Almost twenty-five years have passed since, on that distant January 31, 1999, the animated television series " Family Guy " by Seth MacFarlane aired for the first time on the small screen, and since then it has never stopped. In fact, the series survived cancellation, spawned a spin-off, and became one of the most popular adult cartoons of all time.
Although it is impossible to attribute the success of the series to just one character, much of its charm lies in its family dynamics and its undisputed protagonist: Peter Griffin .
Peter, the “Homer Simpson” of the Griffin family, is a beer drinker whose childish enthusiasm makes him surprisingly charming. He acts without thinking about the consequences and, with his recklessness, often inadvertently hurts those around him (both emotionally and physically), but he has a good heart and loves his family (except Meg).
From a toy factory worker to a brewery worker, he has managed to experience all sorts of misadventures with his wife Lois, children Chris, Meg Stewie and his talking dog and best friend Brian. But behind those small glasses, the big round face and the natural gift for danger, there is much more...
Here are 10 things you didn't know - and didn't expect - about Peter Griffin.
10. It's based on a real character
Peter Griffin's personality fits the sitcom dad stereotype: a dork with kids who spends all his time drinking beer and watching sports. However, his voice is inspired by one man in particular: Paul Timmins .
Timmins, originally from Rhode Island, was a security guard at the Rhode Island School of Design when Seth MacFarlane (the show's creator) studied there. He enjoyed "having a chat" with MacFarlane, who loved to laugh at his big voice and peculiar accent. Seth himself confirmed that he took inspiration from various Rhode Island boys (like Timmins) for Peter's voice. "I knew thousands of Peter Griffins growing up in New England. Guys who didn't think before they spoke... there was no self-editing mechanism," the series creator said. Timmins (who was interviewed by ABC after the 2013 Oscars) also wears round glasses and, when he met MacFarlane, was noticeably heavier.
9. He's inspired by an old MacFarlane character
What many don't know is that Seth, while chatting with Timmins and in him, even if unconsciously, Family Guy was slowly being born, was working on another animated series: “The Life of Larry”, which led to a short film entitled “ Larry & Steve,” starring a middle-aged man and his talking dog . Short film later broadcast on Cartoon Network, where it was seen by Fox who hired MacFarlane to create a new series based on those same characters. The series however, as we all know, became Family Guy.
Although Peter is based on Larry, there are several differences between the two characters . Larry, whose full name is Larry Cummings, appears older, with white hair and occasionally bald. He is also much thinner than Peter and does not wear glasses. However, he has a wife named Lois, a Rhode Island accent, a sloppy teenage son named Milt, and, of course, a dog that talks.
8. He is voiced by Seth MacFarlane himself
In addition to being an actor, director, screenwriter, television producer, animator, etc., Seth MacFarlane is also a voice actor. In fact, he has said several times in the past that he lent his voice to the characters so he couldn't find anyone to explain the kind of tone and style he wanted. And of course, in the beginning, when money was an issue, dubbing the characters with his own voices wouldn't have made use of the limited budget for the pilot episode. Once he started, Peter's voice was so appreciated that it became an icon and replacing it would have made no sense.
7. Peter has appeared in other animated series
Peter Griffin, in addition to being the protagonist of his own series, has made several appearances in other adult animated programs . In The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of Family Guy, in American Dad, another MacFarlane animation and, by popular demand, in the first episode of the thirteenth season entitled “And Finally They Meet”, the Griffin family meets the family detective story par excellence: The Simpsons.
6. Peter also shot some commercials
Peter Griffin's career doesn't stop with other animated series, in fact the big man also appears in an advertising campaign for Subway sandwiches in 2008 , to promote the chain's "Massive Feast Sandwich". In the commercial we see him in front of the preparation of the classic sandwich, stating how delicious it was, before concluding with a joke to Jared, the brand's long-standing spokesperson.
5. All children look like Peter
At first glance, proof of how well it is done, the Family Guy characters do not seem to belong to the same family, but in reality there is an intentional similarity between them. The most attentive will certainly have noticed that both Meg and Chris take half their traits from Lois and half from Peter . Meg has the same hair and glasses as Peter, although she looks more like her mother, with the same triangular nose. Chris, on the other hand, has his father's button nose, mouth, chin - and waistline. Her hair doesn't appear to come directly from anyone, but early versions of Lois were blonde, which may explain her color. Stewie, being a child, is too young - and smart - to look precisely like anyone.
4. Ernie: Peter's nemesis
Due to his irresponsibility and total lack of attention, Peter also makes several enemies over the course of the series. These include Ernie , the longtime giant chicken who first appeared in season two. Since then, Ernie appears regularly to engage in huge, destructive fights with Peter, often resulting in the two of them running across town and suffering serious injuries, which then magically disappear within moments.
The fights between the two also last for a few minutes, ranking among the longest scenes in the series. Finally, Ernie also has a British counterpart , a giant pheasant who, when not engaged in his feud with Peter, lives a peaceful existence.
3. Peter inexplicably changes age in the series
As in the Simpsons, the Griffins have always maintained the same age for the last twenty-five years (lucky them), even if, in some episodes, the characters' birthdays are celebrated and neighbor Bonnie, after several seasons of being pregnant (poor thing), has finally gave birth. Peter's age thus remained around forty for much of the series, but the exact figure, and its relationship to Lois' age, changed once or twice .
In fact, in the fifth season, consistently with the flashbacks that gave Peter a year older than his wife, Lois declares that she is 42 years old and that Peter was 43 . However, in season 14, in "Peter Underage", when the minimum drinking age is raised to 50, Peter is once again 42 . Or again, sometimes the two spouses are the same age and even in an episode of the fifteenth season entitled "Peter's lost youth" the big man is 58 years old. I don't think we will ever know the truth.
2. Peter Griffin is not called Peter Griffin
You read that right. Peter's real name is not Peter Griffin, but Justin Peter Griffin . In fact, in season 13 Peter discovers that his birth certificate reads "Justin Peter Griffin" and that he has used his middle name his entire life. Here he immediately begins to behave like a "Justin" and turns into a hipster who constantly gets Quagmire into trouble, until Lois, fed up with the situation, changes his name to "Peter" to make him stop.
1. Peter is on Twitter as PumpkinEater
Yes, Peter Griffin is on Twitter . In the season 11 episode "Friends Without Benefits", it is revealed that Peter is on Twitter under the fake name @pumkineater69_ . Created in December 2012, around the same time the episode aired, the account actually exists but has never been officially verified.
This concludes the list of secrets about Peter Griffin. If you made it to the end it means you are a true fan of the series. Series that all of us, who have always wanted to be part of it, can bring into our daily lives . As?
Very simple. Simply browse our custom portraits category and select the Griffin family for yourself. Then choose the number of characters, the background, the occasion to immortalize and that's it. In a short time we would have our own painting to hang in the house and enjoy every single moment.
Yes, because a cartoon portrait is a unique, special gift , as well as the perfect gift for anyone, without age, gender or religion limits.
| To read: "7 reasons to give a personalized portrait"
