Meet Robert Franzese, The Real-Life Peter Griffin

By now you may have heard of Robert Franzese. If you haven’t, you definitely have seen him. Last year he made waves online with his flawless cosplay and impersonation of Peter Griffin, the central oaf of Seth MacFarlane’s never-ending Family Guy.

Now, a short documentary has surfaced online, and the man himself seems way cooler than any spot-on cosplay.

Produced by BOOM! Big Pants, Robert Franzese is an aspiring voice actor but is a “nobody” with a “nobody job” making “nobody pay.” And in just 4 minutes, you learn a little about how geek culture can elevate said “nobodys” into “somebodys,” and we hope that somebody does what they do with the best intentions. For Franzese, you can feel his passion for geek culture. While he is the stereotypical image of a nerd, he’s incredibly eloquent, smart, and very sharp both in-character and as himself. It’s guys like Franzese, I think, that embody the best about the environment we have chosen to surround ourselves in.

I don’t know Franzese in real life, and I only just now started following him on social media. I don’t know his political views, I do not know his personal life, I just don’t know him. But in the 4 minutes I’ve seen him, he seems pretty A-OK, and it’s heartwarming to see him do stuff purely to make people happy.

You go, Robert Franzese, and good luck on your voice acting career (you seriously need to watch him do other characters, the accuracy is insane). If he ever says something awful or does something terrible that I can’t get behind I’ll be sure to rage on my keyboard, but for now: the dude is all right with me.

You can follow Robert Franzese as the Real Life Peter Griffin here.