Zach Galifianakis | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Galifianakis in 2012 | |
| Born | Zachary Knight Galifianakis (1969-10-01)October 1, 1969 (age 56) |
| Education | Wilkes Community College North Carolina State University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1996–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Nick Galifianakis (uncle) Nick Galifianakis (cousin) |
Zachary Knight Galifianakis (/ˌɡælɪfəˈnækɪs/; born October 1, 1969[1]) is an American actor, comedian and writer. The accolades he has received include twoPrimetime Emmy Awards, twoScreen Actors Guild Awards, and aCritics' Choice Movie Award.
Galifianakis is known for his role as Alan inThe Hangover trilogy (2009–2013). On television, he starred in theFX seriesBaskets (2016–2019), which he was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2017. He also hosted theFunny or Die talk showBetween Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008–2018).
Galifianakis's other films includeDue Date (2010),It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010),The Campaign (2012) andBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014). He has also voiced characters in animated films such asPuss in Boots (2011),The Lego Batman Movie (2017),Missing Link (2019),Ron's Gone Wrong (2021),The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022),Thelma the Unicorn (2024) andthe live-action remake ofLilo & Stitch (2025).
Zachary Knight Galifianakis was born inNorth Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on October 1, 1969,[2] to community arts center director Mary Frances (née Cashion) andheating oil vendor Harry Galifianakis.[3] His mother is ofScots-Irish[4] descent, while his paternal grandparents were Greek immigrants fromCrete.[5][6] He was baptized in his father'sGreek Orthodox faith.[7][8][9][10]
He has a younger sister, Merritt, and an older brother, Greg.[11] Their cousin isWashington Post cartoonistNick Galifianakis,[12] while their late uncle, also namedNick Galifianakis, was aDurham attorney and politician who served in theU.S. House of Representatives from 1967 to 1973.[13]
He attendedWilkes Central High School,Wilkes Community College and subsequently attendedNorth Carolina State University, where he majored in communications.[5] While in college, Galifianakis worked at apublic access station. He taught a waltz class in 1991, where he crossed paths withMary J. Blige.[14]
After his television debut onBoston Common, Galifianakis joinedSaturday Night Live for two weeks.[15] He has stated "I worked onSaturday Night Live for two weeks, andBritney Spears was the host one week when I was doing it. Wrote a sketch,Will Ferrell was going to play a bodyguard to her belly-button, and we were going to shrink Will down to fit into a belly-button. ...she just stared at me after I explained it to her. And then, she finally goes 'Yeah, that's funny.'"[16] Galifianakis co-starred in the filmOut Cold, and had small roles inCorky Romano,Below,Bubble Boy,Heartbreakers,Into the Wild,Super High Me,Little Fish Strange Pond andLargo.[citation needed]
In September 2001, he appeared in an episode ofComedy Central Presents. It included a stand-up routine, a segment with a piano, anda cappella group The Night Owls (introduced as his "12 ex-girlfriends") singing "Eternal Flame" byThe Bangles while he made jokes. In 2002, he hosted his own VH1 talk show calledLate World with Zach. It featured many of his friends and regular performers from the Los Angeles comedy and music venue Largo where he appeared frequently during this time period. He playedDavis in theFox drama seriesTru Calling.[7] He appeared many times onJimmy Kimmel Live! and played Frisbee inReno 911![citation needed]
Galifianakis played Alan Finger on theComedy Central showDog Bites Man, a fake news program that caught people during candid moments thinking they were being interviewed by a real news crew. He also guest-starred in the episode of the Comedy Central showThe Sarah Silverman Program as Fred the Homeless Guy. He also had a recurring guest role as a doctor on the animatedAdult Swim showTom Goes to the Mayor and appeared in several episodes ofTim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! in a recurring role as Tairy Greene.[citation needed]
In 2006, Galifianakis appeared inFiona Apple's music video for the song "Not About Love", where he is seenlip-synching the lyrics to the song. A year later,Kanye West employed Galifianakis and indie rock musicianWill Oldham for similar purposes in the second version of the video for his song "Can't Tell Me Nothing". In June 2006, Galifianakis released the single "Come On and Get It (Up in 'Dem Guts)",[17] a comedic hip-hop dance song which features Apple's vocals.[citation needed]
Galifianakis,Patton Oswalt,Brian Posehn andMaria Bamford, are the fourComedians of Comedy, a periodic packaged comedy tour in the style ofThe Original Kings of Comedy and theBlue Collar Comedy Tour. They chose to perform at live rock clubs as opposed to comedy clubs to try to reach a different audience. Much of the tour was taped and has been featured in both a short-lived TV series on Comedy Central and a full-length film that has appeared atSXSW and onShowtime. On February 22, 2008, he made an appearance on theJackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover. He interviewed various members of theJackass cast. Galifianakis starred in first leading role in the independent filmVisioneers which premiered in 2008.[18] The film was released on direct-to-DVD. That same year, Galifianakis appeared in a web video series of advertisements forAbsolut vodka, along withTim Heidecker andEric Wareheim, creating a parody of theGolden Girls in which one has a deep anger issue, breaking thefourth wall in exasperation and outright violence on the set.[19] He also completed the pilotSpeed Freaks for Comedy Central.[citation needed]
His 2006 stand-up concert filmZach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion was one of the first original programs fromNetflix.[20]
Galifianakis has a series of videos on theFunny or Die website titledBetween Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis where he conducts interviews with popular celebrities between two pottedferns. He has interviewedJimmy Kimmel,[21]Michael Cera,Jon Hamm,[22]Natalie Portman,[23]Charlize Theron,Bradley Cooper,Carrot Top,Conan O'Brien,Andy Richter,Andy Dick,Ben Stiller,Steve Carell,Sean Penn,Bruce Willis,Tila Tequila,Jennifer Aniston,Will Ferrell,Samuel L. Jackson,Tobey Maguire,Arcade Fire,Justin Bieber,Brie Larson,David Letterman, former PresidentBarack Obama,Hillary Clinton,Brad Pitt, andKeanu Reeves.[24] His interview style consists of typical interview questions, bizarrenon sequiturs, awkward product endorsements, and sometimes inappropriate sexual questions and comments.[25] Galifianakis won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program as a producer of the show at the66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.[26]
Galifianakis played Alan Garner in the hit comedyThe Hangover and earned theMTV Movie Award for the Best Comedic Performance.[27] He was also prominently advertised in subsequent films that featured him in supporting roles, such asG-Force,Youth in Revolt, andUp in the Air.[citation needed]
Galifianakis starred in theHBO seriesBored to Death and hostedSaturday Night Live on March 6, 2010during the show's 35th season, during which he shaved his beard mid-show for a sketch, and closed the show wearing a fake one.[28] He hosted again on March 12, 2011, and shaved his head this time, in aMr. T-like hairstyle, which was allegedly supposed to be used for a sketch that never aired due to time constraints.[29]
In 2010, he starred in several films, includingDinner for Schmucks,It's Kind of a Funny Story, andDue Date.[30] In October 2010, during a discussion of California's Proposition 19 on HBO'sReal Time with Bill Maher, Galifianakis lit and puffed what looked like a marijuana cigarette; days later, Maher said on CNN that it was not cannabis but “cloves or something.”[31][32] In 2011, he reprised his role forThe Hangover Part II, which was set inThailand,[33] and voiced Humpty Dumpty inPuss in Boots. Galifianakis starred alongside Will Ferrell inJay Roach's 2012 political comedyThe Campaign.[34] He received critical praise for his performance in the 2014 filmBirdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), in which he starred withMichael Keaton,Emma Stone, andEdward Norton. In 2017, Galifianakis voicedThe Joker inThe Lego Batman Movie.[35] In February 2023, Galifianakis joined the live-action film adaptation ofLilo & Stitch asDr. Jumba Jookiba.[36]
Commentators have described Galifianakis’s stage and screen persona as deliberately awkward, deadpan, and confrontational, aligning him with alternative comedy traditions. A 2016 review connected hisBetween Two Ferns interviews to “uproariously uncomfortable” anti-talk-show satire,[37] while a 2018 profile emphasized how he negotiated mainstream fame without abandoning the off-kilter sensibility of his stand-up and sketch work.[38] The tone of his FX seriesBaskets was likewise noted for its bleak humor and working-class focus.[39]
In January 2014, Galifianakis and hisNight of a Thousand Vaginas co-starSarah Silverman announced their intention to raise $20,000 to help fund the Texas Abortion Fund, part of a nationwide network of funds set up to assist women in obtainingabortions in states whose legislatures had placed restrictions on the practice. The fundraiser was set up in response to the passage ofTexas H.B. 2, which established several restrictions that forced a majority of the state'sabortion clinics to close.[40]
Galifianakis befriended Marie "Mimi" Haist, a homeless woman in her 80s who was living in aSanta Monicalaundromat for 18 years, and bought her an apartment across the street from the laundromat. The story was revealed in the 2015 documentaryQueen Mimi.[41]
In August 2012, Zach Galifianakis marriedCanadian charity worker Quinn Lundberg at theUBC Farm inVancouver. They have two sons together: one born on September 7, 2013 (Galifianakis skipped the premiere of his filmAre You Here for the birth)[42] and another born on November 7, 2016.[43]
Galifianakis has a house inVenice, Los Angeles and previously lived inBrooklyn.[44][45] Galifianakis also owns a farm inSparta, North Carolina,[46] and splits his time between the farm and his work: "My farm is a place that I get to think clearly and pretend to know what I am doing."[47] He also has a property on an island inBritish Columbia, Canada.[48]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–1997 | Boston Common | Bobby | 5 episodes |
| 1997 | Apartment 2F | Zach | |
| 2002 | Late World with Zach | Himself (host) | 36 episodes |
| 2002 | Next! | Various characters | Pilot, also writer |
| 2003–2005 | Tru Calling | Davis | 27 episodes |
| 2005–2007 | Reno 911! | Frisbee | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Dog Bites Man | Alan Finger | 9 episodes; also writer and producer |
| 2006 | Tom Goes to the Mayor | Dr. Vickerson | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Wonder Showzen | Uncle Daddy | Voice, episode: "Horse Apples" |
| 2007 | The Sarah Silverman Program | Fred Blorth | Episode: "Humanitarian of the Year" |
| 2007–2010 | Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! | Tairy Greene / Various characters | 7 episodes |
| 2008–2018 | Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis | Himself (host) | 22 episodes |
| 2008 | Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover | Himself (uncredited) | Television special; "Hour 12, 13 & 14" |
| 2009–2010 | American Dad! | Heavyset Man, Norman, Juror | Voice, 2 episodes |
| 2009–2011 | Bored to Death | Ray Hueston | 24 episodes |
| 2010 | Funny or Die Presents | Cast (Just 3 Boyz) | Episode #1.10 |
| 2010–2013 | Saturday Night Live | Himself (host) | 3 episodes |
| 2012–present | Bob's Burgers | Chet, Felix | Voice, 15 episodes[49] |
| 2012–2016 | Comedy Bang! Bang! | Himself /Santa Claus | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Kroll Show | Various characters | Episode: "The Greatest Hits of It" |
| 2013 | The Chris Gethard Show | Himself | Episode: "Who Wants a Haircut" |
| 2013–2014 | Tim and Eric's Bedtime Stories | Zach | 2 episodes |
| 2013–2014 | Brody Stevens: Enjoy It! | Himself | 12 episodes |
| 2013 | Arcade Fire in Here Comes The Night Time | Captain Zach | Television special |
| 2014 | The Simpsons | Lucas Bortner | Voice, episode: "Luca$" |
| 2014 | TripTank | Jack the Janitor | Voice, episode: "Crossing the Line" |
| 2016–2019 | Baskets | Chip Baskets / Dale Baskets | 40 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2016 | Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ | The Bloodhound | Episode: "Victoria Awakens" |
| 2020 | Dicktown | Charlie | Voice, episode: "The Mystery of the Controversial Cosplay" |
| 2020–2021 | Big Mouth | Gratitoad | Voice, 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Only Murders in the Building | Himself portraying Oliver | Recurring role (Season 4) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | G-Force | Ben |
| Year | Title | Role | Artist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | "Not About Love" | Himself | Fiona Apple |
| "Can't Tell Me Nothing" | Kanye West | ||
| 2012 | "Outta My System" | Wizard | My Morning Jacket |
| 2013 | "Spring Break Anthem" | Himself | The Lonely Island |
| 2014 | "You In Your Were" | Kevin Drew |
Media from Commons
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata
