Roger Smith
American Dad! character
First appearance	"Pilot"
Created by	Seth MacFarlane Mike Barker Matt Weitzman
Voiced by	Seth MacFarlane
In-universe information
Species	Alien

Roger Smith is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom American Dad!, voiced by Seth MacFarlane. The character was created and designed by Seth MacFarlane. Roger is a centuries-old grey space alien living with the Smith family, around whom the show revolves. Having lived on Earth since 1947, Roger came to live with the Smiths after rescuing main character Stan Smith at Area 51 four years prior to the beginning of the series.^[1][2]

Roger began the series as a sensitive pushover who is often taken advantage of, cheated, and ridiculed. Over time, the character has become increasingly cruel, callous, self-interested, devious, crafty and depraved.^[1][3] In early episodes of the show, Roger is disallowed from leaving the Smith house in order to conceal his being an alien.^[4] This restriction is soon abandoned and Roger begins adopting disguises and fictitious personas in order to have a life outside the house. Roger's personas have become a major plot device, with his myriad alter egos frequently being the subject or facilitator of an episode's main story or subplot. This also helps to amplify his androgynous nature, which varies dependent on the plot situation and persona he has adopted. Aside from catalyzing the plot or subplot with his various personas, and despite his increasingly evident self-interest, he often serves to counsel the show's main characters, by humorously affirming or bluntly disregarding their opinions.

When voicing the character, MacFarlane speaks in a swish accent intended to resemble Paul Lynde (who played Uncle Arthur in Bewitched).^[5] In 2014, Roger was voted "Gayest Cartoon Character of All Time" in a first-ever March Madness style competition held by the network.^[6]

Character

According to the episode "Frannie 911", Roger has been on earth for over 60 years, having arrived in 1947 as a result of being tricked.^[7] Stan Smith, an employee of the Central Intelligence Agency, adopted Roger after Roger saved his life, as seen in the episode "You Debt Your Life". Stan feels that it would endanger him and the rest of his family if it were to be exposed that Roger is an alien and living with them. Consequently, Stan disallowed him from leaving the house when the series first began, even in disguise. Confined to the house in the first couple of seasons, Roger was miserable and malcontent.^[4] As the series progressed, Roger disguises himself in various human personae and lives an active life outside the house. In later seasons, Roger is shown leading numerous lives and deceiving many people with his alter egos.

Crude and brazen, Roger has no qualms with randomly saying and doing whatever is on his mind no matter how outrageously cruel, depraved or devious. Most heavily emphasized, Roger is devious and crafty, regularly misleading and finagling others to achieve his desired ends. His desired ends are often ridiculously trivial or marked by schadenfreude.

In the episode "You Debt Your Life", Roger described himself as a "fey pansexual alcoholic non-human". He spends his time watching soap operas, eating junk food, and using recreational drugs.^{[8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Potential film adaptation

At Comic-Con 2013 on July 20, Mike Barker revealed that an American Dad! film centering on Roger and set on his birth planet may take place in the coming future. Barker didn't announce any specifics as it relates to the nature and type of film he and the rest of the show's creators had in mind for the series; however, he strongly suggested that a film is where the show's staff and creators would like to take things. Barker further hinted that an American Dad! film may already be in the works and partially written.^[14]