Zach Galifianakis

Zachary Knight Galifianakis (; born October 1, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and writer who came to prominence with his Comedy Central Presents special in 2001 and presented his own show called Late World with Zach on VH1 the following year. He has also starred in films, such as The Hangover trilogy (2009–2013), Due Date (2010), The Campaign (2012), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), Masterminds (2016), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017).
Galifianakis is the host of the Emmy Award-winning talk show Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis on the Funny or Die website. He stars in the FX series Baskets for which he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series in 2016.
==Early life==
Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. His mother, Mary Frances (née Cashion), was a community arts center owner, and his father, Harry, a heating oil vendor. His mother is of Scottish ancestry, and his paternal grandparents, Mike Galifianakis and Sophia Kastrinakis, were emigrants from Crete, Greece. Galifianakis was baptized in his father's Greek Orthodox church. He has a younger sister, Merritt, and an older brother, Greg. His cousin is Washington Post cartoonist Nick Galifianakis. His uncle, a politician, is also named Nick Galifianakis. Galifianakis attended Wilkes Central High School, and subsequently attended but did not graduate from North Carolina State University, where he majored in communications. While in college, he worked at a public access station. He taught a waltz class in 1991 where he crossed paths with Mary J. Blige.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jkjbUnHsBU
==Career==
===Early work===
He began acting on television, guest-starring in Boston Common and joined Saturday Night Live as a writer but lasted only two weeks. Galifianakis has stated "I worked on Saturday Night Live for two weeks, and Britney 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.'" Galifianakis co-starred in the film Out Cold, and had small roles in Corky Romano, Below, Bubble Boy, Heartbreakers, Into the Wild, Super High Me, Little Fish Strange Pond and Largo.
In September 2001, he appeared in one episode of Comedy Central Presents. It included a stand-up routine, a segment with a piano, and a cappella group The Night Owls (introduced as his "12 ex-girlfriends") singing "Eternal Flame" by The Bangles while he made jokes. In 2002, he hosted his own VH1 talk show called Late World with Zach. It featured many of his friends and regular performers from the LA comedy and music venue Largo where he appeared frequently during this time period. One episode featured Largo regulars Jon Brion and Rhett Miller as musical guests. He played Davis in the Fox drama series Tru Calling. He appeared many times on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and played Frisbee in four episodes of Reno 911!
Galifianakis played Alan Finger on the Comedy Central show Dog 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 show The Sarah Silverman Program as Fred the Homeless Guy. He also had a recurring guest role as a doctor on the animated Adult Swim show Tom Goes to the Mayor and appeared in several episodes of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! in a recurring role as Tairy Greene. In 2006, Galifianakis appeared in Fiona Apple's music video for the song "Not About Love", where he is seen lip-syncing the lyrics to the song. A year later, Kanye West employed Galifianakis and indie rock musician Will 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)", a comedic hip-hop dance song which features Apple's vocals.
Galifianakis, Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford, are the four Comedians of Comedy, a periodic packaged comedy tour in the style of The Original Kings of Comedy and the Blue 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 movie that has appeared at SXSW and on Showtime. On February 22, 2008, he made an appearance on the Jackassworld.com: 24 Hour Takeover. He interviewed various members of the Jackass cast. Galifianakis starred in first leading role in the independent film Visioneers which played in select cities in 2008. The film which was released on direct-to-DVD. That same year, Galifianakis appeared in a web video series of advertisements for Absolut vodka, along with Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim, creating a parody of the Golden Girls in which one has a deep anger issue, breaking the fourth wall in exasperation and outright violence on the set.A Vodka Movie by Zach Galifianakis, Tim and Eric from YouTube He also completed the pilot Speed Freaks for Comedy Central.
Zach's 2006 stand-up concert film Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion was one of the first original programs from Netflix.
===Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis===
Galifianakis has a series of videos on the Funny or Die website titled Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis where he conducts interviews with popular celebrities between two potted ferns. He has interviewed Jimmy Kimmel,Zach interviews president Obama, talk show host Jimmy Kimmel from Funny or Die Michael Cera, Jon Hamm, Natalie Portman, 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, President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Brad Pitt. His interview style consists of typical interview questions, bizarre non sequiturs, awkward product endorsements and sometimes inappropriate sexual questions and comments. Galifianakis won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program as a producer of the show at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
===Mainstream performances===
Galifianakis played Alan Garner in the hit comedy The Hangover and earned the MTV Movie Award for the Best Comedic Performance. He was also prominently advertised in subsequent films that featured him in supporting roles, such as G-Force, Youth in Revolt and Up in the Air.
Galifianakis starred in the HBO series Bored to Death and hosted Saturday Night Live on March 6, 2010 during the show's 35th season, during which he shaved his beard mid-show for a sketch, and closed the show wearing a fake one. He hosted again on March 12, 2011 and shaved his head this time, in a Mr. T-like hairstyle, which was allegedly supposed to be used for a sketch that never aired due to time constraints.
In 2010, he starred in several films, including Dinner for Schmucks, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Due Date. On October 29, 2010, while debating marijuana legalization on the show HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Galifianakis appeared to have smoked marijuana on live television; host Bill Maher denied that it was real marijuana in an interview with Wolf Blitzer during an episode of The Situation Room. In 2011, he reprised his role for The Hangover Part II, which was set in Thailand and voiced Humpty Dumpty in Puss in Boots. Galifianakis starred alongside Will Ferrell in Jay Roach's 2012 political comedy The Campaign. He received critical praise for his performance in the 2014 film Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), in which he starred with Michael Keaton, Emma Stone and Edward Norton. In 2017, Galifianakis voiced The Joker in The Lego Batman Movie.
==Personal life==
In August 2012, Galifianakis married Quinn Lundberg, co-founder of the Growing Voices charity, at the UBC Farm in Vancouver, British Columbia. On September 7, 2013, Lundberg gave birth to their first child, a boy, and Galifianakis missed the premiere of his film Are You Here to attend the birth. He and his wife welcomed a second son in November 2016.
Lundberg's cousin, Charlie Clark, is the mayor of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. On the day of the election, Galifianakis made a video endorsing Clark's campaign."Charlie Clark gets last-minute shoutout from Zach Galifianakis". CFQC-DT, October 26, 2016,Saskatoon Bylaw 8491 see s. 7 which Clark did not declare in his campaign declaration documents filed February 17, 2017, in violation of section 7 of City of Saskatoon Bylaw 8491.
In January 2014, Galifianakis and A Night of a Thousand Vaginas co-star Sarah 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 obtaining abortions in states whose legislatures had placed restrictions on the practice. The fundraiser was set up in response to the passage of Texas H.B. 2, which established several restrictions that forced a majority of the state's abortion clinics to close.
Galifianakis owns a farm in SpartaBad Diet HQ — Zach Galifianakis leads an ATV tour of his farm in Retrieved June 30, 2018. in northeastern Alleghany County, North Carolina, and splits his time between the farm and his work. He said, "My farm is a place that I get to think clearly and pretend to know what I am doing."
Galifianakis befriended a homeless woman in her 80s who was living in a Santa Monica laundromat for 18 years. Galifianakis got her an apartment across the street from the laundromat. The story was revealed in the 2015 documentary Queen Mimi.
==Filmography==
===Film===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
1999	Flushed 	Pathetic guy 	
2001	Heartbreakers 	Bill 	
2001	Bubble Boy 	Bus stop man 	
2001	Corky Romano 	Dexter 	
2001	Out Cold 	Luke 	
2002	Below 	Weird Wally 	
2002	Stella shorts 	Santa 	Short film
2005	The Comedians of Comedy 	Himself 	Stand-up tour documentary
2005	Zach Galifianakis: Look Who It Isn't 	Himself 	Self-released stand-up DVD
2006	Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion 	Himself 	Stand-up special
2007	The Comedians of Comedy: Live at The Troubadour	Himself 	Stand-up tour concert video
2007	Into the Wild 	Kevin Wallis 	
2008	What Happens in Vegas 	Dave the bear 	
2008	Visioneers 	George 	
2009	The Ballad of G.I. Joe 	Snow Job 	Short film
2009	Gigantic 	Homeless guy 	
2009	The Hangover 	Alan Garner 	
2009	G-Force 	Ben Kendell 	Also in the video game
2009	Up in the Air 	Steve Sewa 	
2009	Operation: Endgame 	Hermit 	
2009	Little Fish, Strange Pond 	Bucky 	
2009	Youth in Revolt 	Jerry 	
2010	Dinner for Schmucks 	Therman Murch 	
2010	It's Kind of a Funny Story 	Bobby 	
2010	Due Date 	Ethan Tremblay / Ethan Chase / Stu	
2011	The Hangover Part II 	Alan Garner 	
2011	Puss in Boots 	Humpty Dumpty (voice) 	
2011	The Muppets 	Hobo Joe 	
2012	Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie 	Jim Joe Kelly 	
2012	The Campaign 	Marty Huggins 	Also producer
2013	The Hangover Part III 	Alan Garner 	
2014	Are You Here 	Ben Baker 	
2014	Muppets Most Wanted 	Hobo Joe 	Cameo
2014	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	Jake 	
2016	Masterminds 	David Ghantt 	
2016	Keeping Up with the Joneses 	Jeff Gaffney 	
2017	The Lego Batman Movie 	The Joker (voice) 	
2017	Tulip Fever 	Gerrit 	
2018	A Wrinkle in Time 	The Happy Medium 	
2019	The Sunlit Night 	Haldor 	
2019	Missing Link 	Mr. Link/Susan (voice) 	
2019	Between Two Ferns: The Movie 	Himself 	Also writer and producer
===Television===
Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes
1996–1997 	Boston Common 	Bobby 	5 episodes
1997 	Apartment 2F 	Zach 	5 episodes
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–present	Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis	Himself (host) 	22 episodes
2009–2010 	American Dad! 	Heavyset man / Norman / Juror (voices)	2 episodes
2009–2011 	Bored to Death 	Ray 	24 episodes
2010 	Funny or Die Presents 	Cast (Just 3 Boyz) 	Episode #1.10
2010–2013 	Saturday Night Live 	Himself (host) 	3 episodes
2012–2017 	Bob's Burgers 	Chet / Felix (voices) 	11 episodes
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–present	Baskets 	Chip Baskets / Dale Baskets 	33 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2016 	Bajillion Dollar Propertie$ 	The Bloodhound 	Episode: "Victoria Awakens"
===Video games===
Year	Title 	Role 	Notes
2009	G-Force	Ben (voice)	
===Music videos===
Year	Title 	Role 	Artist
2007	"Not About Love" 	Fiona Apple	Fiona Apple
2007	"Can't Tell Me Nothing"	Himself 	Kanye West website
2012	"Outta My System" 	Wizard 	My Morning Jacket band
2013	"Spring Break Anthem" 	Himself 	The Lonely Island song
==Awards and nominations==
Year	Award 	Category 	Nominated work 	Result
2009	MTV Movie Award 	Best Comedic Performance 	The Hangover 	
2009	MTV Movie Award 	Best Breakthrough Performance(shared with Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms)	The Hangover 	
2009	Houston Film Critics Society Award 	Best Supporting Actor 	The Hangover 	
2009	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award 	Best Cast 	Up in the Air 	
2009	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award	Best Ensemble Cast 	Up in the Air 	
2010	The Comedy Awards 	Best Comedy Actor 	Dinner for Schmucks 	
2010	MTV Movie Award 	Best Comedic Performance 	Due Date 	
2010	Teen Choice Award 	Choice Movie Actor - Comedy 	Due Date 	
2011	Teen Choice Award 	Choice Movie Actor - Comedy 	The Hangover Part II 	
2011	Teen Choice Award 	Choice Movie: Chemistry(shared with Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms) 	The Hangover Part II 	
2011	MTV Movie Award 	Best Comedic Performance 	The Hangover Part II 	
2011	Annie Award 	Voice Acting in a Feature Production 	Puss in Boots 	
2011	Primetime Emmy Award 	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series 	Saturday Night Live 	
2012	MTV Movie Award 	Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Will Ferrell) 	The Campaign 	
2014	Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Boston Online Film Critics Association 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Critics' Choice Movie Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Detroit Film Critics Society Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	New York Film Critics Online Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	North Texas Film Critics Association Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	San Diego Film Critics Society Award 	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award	Best Ensemble Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Screen Actors Guild Award 	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Boston Society of Film Critics Award 	Best Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Florida Film Critics Circle Award 	Best Cast 	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	
2014	Primetime Emmy Award 	Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program 	Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis 	
2015	Primetime Emmy Award 	Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program 	Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis 	
2017	Teen Choice Awards 	Choice Comedy Movie Actor 	Keeping Up with the Joneses 	
2017	Primetime Emmy Award 	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series 	Baskets 	
==References==
==External links==
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