Zach Galifianakis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Zach Galifianakis
Galifianakis in 2012
Born	Zachary Knight Galifianakis (1969-10-01) October 1, 1969 (age 55) North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, U.S.
Education	Wilkes Community College North Carolina State University
Occupation	Actor comedian writer
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Quinn Lundberg ​ (m. 2012)​
Children	2
Relatives	Nick Galifianakis (uncle) Nick Galifianakis (cousin)

Zachary Knight Galifianakis (born October 1, 1969) is a well-known American actor, comedian, and writer. He has won many awards for his work, including two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Galifianakis is famous for playing Alan in The Hangover movies (2009–2013). On TV, he starred in the FX show Baskets (2016–2019). He was even nominated for an Emmy for his role in Baskets in 2017. He also hosted a funny talk show called Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis (2008–2018) for Funny or Die.

Some of his other movies include Due Date (2010), It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010), The Campaign (2012), and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014). He has also lent his voice to characters in animated films like Puss in Boots (2011), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Missing Link (2019), and Ron's Gone Wrong (2021). He also voiced characters in The Bob's Burgers Movie (2022) and Thelma the Unicorn (2024). He is also part of the live-action Lilo and Stitch movie from 2025.

Early Life and Education

Zachary Knight Galifianakis was born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on October 1, 1969. His mother, Mary Frances, directed a community arts center, and his father, Harry, sold heating oil. His mother's family came from Scotland and Ireland, and his father's grandparents were Greek immigrants from Crete. He was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church.

Zach has a younger sister named Merritt and an older brother named Greg. Their cousin, Nick Galifianakis, is a cartoonist for Washington Post. Their uncle, also named Nick Galifianakis, was a lawyer and politician who served in the U.S. House of Representatives.

He went to Wilkes Central High School and then to Wilkes Community College. Later, he studied communications at North Carolina State University. While in college, he worked at a public access TV station.

Zach's Career Journey

Starting Out in Comedy

Zach Galifianakis first appeared on TV in the show Boston Common. He also worked on Saturday Night Live for a short time. He had small roles in movies like Out Cold, Corky Romano, and Bubble Boy.

Galifianakis performing in New York City in 2008.

In 2001, he had his own special on Comedy Central Presents. This show featured his stand-up comedy, a piano performance, and even a singing group. In 2002, he hosted his own talk show on VH1 called Late World with Zach. He also played Davis in the TV series Tru Calling and appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

Galifianakis played Alan Finger in the Comedy Central show Dog Bites Man. He also appeared in The Sarah Silverman Program and voiced characters in animated shows like Tom Goes to the Mayor and Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!.

In 2006, Zach appeared in a music video for Fiona Apple's song "Not About Love". A year later, he was in Kanye West's music video for "Can't Tell Me Nothing". He also released a comedic hip-hop song called "Come On and Get It (Up in 'Dem Guts)".

Zach Galifianakis was part of "The Comedians of Comedy" group, which included Patton Oswalt, Brian Posehn, and Maria Bamford. They performed in rock clubs to reach new audiences. Their tour was even made into a TV series and a film. In 2008, he starred in his first main movie role in Visioneers. He also appeared in funny online ads for Absolut vodka. His 2006 stand-up special, Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion, was one of the first original shows on Netflix.

Between Two Ferns Show

Zach Galifianakis interviewing Barack Obama for Between Two Ferns.

Zach Galifianakis has a popular online video series called Between Two Ferns With Zach Galifianakis on the Funny or Die website. In this show, he interviews famous people while sitting between two potted ferns. He has interviewed many stars, including Jimmy Kimmel, Natalie Portman, Bradley Cooper, Will Ferrell, Justin Bieber, and even former President Barack Obama.

His interviews are known for their funny and sometimes awkward questions. He often includes strange comments and product ads. Galifianakis won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program for this show in 2014.

Big Roles in Movies and TV

Galifianakis became very famous for his role as Alan Garner in the hit comedy movie The Hangover. He won an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance for this role. After The Hangover, he was featured in other movies like G-Force, Youth in Revolt, and Up in the Air.

He also starred in the HBO series Bored to Death. He hosted Saturday Night Live three times, in 2010, 2011, and 2013. During these shows, he often did funny things like shaving his beard or head for sketches.

In 2010, he appeared in several films, including Dinner for Schmucks, It's Kind of a Funny Story, and Due Date. In 2011, he returned as Alan for The Hangover Part II, which was set in Thailand. He also voiced Humpty Dumpty in the animated movie Puss in Boots.

Galifianakis starred with Will Ferrell in the 2012 political comedy The Campaign. He received great reviews for his acting in the 2014 movie Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), where he acted alongside Michael Keaton and Emma Stone. In 2017, Galifianakis voiced The Joker in The Lego Batman Movie. In 2023, he joined the live-action movie of Lilo & Stitch as Dr. Jumba Jookiba.

Helping Others

Zach Galifianakis is also known for his kindness. He became friends with Marie "Mimi" Haist, an elderly homeless woman who lived in a laundromat in Santa Monica, California for 18 years. Zach helped her by buying her an apartment across the street from the laundromat. This story was shared in the 2015 documentary Queen Mimi.

Personal Life

In August 2012, Zach Galifianakis married Quinn Lundberg, who works for a charity, in Vancouver, Canada. They have two sons. Their first son was born on September 7, 2013, and their second son was born on November 7, 2016.

Zach has a home in Venice, Los Angeles. He also owns a farm in Sparta, North Carolina, and he spends his time between the farm and his work. He has said that his farm helps him think clearly. He also has property on an island in British Columbia, Canada.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1999	Flushed	Pathetic Guy
2001	Heartbreakers	Bill
	Bubble Boy	Bus Stop Man
	Corky Romano	Dexter
	Out Cold	Luke
2002	Below	Weird Wally
	Stella shorts	Santa	Short films
2005	The Comedians of Comedy	Himself	Stand-up tour documentary
	Zach Galifianakis: Look Who It Isn't		Self-released stand-up DVD
2006	Zach Galifianakis Live at the Purple Onion		Stand-up special
2007	The Comedians of Comedy: Live at The Troubadour		Stand-up tour concert video
	Into the Wild	Kevin Wallis
2008	What Happens in Vegas	Dave the bear
	Visioneers	George
2009	The Ballad of G.I. Joe	Snow Job	Short film
	Gigantic	Homeless Guy
	The Hangover	Alan Garner
	G-Force	Ben Kendell	Also in the video game
	Up in the Air	Steve Sewa
	Operation: Endgame	Hermit
	Little Fish, Strange Pond	Bucky
	Youth in Revolt	Jerry
2010	Dinner for Schmucks	Therman Murch
	It's Kind of a Funny Story	Bobby
	Due Date	Ethan Tremblay/Ethan Chase/Stu
2011	The Hangover Part II	Alan Garner
	Puss in Boots	Humpty Dumpty (voice)
	The Muppets	Hobo Joe
2012	Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie	Jim Joe Kelly
	The Campaign	Marty Huggins	Also producer
2013	The Hangover Part III	Alan Garner
2014	Are You Here	Ben Baker
	Muppets Most Wanted	Hobo Joe	Cameo
	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	Jake
2016	Masterminds	David Ghantt
	Keeping Up with the Joneses	Jeff Gaffney
2017	The Lego Batman Movie	The Joker (voice)
	Batman is Just Not That Into You		Short film
	Tulip Fever	Gerrit
2018	A Wrinkle in Time	The Happy Medium
2019	The Sunlit Night	Haldor
	Missing Link	Mr. Susan Link (voice)
	Between Two Ferns: The Movie	Himself	Also writer and producer
2021	Ron's Gone Wrong	Ron (voice)
2022	The Bob's Burgers Movie	Felix Fischoeder (voice)
2023	The Beanie Bubble	Ty Warner
2024	Winner	Ron Winner
	Thelma the Unicorn	Crusty Trucker (voice)
2025	Lilo & Stitch	Dr. Jumba Jookiba	also voice
0TBA	The Gallerist	0TBA	Filming
0TBA	The Wizard of the Kremlin	0TBA	Post-production

Television

Video games

Music videos

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Zach Galifianakis para niños