Ross O'Donovan
Australian animator and Internet personality (born 1987) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ross Kenry O'Donovan (born 17 June 1987), also known as RubberNinja and RubberRoss, is an Australian animator, voice actor, and Internet personality. He is known for his solo work as a Twitch streamer, as well as his YouTube and Newgrounds cartoons and animations. He co-hosted the internet show Steam Train, a spin-off of YouTube Let's Play series Game Grumps.[2]
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| Ross O'Donovan | ||||||||||
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 O'Donovan at MAGFest in 2015 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
| Born | Ross Kenry O'Donovan 17 June 1987 Perth, Western Australia, Australia | |||||||||
| Occupations |
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| Spouse |
Holly Conrad
(m. 2012; div. 2018) | |||||||||
| Partner | Giwi (2019–present)[citation needed] | |||||||||
| YouTube information | ||||||||||
| Also known as | RubberNinja | |||||||||
| Channels | ||||||||||
| Years active | 2004–present | |||||||||
| Genres | ||||||||||
| Subscribers | 2.1 million (combined)
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| Total views | 241.8 million (combined)
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| Associated acts |
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Last updated: 2 April 2024 | ||||||||||
O'Donovan was born on 17 June 1987 in Perth, Western Australia to Irish Catholic parents. His sister Rebecca is a journalist in Australia, and is married to Australian cricketer Shaun Marsh.[3] O'Donovan attended Corpus Christi College.[4] After graduating from college, he studied and instructed animation at the Film and Television Institute of Western Australia in Fremantle.[5]
O'Donovan began his career by posting animated shorts to Newgrounds under the name "RubberNinja". He would later establish a YouTube channel and begin uploading content there. His best known work was the series Gamer Tonight, which was produced for the ABC2 video game-based program Good Game.[6] The series featured a fictitious talk show whose host, voiced by frequent-collaborator Arin Hanson, would interview various types of gamers.[7]
He also created the show Gameoverse, which featured Hanson in every speaking role. Gameoverse has since been put on hiatus, though O'Donovan has confirmed the series will return.[8]
In August 2014, O'Donovan uploaded a video expressing his concerns with animation videos on YouTube. Discussing the changes made to YouTube's algorithms, he stated that the website was now accommodating live-action videos over animated videos due to the algorithm's emphasis on retention time and upload frequencies which would impede animation channels.[9]
Game Grumps
In 2013, after Jon Jafari's departure from the YouTube Let's Play series Game Grumps, co-host Arin Hanson launched a second show on the Game Grumps platform. Originally conceptualized by O'Donovan,[10] the show Steam Train had O'Donovan joined by Ninja Sex Party vocalist Dan Avidan, where both would play PC games (the title referencing online retailer Steam).[11][12]
In June 2015, O'Donovan launched a 5-episode miniseries on the Game Grumps channel called Guild Grumps. O'Donovan mentored 4 members of the Game Grumps crew in a 5-day race to advance from Level 90 to Level 100 in the Warlords of Draenor expansion of World of Warcraft.[13]
After Game Grumps
In 2020, O'Donovan left Game Grumps on good terms, to prioritize making his own content.[14][15] He has returned on multiple occasions as a guest and made a brief cameo in a video commemorating the series' 10th anniversary.[16] His new YouTube channel, RubberRoss, reached over 1 million subscribers in 2022.[14]
In August 2020, O'Donovan was the target of a controversial advertising campaign by Burger King and the ad agency Ogilvy. The companies used a feature on Twitch that allows viewers to donate small amounts of money in order to broadcast unsolicited advertisements. Clips from these streams were later used in a video advertisement.[17] O'Donovan made a series of tweets criticizing the campaign, calling the practice "scummy as hell".[18] The tweets, as well as additional statements from O'Donovan, were used in articles by BBC, Kotaku, and PC Gamer while reporting on the issue.[19][20][21] Since September 2021, O'Donovan's YouTube videos have primarily consisted of him and other artists collaborating within the online GarticPhone game.[22]
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On 29 September 2012, O'Donovan married Holly Conrad, a cosplayer, propmaker, and special effects artist who was featured in Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope and Heroes of Cosplay.[23][24] On 19 September 2018, Conrad and O'Donovan announced on their respective Twitter pages that they would be splitting up amicably, citing Conrad's decision to move to Seattle.[25][26]
On 9 April 2021, O’Donovan announced on Twitter that his mother had died due to lung cancer.[27]
As of 2015, O'Donovan and Game Grumps have raised over $70,000 by hosting charity livestreams on Twitch.[28]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | The Streamer Awards | Best Art Streamer | Nominated | [29] |
| 2024 | Best Creative Arts Streamer | Won | [30] |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | There Will Be Brawl | Excitebike Hooligan | Episode: "Pandora's Box" |
| 2012–2013 | PeanutButterGamer's Hardcore Series | Himself | 7 episodes |
| 2013–2021 | Game Grumps | Himself (voice) | Co-host of Steam Train and Doodle Doods |
| 2015 | Did You Know Gaming? | Episode: "Super Mario Maker" | |
| JonTron's StarCade | Ross Leader | 2 episodes | |
| 2015–2016 | Red vs. Blue | Ross/Deuce (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2020 | Meta Runner | Announcer | Episode: "One Shot" |
| 2021 | Scott the Woz | Himself | Episode: Borderline Forever |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Paradigm | Double Denim Bridge Troll[31] |
| Pinstripe | Mr. Dicky | |
| 2019 | River City Girls | Shinji[32] |
| Monster Prom | Tate/Leonard | |
| Shantae and the Seven Sirens | Bolo[33] | |
| 2020 | Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp | Gerard/Al/Tubular Eddy, the Anti-Gambling Aardvark[34] |
| Unreleased | Hex Heroes | Himself[35] |
Music videos
| Year | Title | Artist | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "Why I Cry" | Ninja Sex Party | |
| "Peppermint Creams" | |||
| 2015 | "Minecraft is for Everyone" | Starbomb | Lead animator |
| 2016 | "6969" | Ninja Sex Party | |
| 2021 | "The Mystic Crystal" |
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