Hank Azaria

**Henry Albert Azaria** (born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, comedian and producer. He is known for voicing many characters in the animated sitcom *The Simpsons* (1989–present), most notably Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Snake Jailbird, and formerly Lou, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Carl Carlson, and Bumblebee Man, among others. He joined the show with little voice acting experience, but became a regular in its second season, with many of his performances on the show being based on famous actors and characters. For his work, he has won six Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Azaria is also known for his live-action roles in feature films such as *The Birdcage* (1996), *Godzilla* (1998), *Mystery Men* (1999), *America's Sweethearts* (2001), *Shattered Glass* (2003), *Along Came Polly* (2004), *Run Fatboy Run* (2007), *Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian* (2009), *Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again* (2021), *The Smurfs* (2011), and *The Smurfs 2* (2013). He starred as the title character in *Brockmire* (2017–2020) and had recurring roles on the television series *Mad About You* and *Friends*, as the title character in the drama series *Huff* (2004–2006), and appeared in the popular stage musical *Spamalot*, for which he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. Originally known as a comedic actor, he has also taken on more dramatic roles, including in *Tuesdays With Morrie* (1999) and *Uprising* (2001).

## Early Life

Henry Albert Azaria was born in the Queens borough of New York City on April 25, 1964, the son of Sephardic Jewish parents Ruth Altcheck and Albert Azaria. His grandparents on both sides were Jews from Thessaloniki, whose ancestors had been expelled from Spain following the Alhambra Decree. His family's spoken language at home was Ladino, also known as Judaeo-Spanish, which he described as "a strange, antiquated Spanish dialect written in Hebrew characters". Azaria's father ran several dress-manufacturing businesses while his mother raised him and his two older sisters, Stephanie and Elise. Before marrying his father, Azaria's mother had been a publicist for Columbia Pictures, promoting films in Latin American countries as she was fluent in both English and Spanish. During his childhood, Azaria would often "memorize and mimic" the scripts of films, shows, and stand-up comedy routines he enjoyed. He attended Camp Towanda in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and now visits annually as a judge for the camp's Olympics.

Azaria attended The Kew-Forest School in Queens' Forest Hills neighborhood. He decided to become an actor after performing in a school play at the age of 16, becoming "obsessed with acting" at the expense of his academic studies. Both of his parents loved all forms of show business, which further spurred him to become an actor. He studied drama at Tufts University from 1981 to 1985, where he met and befriended actor Oliver Platt and noted that Platt was a "better actor" than he was and inspired him. Together they starred in various college stage productions, including *The Merchant of Venice*, before Azaria went to train at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Although he did not expect the endeavor to be successful, he decided to become a professional actor so that he would not regret not having tried later in life. His first acting job was an advertisement for Italian television when he was 17 years old. He also worked as a busboy. He originally intended to work predominantly as a theatrical actor, and he and Platt set up a company called Big Theatre, although Harold Pinter's *The Dumb Waiter* was the only show they ever performed. Azaria decided that television was a better arena and offered more opportunity, and moved to Los Angeles after being offered work with talent agent Harry Gold.

## Character Roles

* Günter Nuremberg
* Ganz
* Arnold
* Nixon