Stan Smith
From American Dad Wikia, working on 526 articles
| Stan Smith | |
|---|---|
| |
| Name | Stanley/ Stanford/Staniel Smith |
| Nickname/s | The Boob |
| Age | 42 |
| Gender | Male |
| Height | 6'2" |
| Place | Langley Falls, Virginia |
| Status | ALIVE |
| Profession | Central Intelligence Agency agent |
| Family Members |
Jack Smith (father) |
| Voice Actor | Seth MacFarlane |
Stanley/ Staniel/ Stanford "Stan" Smith is the main character of American Dad! and is voiced by Seth MacFarlane. Out of all the voices he's done in both Family Guy and American Dad!, MacFarlane says that Stan's voice is the most exhausting. It has been noted on DVD special features that Stan's voice is based on the announcers of 1950s American anti-communist propaganda films. He also seems to be partially based on the title character from the cult 80s show Sledge Hammer, who also had a weird habit of talking to his gun, as Stan does.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Stan Smith has worked for the Central Intelligence Agency since the 80s, as a field agent and weapons expert, and later on in the series, the Deputy-Deputy Director, placing him on the third tier of importance in the C.I.A. under Deputy-Director Bullock. As at the start of season 2, his official job title is apparently "Deputy Deputy Director", although the official announcement of his promotion wasn't actually seen in any episode. In this role his work has included the interrogation of possible terrorists. Stan is always on alert for terrorist activity, at work, and in his home life.
Stan is in mostly top physical shape, though he has a bit of a gut.
At some point in Stan's childhood, someone gave him bad advice about sex, leading to Stan's belief that masturbation would lead to hair growing on his palms and his eyes melting, a belief which Stan almost passed on to his son. This belief led to a life-long love of hobbies, including gun cleaning and wood burning. Stan also collects commemorative plates from the Franklin Mint.
Stan attended John DeLorean High School in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Stan was a very unpopular student and he had horrible acne, which caused him to be nicknamed "The Penis". He got pranked by the popular students while at the prom by being crushed by falling pigs which was a parody of Carrie, where she got showered by pig's blood--even a student mentioned it. Because the school is named after John DeLorean, who was born Michigan, it is likely that Stan is from Michigan. In "The Best Christmas Story Never", it is revealed that Stan lived in New York in 1970.
In 1985, Stan, then a college student, met his future wife Francine. She was hitch-hiking and Stan gave her a ride. As he was driving, he accidentally ran over a raccoon, which he shot and killed to put it out of its misery, and Francine thought was that it was the most compassionate act she ever saw. They got married later that same year. Stan's father (Jack) wasn't able to attend the wedding so he had a fake father ("Grandpa" Smith) come to the wedding and pose as his real father for 20 years.
He constantly carries (and often uses at inappropriate times) two Glock 17s. He also owns an AR-15, Mac10, a "pen gun", MK 5, and what he calls a "sword gun" (a mix of a Glock 17 and a kitchen knife), all of which are stored in his wife's spice pantry, who does not seem to notice them. He stores weapons in random places around the house. During a mock robbery, Stan screams, "Hayley! Get the gun from the China cabinet!"
He is also allergic to shellfish
[edit] Family
Stan is 42 years old, as revealed by the title of the episode "42-Year-Old Virgin". This does contradict a previous statement that he is ten months older than Francine, who is 40, however, it is possible that they have both aged over the duration of the three series. Stan and Francine have two teenage children, Hayley and Steve. Stan allows Roger to live in the Smith household because the alien saved his life at Area 51. Roger has come to think of the Smiths as family. His goldfish, Klaus, was actually an East German skier which explains how he is able to talk. To prevent Klaus from winning the gold medal in the 1986 Winter Olympics, Stan switched his brain with a goldfish's brain and has lived as a goldfish with the Smith family since then. The Smith Family currently lives at 1024 Cherry Street in Langley Falls, Virginia, near the C.I.A.
Stan's reflexive super-patriotism possibly stems from his father, Jack Smith. Jack, a Nick Fury-look alike, was an absent father and was believed to be a part of a group of spies known as the Scarlet Alliance. Stan clearly worshiped his father until discovering that Jack was, in fact, a jewel thief. Stan's mother's name is Betty and she always comes to Stan when her newset boyfriend dumps her but unknownst to her Stan kidnaps her boyfriends so they can never hurt her like his father did. She later falls in love and marries the local deli owner Hercules. He also has a half-brother who lives in Wisconsin.
[edit] Personality
Although Stan is, for the most part, a loving husband and father, he often causes problems within the home with his 'God Bless America' attitudes. Stan also seems to prize popularity; he encouraged Steve to date cheerleaders, and lied about his own popularity in school, not to mention forcing Steve to have a better life than his own adolescence. He is horrified when he discovers his son, Steve, is a geek and is reluctant to let the other C.I.A. agent see him, lest Stan become one of the uncool agents, as in the episode "All About Steve". Though he appears to dislike nerds, Stan is shown owning a bat'leth, a type of Klingon sword. He is oblivious to the obvious, and occasionally mistakes sarcastic comments for suggestions.
Stan has no qualms about kidnapping, drugging, or tasering anybody, even family members, if he sees it as a means to an end. In one episode, he kidnaps American actress and singer Hilary Duff to date his nerdy son Steve.
Stan can speak with dolphins and use Morse code. Stan dislikes overweight people, as depicted in several episodes where he made remarks about his son's friend Barry. In another episode, he meets his son Steve's overweight gothic girlfriend, Debbie, who he doesn't take very kindly to. However, when he is told he's put on a few pounds, his attempts to slim himself down (to prevent becoming what he hates) leads him to anorexia.
[edit] Political views
Stan worships Ronald Reagan, quoting his speeches and even going as far as choosing a dog because it was alive during Reagan's administration.He also sees G.W. Bush as a hero shown in "Bush comes to dinner" he wrote a letter to Bush which has resemblance to a love letter and would send hayley into a pit via trap door and drugged her so that see could not tell Bush her true feeling and loathing of his decisions. As a proud Republican, he strenuously opposes abortion and gun control(he even talks to his gun, a weird habit that seems to have been inspired by the title character from the cult 80s show Sledge Hammer). At the beginning of the series, he had a strong prejudice against homosexuality. His views on the subject soften somewhat in the episode, "Lincoln Lover", in which he finds out that his neighbor, Greg Corbin, is not only gay, but a Republican; he gradually learns that he and other gay Republicans are not gay by choice, but nevertheless are Republicans by choice. Stan hates Democrats, especially Susan Sarandon, Jane Fonda and Michael Moore. He frequently argues with Hayley over her liberal political views and appears to somewhat distrust her. When his boss insulted her in the episode "Bullocks to Stan", however, he defended her honor by nearly beating his boss to death.
Stan is very xenophobic and vigilant. In the episode, "Homeland Insecurity", he profiled the new neighbors, Bob and Linda Memari as terrorists because of their Iranian heritage, though he later seems to warm up to them. He is so proud of the United States that he hates anything foreign, even food (i.e. French toast, falafels). He also hates being pegged as feminine. In the episode "Roger Codger", he began to shed tears before he almost shot Roger. Steve pointed that out, and Stan immediately said, "I'm not a lady!". Stan is very traditional, as he believes his wife should be at home, doing housework, unable to leave the house without being escorted, and cooking meals. MacFarlane says these qualities of Stan are based on Archie Bunker from All in the Family.
[edit] Hobbies and talents
Stan's childhood hobbies include gun cleaning, wood burning and decoupage. In "A Smith In The Hand", he revisits these hobbies with Steve in order to help him with self-denial. Stan's current hobbies include collecting commemorative plates from the Franklin Mint, and he has an incredible talent in ice skating. Stan can also play the guitar, as evidenced in "Stannie Get Your Gun" and "A Smith in the Hand". He has passed this talent on to Hayley, and Steve (seen playing an electric guitar in "American Dream Factory"). He also seems to have an interest in musical theater. In "Homeland Insecurity", Stan performed with his cellmate in jail in the play, South Pacific, and he has long been dying to see the musical Mamma Mia!. Stan is also a fan of the TV series Lost and 24, and has written an extensive unpublished children's book series called Patriot Pigeon.
Stan was in competition figure skating, when he was younger. Francine inspires Stan to get back into skating and they compete in a local figure skating contest.
[edit] Cameo appearances
- In the seventeenth season episode of The Simpsons called "The Italian Bob", Stan, along with Peter Griffin, from Family Guy is seen in the Italian police book. Stan is guilty of Plagiarismo Di Plagiarismo (plagiarism of plagiarism, which is the Simpsons writers' way of saying that American Dad! is a rip-off of Family Guy which is already considered by Simpson writers--and detractors of Family Guy--as a rip-off of The Simpsons).
- In the third season episode of Family Guy, "The Kiss Seen Around the World", while Stewie goes to a gym to workout in order to get his tricycle back from a bully, a man in the background lifting weights looks very similar to Stan. The man shares the same color of black hair, same body build, and distinct chin. Yet at this time American Dad! had not been developed yet, so the likelihood that this character is Stan is quite low.
- In the Family Guy episode, [Stewie Kills Lois], Stewie and Brian go to the CIA HQ, while hacking the world's power supply Stan and Bullock kick open the door. Stewie, then cuts off the world's power, as Stan points a gun at him. Stewie then says "I would put down the gun Joe" to which Stan says "What? It's Stan" around that time Stan and Bullock surrender to Stewie.
- Stan can briefly be seen in the background in Jabba's palace in the Family Guy episode "Blue Harvest".
[edit] Quotes
- "Pen gun mightier than the sword, sword gun mightier than the pen gun."
- "Ar-35,Mk-5,Mac-10, Paprika."
- "Guns kill, is that right?. Well let's see about that. Ok gun kill. Go ahead kill someone. Don't be shy. See, gun's don't kill people. People kill people. Guns defend people from people with smaller guns."
- "Son (Steve), feelings are what women have. They come from their ovaries."
- "You're in our hearts!" (To Roger while packing up the family into the SUV during the "nuclear threat")
- (While watching a Disney Channel sitcom, "That's So Raven") "Haha! That IS so Raven!"
- "Don't worry, Hayley. You never forget how to fight. It's like beating up a bicycle."
- "Hey, Hayley, at least the last time you ran away, you made it all the way to the stop sign! (laughs) Ah, that's funny. I'm funny."
- Francine: "You ruined everything!"
Stan: "Everything? (imitates police siren) Oh, that's the Hyperbole Police coming to take you away, and lock you up in Exaggeration-traz. I think I made my point. Eloquent."
- Francine: "Honestly, Stan, what does Hayley have to do with you getting a promotion? It should be enough that you're really good at your job."
Stan: "Yeah, it should, but we don't live in Shouldland! Ah, Shouldland, where clean-cut kids cruise Shouldland Boulevard, and the Shouldland High football team gets their optimistic asses kicked by their crosstown rival, Reality Check Tech."
- Stan: Can't you just take a page from that bitch Hillary Clinton and let it go?
- Hayley: "My mother stole my boyfriend!"
Stan: "Your boyfriend stole my wife! Let's get back at 'em by dating each other. Wait a minute... Daddy didn't think that through."
- "What's new about the CIA? Oh nothing... except everything!"
- "I like money!"
- (Repeating the lines from President Ronald Reagan's address on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster on a baseball game):
It slipped the surly bonds of Earth to touch the face of God.
- (after a gay bartender mentions his time on Fire Island) "An entire island made of fire? How manly!"
- "You're next,Osama"
- Francine: "Stan, I'm your wife, if something's wrong I want to help you."
Stan: "Oh so by that logic if something is right you'll want to hinder me."
- Stan: "Ah, the Christmas tree. Is there anything more American?"
Steve: "How about an American flag?"
Stan: "Or a cake in the shape of an American flag, with little Christmas trees for stars! (pulls out a personal tape recorder) "Note to self: I like cake!"
[edit] Trivia
Stan's favorite beverage is Mr. PiBB, especially medium-sized.
Stan has a poster on his work desk, season 1, that says "Proud to be American" with an American flag underneath.
