Early life

Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. His mother, Mary Frances (née Cashion), is a community arts center owner, and his father, Harry, is a heating oil vendor. His mother has Scottish ancestry, while his paternal grandparents, Mike Galifianakis and Sophia Kastrinakis, were immigrants from Crete, Greece, and Galifianakis was baptized in his father's Greek Orthodox church. He has a younger sister named Merritt and an older brother named 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 was a communication major.

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 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 and a segment with a piano, and concluded with an 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-synching 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 rap/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 the independent film Visioneers which played in select cities in 2008. This was Galifianakis's first starring role in a film and was given a direct-to-DVD release. 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. He also completed the pilot Speed Freaks for Comedy Central.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis

Main article: 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, 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 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 the Oscar-nominated film Up in the Air.

Galifianakis also played a supporting role 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 then closed the show wearing a fake beard. 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 returned as Alan Garner in the sequel, 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, in which he starred with Michael Keaton and Edward Norton.

In January 2014, it was announced that Galifianakis and Louis C.K. were developing a comedy pilot for FX. In August 2015, Galifianakis is in final negotiations to play The Joker in Lego Batman.

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.

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 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."

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998-2002	Stella shorts	Santa	Short film
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
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	MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance Nominated - Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
2009	G-Force	Ben Paredes	Also in the video game
2009	Up in the Air	Steve Sewa	Nominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated - Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble
2009	Operation: Endgame	Hermit
2009	Little Fish, Strange Pond	Bucky
2009	Youth in Revolt	Jerry
2010	Dinner for Schmucks	Therman Murch	Comedy Award for Best Comedy Actor
2010	It's Kind of a Funny Story	Bobby
2010	Due Date	Ethan Tremblay/Ethan Chase	Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Actor Comedy
2011	The Hangover Part II	Alan Garner	Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance Nominated - Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie: Actor Comedy Nominated - Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie: Chemistry
2011	Puss in Boots	Humpty Dumpty (voice)	Nominated - Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production
2011	The Muppets	Hobo Joe
2012	Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie	Jim Joe Kelly
2012	The Campaign	Marty Huggins	Also producer Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo
2013	The Hangover Part III	Alan Garner
2013	Arcade Fire in Here Comes The Night Time	Captain Zach	NBC Special
2014	Are You Here	Ben Baker
2014	Muppets Most Wanted	Hobo Joe	Cameo
2014	Birdman	Jake	Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Ensemble Boston Online Film Critics Association Awards for Best Ensemble Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble New York Film Critics Online Award for Best Ensemble Cast North Texas Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Cast San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Film Ensemble Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards for Best Acting Ensemble Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Nominated - Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast
2016	Masterminds	David Ghantt
2016	Keeping Up with the Joneses		Post-production
2016	Tulip Fever
2017	The Lego Batman Movie	The Joker (voice)	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996-1997	Boston Common	Bobby	5 episodes
1997	Apartment 2F	Zach	5 episodes
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
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 Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
2012-2015	Bob's Burgers	Chet / Felix (voices)	7 episodes
2012-2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Himself / Santa Claus	4 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
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	10 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer

Music videos

Year	Title	Role	Notes
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

[ Source: Wikipedia ]