Arrested Development: Meet Tobias Funke
A quick guide to the “analrapist” blueman turned actor played by David Cross
Tobias Funke is a character of many, many hidden depths. Played by David Cross, he appears, at first, to be just the eccentric husband of Lindsay Bluth and the father of Maeby. Yet, after a while, Tobias begins to gradually unravel – revealing, under all of those tortured layers, a pair of small, denim shorts.
Once a talented “analrapist” (the world’s first analyst and therapist hybrid) who was the chief resident of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Tobias went on to lose his license after trying to revive a sleeping man. This, in turn, inspired his family’s move back to the Bluth’s home in California, where he discovered his true calling: to be an actor.
This drastic shift in career had mixed results. At its peak, it saw him land roles such as "frightened inmate number two" in a prison movie; at its lowest, however, he became the long-suffering understudy for the Blue Man Group - who, despite Tobias “blueing” himself regularly, never seemed to return his calls.
Most interestingly, Tobias suffers from a serious case of “never-nude” syndrome, which means that he can’t bear to be seen naked and wears cut-off jean shorts permanently (even in the shower). For those wondering how he could possibly produce a child in this condition, it was revealed in series three that Maeby was conceived as a test tube baby. Due to several hints dropped throughout the show, thought, it could very well be the case that he may not have been that sexually inclined anyway.
His self-help book, The Man Inside Me, is a roaring success in the gay community.
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