Hyattsville resident Jamie McGonnigal used to be a Pokémon character.

McGonnigal got his start working as a musical theatre actor in New York for about 15 years, when someone he was working with said she thought he would be great at voice acting and passed his name along.

His first voice acting gig was in the title role in the flash cartoon “Barbarian Moron.” One of his co-stars recommended him to someone else and soon he was working regularly on 4Kids series such as “F-Zero,” “Kirby,” “Viva Piñata” and “One Piece.”

He also played some smaller roles in early seasons of “Pokémon” before being cast as Barry in the “Diamond & Pearl” seasons, along with smaller roles such as Trip and Grumpig. In all, he was in about 40 or 50 episodes.

McGonnigal moved to Hyattsville in 2014 because his husband Sean grew up here and his in-laws live nearby. He recently surprised the kids on career day at Hyattsville Elementary, where his son goes to kindergarten.

“I had them get up and practice doing voices and they all did great with it,” he told the Wire. “Most didn’t realize they’re already getting practice when they’re giving voices to their stuffed animals and toys while playing — that’s where it all starts.”

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