Aries Spears

Aries Spears, a New York native born in Chicago on April 3, 1975, began performing stand-up comedy at age 14 in front of paying audiences at local clubs. He went on to appear on Russell Simmons's Def Comedy Jam on HBO and Showtime at the Apollo before moving to Los Angeles in 1992.

His television career includes a recurring role on NBC's A Different World, a stint on the CBS series South of Sunset alongside former Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey, appearances on Fox's Crosstown Traffic and Brisco County Jr., and eight seasons as a series regular on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV (seasons three through ten). On Mad TV, he performed recurring characters including Bill Cosby, Jesse Jackson, Mike Tyson, Shaquille O'Neal, Michael Jackson, and many others, and his sketch "Talkin' American" became one of the show's most popular segments. He has also appeared on talk shows including Loveline, Vibe, the Keenen Ivory Wayans show, Soul Train, and Late Friday, and had a recurring role on Fox's The Best Damn Sports Show Period.

On the film side, Spears landed his first role at 17 in Home of Angels alongside Abe Vigoda and Sherman Helmsley. He subsequently appeared in Out-of-Sync, portrayed Red Foxx in Warner Bros.'s Why Do Fools Fall In Love, starred with John Leguizamo in TriStar's The Pest, and delivered a notable performance as Cuba Gooding Jr.'s brother in Columbia's Jerry Maguire.

Spears has also lent his voice to an animated character on C-Bear and Jamal and continues to develop feature film projects, including one based on an original Mad TV character and a thriller centered on a young Black man immersed in hip-hop culture.