Raymond’s resume reaches far beyond the industry standard of a single page. Seen here are the current, most notable credits. Find out more about these roles on other pages of the website. Read Raymond’s biography below for more info about Ray’s background.
Please note, Raymond has gradually and successfully lost over 90lbs. While he's still the 6'0", wide-shouldered, stocky physical comedian he's always been, he's noticeably less round, so, please keep that in mind when viewing footage. We feel that this healthy weight loss simply adds to the versatility of our favorite Big Guy.
Directors, casting directors, reviewers, and audiences have compared Raymond's physical comedy to Kevin James and Jackie Gleason; his bold comedic characters to Steven Root, Melissa McCarthy, and Randy Quaid; his ability to go immediately from comedy to drama to John C. Reilly. In a guest star on 30 Rock, Tina Fey explicitly said she hired him because "You went from genuinely crying to delivering the punchline in your audition. No one else did that."
Biography: Raymond McAnally
photo credit Joanna Degeneres
photo credit Joanna Degeneres
Raymond McAnally (pronounced Mac-uh-nally) is an award-winning actor, a produced writer, and a university lecturer. Born and raised in Franklin, Tennessee, outside of Nashville, Raymond grew up working in his parent’s dairy cattle business. His father, the late Raymond Houston McAnally, was an international cattle broker who created an innovative cattle leasing program to help family farmers. His mother, the late Patricia Eaves McAnally, was an accomplished attorney and former Miss Tennessee. Raymond remembers fondly that his parents always supported extracurriculars, from Boy Scouts and playing in bands all over Nashville, to travel, art, sports, and everything outdoors. Their support and encouragement of independent study and entrepreneurship were the foundations for Raymond's career pursuits in the Arts.
A football injury at the start of high school was the catalyst for his first enrollment in a drama class and a penchant for class-clowning made him a natural standout on his academic stages. Fueled by offers of lead roles and the ensemble nature of theatre, Raymond's pursuit of acting only grew stronger as he earned a double major in Theatre and Philosophy from Sewanee and an M.F.A. in Acting from Rutgers University. He credits the academic rigor of his Philosophy degree for teaching him how to research and create detailed work as an actor and writer. He wrote his undergraduate dissertation on Kierkegaard's Indirect Communication and enjoyed putting minds at ease before graduating with the refrain, "Don't worry, if acting doesn't work out, I always have philosophy to fall back on". In his graduate study at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Raymond was fortunate to be in the last class to have the renowned Meisner teacher William "Bill" Esper full-time.
Currently bi-coastal, Raymond began his career in New York. He hit the ground running, gaining full representation, booking both theatre and television roles, and earning his union cards following graduation. He's enjoyed working in the U.S. and abroad in every modern medium where actors are needed.
Television acting credits include a supporting role in Black Mirror: San Junipero, winner of the 2017 Emmy for Best TV Movie; Guest starring roles on Better Call Saul, Modern Family, Chicago Fire, Rizzoli & Isles, Law & Order SVU, Royal Pains, and 30 Rock; as well as roles on Boardwalk Empire, Nurse Jackie, Mozart in the Jungle, among others. Feature Film credits include The Revival, Compliance, I Don’t Know How She Does It, Ghost Town, among others. Theatre credits of note include God’s Ear (Off-Broadway) The Vineyard Theatre; Casa Valentina, Pasadena Playhouse (*award-winning); One Man, Two Guvnors, Repertory Theatre of St Louis (*award-winning); Mrs. Mannerly, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati & TheaterWorks Hartford (*award-winning); The Foreigner, Cincinnati Playhouse (*award-winning); Defending the Caveman (National Tour, One Man Show); among many others.
As a playwright, Raymond’s full-length solo play, "Size Matters", received its world premiere at Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati in May of 2014. Directed by Tony Award-winning former Cincinnati Playhouse Artistic Director Ed Stern, the show ran for three weeks; garnering outstanding reviews, standing ovations, and sold-out performances. The show was filmed before a live audience in 2015 and is now a comedy special available for streaming on Amazon Prime. In 2019, Raymond’s full-length play "The Cruelty of Children" was a semi-finalist at the O’Neill Center. From 2010 to 2014, Raymond was the head content writer for the online production company Daily Fiber Films, which produced and distributed over sixty online comedy shorts, written by Raymond, and featured by FunnyOrDie.com, Fullscreen, CNN, New Media Rockstars, and The Food Network. His short comedies also screened at festivals from coast to coast and earned “Best of the Fest” awards at L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival and the New York Friar’s Club. Raymond's short plays, "The Odd Ball" and "Homeland", have been produced at festivals on both coasts and his short play, "The Next", was published in the Winter of 2019 in an anthology by New World Theatre. In 2018, Raymond completed a playwriting fellowship with New World Theatre in Concord, New Hampshire. In 2017, Raymond’s independent pilot “DPW” was filmed on location in Tupelo, Mississippi.
