Who is Patrick Warburton, uncle of ‘Bachelorette’ contestant Zach?

Patrick Warburton just gave us the crossover we never knew we needed as he made a special guest appearance on ABC’s The Bachelorette.

Warburton wasn’t asked to be on the show for entertainment value, and he wasn’t brought on to take part in an exciting skit; instead, he joined the series as himself in his most fundamental role: family man. Warburton is the uncle of Zach Shallcross, one of the men vying for Rachel Recchia’s heart.

Shallcross introduced Rachel to Uncle Pat as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, and the truth is, it’s nothing but a run-of-the-mill meeting for the suitor. Introducing Recchia to his family was an important moment for Shallcross, not because of who his uncle was, but because they got to meet a woman he is falling in love with.

Fans, however, were very interested in seeing Warburton on their screens, so much so that he’s been receiving a lot of questions about it for the last week after he appeared in a preview for the episode which aired on Aug. 22. It’s worth noting that while seeing Warburton on our screens was entertaining in itself, the way he was introduced was just as great.

To Shallcross, Warburton is simply “Uncle Pat”, a guy as funny in person as he is on television.

Who is Patrick Warburton?

So who is Patrick Warburton? After seeing his face, you’ll undeniably recognize him if you’re not familiar with the name. Warburton has played some incredible roles across the entertainment industry, including Puddy on Seinfeld and Lemony Snicket in Netflix’s adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events.

Of course, he’s played several other characters, too — one being the incredibly hilarious and fan-favorite character from The Emperor’s New Groove, Kronk. He also played Steven Stone in Scream 3, the Alien Cop in Chicken Little, Joe Swanson in Family Guy, Ian in Open Season, Sheriff Bronson Stone in Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated, Jeff Bingham in Rules of Engagement, and Brock Sampson in The Venture Bros.

We could have gone on and on with his contributions to entertainment, but we had to end the list somewhere. Warburton is also a family man, a charitable actor, and the brother of Shallcross’ mother, which is how he’s related to Rachel’s love interest.

Fans can’t get enough of Warburton’s appearance

While seeing celebrities guest-star on The Bachelorette isn’t a rare occasion, fans can’t get enough of the casual way Warburton entered the series. It was casual, normal, and perfectly executed. In fact, some fans say that it was enough to make Shallcross the clear frontrunner.

Just a casual introduction to Uncle Pat, who is as funny in real life as he is on television, and all of a sudden, we can’t get Kronk’s voice out of our heads.

That scene will live rent-free in our heads for weeks.

Seriously, no one can get over “Uncle Pat”.

Do any of us understand the rules of The Bachelorette?

Now, we aren’t going to say it, but some fans are voicing their opinions that after one of Recchia’s other dates, picking Shallcross seems like not only the right decision, but the easy one.

With hometown dates nearly wrapped up, it’s not likely that we’ll see more of Warburton on our screens during The Bachelorette, but we can always turn on Family Guy, The Emperor’s New Groove, A Series of Unfortunate Events, or Seinfeld and see him as some of our favorite characters in entertainment.

Here’s to Warburton being the MVP of this, the most dramatic season of The Bachelorette.