Donovan Patton (born March 1, 1978) is an American actor, host, voice performer and singer best known for work in programming for young children. He trained at the Interlochen Arts Academy and early in his career performed in stage productions of Shakespeare, including productions of Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet.
Breakthrough on children's television
In 2002 Patton succeeded Steve Burns as the on-screen host of the popular preschool series Blue's Clues, produced for the Nickelodeon network. His character, Joe, was written and portrayed with a different energy from the original host; series co-creator Angela Santomero has said that Patton's Joe tended to be more likely to "jump into a problem" rather than work it out in the same way as his predecessor.
Voice work and later children's series roles
After his tenure on Blue's Clues, Patton continued in youth-oriented media, providing the voice of Bot on Nickelodeon's animated program Team Umizoomi. For his extensive work in children's television series, he has been widely recognized within that niche and remains familiar to families with very young viewers.
Film, television and games
Outside of preschool shows, Patton has appeared in independent films such as Awake and Lies I Told My Little Sister and has taken guest parts in a variety of television dramas and comedies. He has also worked in video games, contributing performances to titles including Grand Theft Auto V, Lego Jurassic World, Star Wars: The Old Republic – Knights of the Fallen Empire and Halo 5: Guardians.