. His mother and stepfather, Rudolph Penn, live in College Park, Georgia. He met his future wife, Otelia, during high school. They were eventually married in 1981 when Cox was 23 years old.
Shortly thereafter, Cox decided to pursue acting after watching Billy Barty, a little person who was an actor and also founder of the organization Little People of America. Encouraged by relatives and friends, he moved to Los Angeles at age 18. He is better known for his roles in Bad Santa where he played Marcus, the brains of a safe cracking duo, and in Date Movie where he played a parody of Dr. Hitch from Hitch. As second lead to Billy Bob Thornton, Cox's role in Bad Santa was a rare occurrence of a little person actor in a leading role.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Dr. Heckyl and Mr. Hype | Bad William | |
| 1981 | Nice Dreams | Midget Nut | Credited as Joe Anthony Cox |
| Smokey Bites The Dust | Desk Clerk | ||
| Under the Rainbow | Hotel Rainbow Guest | ||
| 1982 | Penitentiary 2 | Midget | Credited as Joe Anthony Cox |
| Jekyll and Hyde...Together Again | Lawn Jockey #1 | ||
| 1983 | Return of the Jedi | Widdle "Willy" Warrick | |
| 1986 | Invaders from Mars | Drone | Credited as Joe Anthony Cox |
| Captain EO | Hooter | Short | |
| Hollywood Zap! | Kong | ||
| 1987 | Valet Girls | Sammy Rodenko | |
| Spaceballs | Dink | ||
| Retribution | Hotel Resident | ||
| 1988 | Beetlejuice | Minister | |
| Willow | Nelwyn Warrior | ||
| I'm Gonna Git You Sucka | Wayne Evans | ||
| Rented Lips | Tyrell | ||
| Bird | Pee Wee Marquette | ||
| 1990 | Spaced Invaders | Corporal Pez | |
| Rockula | Big Al | ||
| 1991 | Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey | Station | Uncredited |
| The Dark Backward | Human Xylophone | ||
| 1992 | Mom and Dad Save the World | Blaaatt | |
| 1994 | The Silence of the Hams | Dwarf Guard | |
| Leprechaun 2 | African-American Leprechaun | ||
| Blankman | Midget Man | ||
| Ghoulies IV | Ghoulie Dark | Direct-to-video | |
| 1995 | Friday | Mr. Parker | |
| The Fantasticks | Bavarian Baby's Assistant | Credited as Joe Anthony Cox | |
| 2000 | Me,Myself & Irene | Limo Driver | |
| 2003 | Bad Santa | Marcus Skidmore | |
| The Hebrew Hammer | Jamal | ||
| 2005 | Back By Midnight | Prison Guard Smitty | |
| 2006 | Date Movie | Hitch | |
| National Lampoon's TV: The Movie | Stubbs | ||
| 2007 | Epic Movie | Bink | |
| Who's Your Caddy ? | Big Willie Johnson | ||
| 2008 | Disaster Movie | Indiana Jones | |
| 2010 | The Warrior's Way | Eight-Ball | |
| Meet Monica Velours | Petting Zoo Club Owner | ||
| 2011 | The Legend of Awesomest Maximus | Minorities | |
| 2012 | Partysaurus Rex | Chuck E. Duck | Short
Voice |
| Guns, Girls and Gambling | Little Person Elvis | ||
| 2013 | White T | Head Bouncer | |
| Oz the Great and Powerful | Knuck/Sourpuss | ||
| 2015 | Strange Magic | Plum Elf | Voice |
| The Heyday of the Insensitive Bastards | Mr. Chubb | ||
| 2016 | Bad Santa 2 | Marcus Skidmore |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Buck Rogers in the 25th Century | Private Zedth | Episode: "Shgoratchx!" |
| 1982 | The Greatest American Hero | Circus Dwarf | Episode: "Just Another Three-Ring Circus" |
| 1984 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Bubba/Herald | 2 episodes |
| Pryor's Place | Allen | Episode:"Voyage to the Planet of the Dumb" | |
| Caravan of Courage: An Ewok Adventure | Widdle "Willy" Warrick | Television film, also stunt performer | |
| 1985 | Ewoks: The Battle for Endor | Television film | |
| ABC Weekend Special | N/A | Episode: "The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin" | |
| 1987 | Thirtysomething | Dread | Episode: "Nice Work If You Can Get It" |
| 1990 | Married... with Children | Alien | Episode: "Married...With Aliens" |
| 1992 | In Living Color | Host | Episode: "Black People Award" |
| 1993-1994 | Martin | Mr. Johnson/Bennie | 2 episodes |
| 1996 | Mad TV | Mr. White | Episode: "Season 2 Episode 6" |
| 1997 | Claude's Crib | Reenactment Shorty | Episode: "Hometown Hero" |
| The Jamie Foxx Show | Sweet & Low | Episode: "Step Up to Get Down" | |
| 1999 | Stark Raving Mad | Goldy | Episode: "Christmas Cheerleader" |
| 1999-2000 | Linc's | Himself | 2 episodes |
| 2002 | Frasier | Angel #1 | Episode:"The Proposal" |
| 2004 | Rescue Me | Arlo | 3 episodes |
| Method & Red | N/A | Episode: "Neighborhood Watch" | |
| 2007 | Carpoolers | Seth | Episode: "The Seminar" |
| 2010 | Psych | Himself | Episode:"The Polarizing Express" |
| 2012 | A Fairly Odd Christmas | Elmer the Elder Elf | Television film, voice |
| 2014 | Almost Human | Di Carlo | Episode:"Beholder" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine | Bartender #1 |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "California Love" | Dwarf Soldier | 2Pac |
| 2000 | "Breakout" | Limo Driver | Foo Fighters |
| 2002 | "From tha Chuuuch to da Palace" | Midget Officer | Snoop Dogg |
| 2004 | "Just Lose It" | Marcus Skidmore | Eminem |