BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

LOS ANGELES — Martin County native Josey Montana McCoy will be a series regular in the upcoming children’s animated series “Batwheels.”

In “Batwheels,” along with the typical DC superheroes, Gotham City is populated by artificially superintelligent vehicles (and we don’t mean Teslas), created by Bruce Wayne’s Batcomputer or its evil counterpart, the Badcomputer.

Each of these superintelligent vehicles has a personality based on an existing DC character.

McCoy will be playing Quizz, a helicopter with a personality resembling the classic Batman villain, the Riddler.

“I’ll be flying around the city of Gotham wreaking havoc,” McCoy told the Mountain Citizen. “Or at least trying to wreak havoc.”

The superintelligent vehicles in “Batwheels” are still learning to interact with the world, much like the preschoolers the show targets.

“I have so much fun in these sessions,” said McCoy. “With Quizz, I feel like I am connecting with 6-year-old Josey every session.”

Quizz will be a recurring character during the show’s first season, perhaps longer.

McCoy’s character will share the screen with a parade of voice acting and Hollywood legends. Tom Kenny, the voice of Spongebob Squarepants, and Ethan Hawke are among the star-studded cast of “Batwheels.” 

Though McCoy currently lives in Los Angeles and most of his recent credits are voice acting roles, he got his start in theater in eastern Kentucky.

“Theater is my first love and definitely where I have the most experience,” said McCoy.

McCoy’s older sister Annalyse participated in youth theater at Jenny Wiley in Prestonsburg from a young age, giving him the opportunity to be immersed in the culture before he was eligible himself.

“I knew from a young age I wanted to perform,” McCoy recalled.

When he reached the minimum age requirement for the program at Jenny Wiley, he signed up and never stopped. McCoy continued performing in local theatrical productions throughout elementary and high school.

McCoy credits much of his success to the talent brought in by Jenny Wiley during his formative training.

“It was with the help of those people that I learned what it took. ‘You need several songs that you know by heart, you need a couple monologues.’ Just knowing those tools, the things I would need in my toolbox, just made me feel so much more confident in audition rooms.” 

McCoy’s parents Micky and Nina were also heavily involved in his budding interest. He recalled his father looking through Backstage Magazine, the preeminent publication for national casting calls and entertainment industry classifieds.

Unlike many parents of child actors, however, McCoy’s parents did not pressure him into taking roles; instead, “They would ask, you know, ‘Is this something you want to do?’”

McCoy’s family had a major impact on his life trajectory and work ethic, not only by encouraging his dreams and goals but also by setting a prime example. 

“Maybe I’m biased, but I feel like they have always sought to do what is right. What is right not only for them but for the group and for generations to come,” McCoy reminisced on his parents’ leadership and activism in Martin County and abroad. 

“Their heart is really what fuels me to do most things. That’s a good lesson to be taught as a kid: if you love something, you fight for it. And they continue to fight for Appalachia and eastern Kentucky.

“And this industry, voice-over and film and TV, they’re not easy, but I will keep fighting.”

McCoy attended the University of Kentucky after graduating from Sheldon Clark in 2006. He received a bachelor’s degree in journalism. 

“In high school, my voice started to change and I hadn’t taken voice lessons,” recalled McCoy. “I didn’t want to take voice lessons. I didn’t want to audition. I didn’t want to have to sing to get a job anymore. But I still enjoyed performing and being on camera. So broadcast journalism, specifically sports journalism, fulfilled that.”

Halfway through his time at UK, McCoy found himself missing performing onstage and began hanging around the UK Theater Department, ultimately adding a minor in Theater.

After graduating in 2010, McCoy decided he wanted to focus on performing full time. He booked a few roles in productions around the country, including one where he met his wife Josie Adams.

McCoy knew he wanted to move to New York or Los Angeles, so when Adams moved to Los Angeles for work, McCoy followed in 2011. The two married in 2017 and were expecting their first child two years later.

Josey and Josie McCoy’s son Lincoln was born prematurely in September 2019 at only 25 weeks, weighing just 2 pounds. Despite the many complications associated with being born so prematurely, after a year of intensive treatment and procedures, Lincoln’s parents and doctors were able to shift the focus of his care toward his cognitive and motor development. Today Lincoln is a happy toddler with a loving family. 

In Los Angeles, both McCoys have pursued acting and performing. Josey McCoy worked as a waiter for a few years at the start of his LA journey but has since been able to shift to doing theater and voice acting full-time. 

For most of the time he has been on the West Coast, McCoy was in the main cast of “Frozen Live at the Hyperion” at Disneyland. This production halted at the onset of the pandemic, but the cast and crew were furloughed by Disney, allowing them to keep their health benefits at a crucial time.

Many of McCoy’s credits are voice acting work for video games. Just before the pandemic, McCoy landed a role in “Genshin Impact,” an action RPG that regularly releases downloadable expansions. This was a particularly advantageous role due to the downloadable content.

“I was in the booth every couple of months,” explained McCoy.

One of McCoy’s most prominent roles is that of Professor Turbo in the “Hot Wheels Labs” YouTube series, an extremely popular educational series for young children.

“The journey isn’t over,” said McCoy thinking of where his career is headed. “The pieces are still coming into place. I still have goals to work in television, to work in films, to piece it all together till I get there.”

“Batwheels” premieres on Cartoonito on both HBO Max and Cartoon Network on Batman Day, Sept. 17.

Follow Josey Montana McCoy on social media or at joseymontanamccoy.com/ to stay up-to-date on where you’ll see or hear him next.