Zach Galifianakis

Name:
Zach Galifianakis
Real name:
Zachary Knight Galifianakis
Birth date:
(55 y.o.)
Place of birth:
Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Height:
5'7 ft ()
Weight:
203 lb (92 kg)
Namesakes:
Birth Sign:
(characteristic)
Chinese zodiac:
Links:

Biography of Zach Galifianakis

Zachary Galifianakis is a dynamic and charismatic comedian, popular actor, talented screenwriter and producer. We know him as Alan from The Hangover who we remember for his bubbly sense of humor, eccentric behavior and slightly disheveled appearance. Net worth: $40 million.
Zach Galifianakis Is the Most Famous Hollywood Bearded Man
Zach Galifianakis Is the Most Famous Hollywood Bearded Man

Childhood

Zach (Zachary) Galifianakis was born into an educated but ordinary Greek-Irish family. Apart from him, the family has two other children - his brother, Greg, and his sister, Merritt. Zachary's mother worked in an arts center, and his father was a heating oil vendor.
Zach Galifianakis Now and Then
Zach Galifianakis Now and Then
When Zach was little, he dreamed of becoming an actor and getting on TV, but his parents wanted him to follow in his uncle's footsteps, Nick Galifianakis (a prominent politician), and become at least a congressman. They did all they could to keep him busy because they wanted him to develop physically as well as intellectually. He attended football classes, was a boy scout and tried very hard to study well. But despite all his achievements, Zach wasn't confident about his future. He was really concerned about his short stature; he was shy and unsociable. However, it didn't keep the actor from playing jokes on his friends and relatives and from making them laugh.
Zach Galifianakis Without Beard
Zach Galifianakis Without Beard
After high school, Zach wanted to go to New York to make his way up and become a great actor. But his relatives talked him out of it, so he entered the Faculty of Communication of North Carolina State University. But fate had other plans - right before graduation, Galifianakis failed an exam by just one point. It was a turning point in his life, after which he headed to New York with a clear conscience and a dream to make it big.

Acting Career. The Highs and Lows

Zach Galifianakis faced a brutal reality during his first three years in New York: a dingy apartment, troubled neighbors dealing with addiction, dead-end jobs, and zero prospects.

Feeling defeated, Zach desperately searched for work that might fulfill his dreams while paying the bills. This led him to Times Square, where he performed small stand-up sets right next to a fast food joint. It helped him build a small following, earn some cash, and score free burgers. But even this humble gig (as his parents saw it) would pay off down the road. He mastered the art of improvisation, a skill that would later fuel his creative storytelling.
Zach Galifianakis: the Comedian at Work
Zach Galifianakis: the Comedian at Work
This rough chapter of his life actually inspired the TV show Baskets, which premiered in 2015 alongside comedy legends Louis Szekely, Louie Anderson, and Jonathan Krisel. The show followed an aging clown struggling to find his place in the world.

1999 launched Zach's professional acting career. He kicked off with supporting roles in movies and TV. He played a courier in The King and I, a hapless character in Flushed, and Bill in the comedy Heartbreakers. But Zach Galifianakis made his name as a comedian – specifically an alternative comedian – rather than an actor. In 2001, he launched his own Comedy Central show, featuring underground comedians who hadn't hit the mainstream yet.
Millions of People Loved Zach Galifianakis' Crazy Sense of Humor
Millions of People Loved Zach Galifianakis' Crazy Sense of Humor
In 2006, Zach created the mockumentary comedy Dog Bites Man – a satirical take on documentary filmmaking. The ten-episode series skewered the modern news industry.
 Dog Bites Man Is a Comedy Show by Zach Galifianakis
Dog Bites Man Is a Comedy Show by Zach Galifianakis
2008 brought two game-changing moments in his career. First, he launched his own comedy show Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis. The show parodied traditional talk shows, attracting major stars as guests: Natalie Portman, Charlize Theron, Sean Penn, Ben Stiller, Bruce Willis, and even Barack Obama.
Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis, an Episode with Barack Obama
That same year, he finally landed a coveted lead role in the film Visioneers. Zach's deadpan delivery of outrageous comedy caught Todd Phillips' attention, leading to a lead role offer that would completely transform his life.

The Hangover

Interestingly, a year before he starred in the Vegas comedy that would become an instant cult classic, he appeared in a film with a similar plot - What Happens in Vegas. In that film, the actor portrayed one of the supporting characters. This time, he landed one of the lead roles.

Alan is the spoiled, literally insane brother of the bride - Doug Billings' future sister-in-law. He travels to Las Vegas to celebrate a bachelor party with a groom and his friends. Together they find themselves in an absurd situation packed with dark humor and wild adventures. The quartet of actors - Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms - turned The Hangover into one of 2009's biggest box office hits, launching all the leads to stardom.
A Frame from The Hangover
A Frame from The Hangover
Soon after, the now-established actor won his first MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance. After that, offers came flooding in for Zach Galifianakis. He appeared in hit comedies (Due Date where he worked with Robert Downey Jr., G-Force, Frenemies, Dinner for Schmucks), dramatic films (Up in the Air, It's Kind of a Funny Story), and starred in two sequels - The Hangover Part II and The Hangover Part III.
Zach Galifianakis Starred in Three Parts of The Hangover
Zach Galifianakis Starred in Three Parts of The Hangover
In 2016, he worked on a few big projects at the same time. The first one was the TV show Baskets that we had mentioned earlier. There, he starred as a sad clown, Baskets.
Baskets - Zach Galifianakis' TV Show
Baskets - Zach Galifianakis' TV Show
The second was the comedy Masterminds, where he joined Owen Wilson, Kristen Wiig, and Daniel Sudeikis as they score seventeen million dollars. He also worked on the comedy action film Keeping Up with the Joneses. Alongside Isla Fisher, he played half of an ordinary married couple whose new neighbors turn out to be an incredibly sexy and mysterious pair.
Masterminds: Classic Zach Galifianakis
Masterminds: Classic Zach Galifianakis
The actor also lent his voice to The LEGO Batman Movie, playing the Joker.
Zach Galifianakis Lost Weight and Now He Looks Like a Completely Different Person
Zach Galifianakis Lost Weight and Now He Looks Like a Completely Different Person
In 2018, the film A Wrinkle in Time was released. It's a fantasy children's film with Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon. Unfortunately, the film was a big box-office flop. It barely broke even. Currently, Zach is working on several feature films.

Private Life of Zach Galifianakis. A Handsome Bearded Man

Despite his natural charm and charisma, the actor has never considered himself a womanizer. On the contrary, the short and heavyset man always felt a little uncomfortable in a company of young beauties. That's why he didn't marry an actress but instead chose an ordinary (though quite attractive) charity worker, Quinn Lundberg, who was 12 years younger than him. Even though he became very popular and successful in his prime, he remained faithful to his spouse.
Zach Galifianakis and Quinn Lundberg
Zach Galifianakis and Quinn Lundberg
They got married in 2012; their wedding was pretty low-key by Hollywood standards. The ceremony took place in Vancouver at a private venue. They only invited relatives and close friends.

In 2013, Quinn gave birth to a son, so the actor had to miss the premiere of the third part of The Hangover. In December of 2016, he became a father for the second time. Their newborn son was named Rufus Emmanuel Lundberg. Currently, Zach and his family live in North Carolina.
A Proud Father
A Proud Father
He tries to spend all his free time with the family. After retiring from acting, he wants to start writing books.
Zach Galifianakis Reveals Three-Year-Old Son's Trump Realization
During his struggling years in New York, when the aspiring comedian was usually broke, he developed a habit of drinking and wandering around. But he's mostly given up the first bad habit.
Zach Galifianakis is Very Different from the One We See on Big Screens
Zach Galifianakis is Very Different from the One We See on Big Screens
Despite his image of a boozer, drug addict, and a user of bad language, in real life he keeps his private life private, he doesn't like vulgarity and bad language.

Zach Galifianakis Now

Zach Galifianakis is a very charming and contradictory actor. He has a dream to portray a truly dramatic character one day, but he says it would be challenging because drama is such a serious genre, and he doesn't know how to be serious on set.
Zach Galifianakis' Parody on Kanye West's - Music Video
In 2019, Zach appeared in A Wrinkle in Time as The Happy Medium. At the same time, the premiere of The Sunlit Night took place. In 2020, Zach took part in the creation of one season of the cartoon Dicktown.

Zach Galifianakis: latest news and articles

  • The only thing I can say about him is that this film, the comedy «The Hangover» is his only merit... The rest is about nothing
    2021-05-10 16:01:04
  • Galifianakis is the case when a man clings not with your beauty and body, but with humor :))
    2021-04-07 12:15:42
  • I love Zach Galifianakis` show «Between Two Ferns». There would be more such comedy programs!
    2021-03-20 16:10:57
  • It was interesting to look at his old photos and see him without a beard haha, generally a different person without her :)
    2021-03-19 13:58:59
  • Of course, everyone knows Galifianakis for his role in «The Hangover»! Charming and humorous guy
    2021-03-15 17:58:02
5