The absolute hero that is Zach Galifianakis is probably best known for his role in The Hangover parts one, two and three. He may well have shot to fame in 2009 but behind the utterly hilarious nature on screen, there is another side to him.
I mean, as well as having the most difficult name to pronounce in Hollywood, Zacharius Galifianakis is not the stereotypical Hollywood actor - thank God! He's a hard-working comedian actor who has never compromised his morals for success. His lad ways combined with grit, determination and unquestionable talent has led to many opportunities in TV and film. Today, he's one of the best recognised comedian actors in the business. Here are just some of the things that you may not know about Galifianakis' life.
He performed at the back of a burger restaurant
His career hit its first milestone, albeit a small one, when he failed his college course in North Carolina. He decided to up sticks and move to New York City to explore the concrete jungle and find out what opportunities were among the concrete jungle.
There wasn't much going, apparently. It was here where Galifianakis started performing comedy wherever he could. Apparently this even included at the back of a burger restaurant in Times Square.
He came to prominence with his Comedy Central Presents special in 2001 and went on to present his own show called Late World with Zach on VH1 the following year.
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He has tried to get fired from a job
He had been working on screen for 13 years before he got his big break in 2009 to star in the Hangover. Before this, it was widely reported that he deliberately attempted to get fired from Tru Calling. Basically, he didn't rate the show, so he would purposefully do things like tell Eliza Dushku she was eating too much, or leave table reads and throw the script into the bin on the way out. Much to his annoyance, though, none of this worked. He appeared in the supernatural drama from 2003 until it ended in 2005.
During his short-lived writing stint on Saturday Night Live, he failed miserably at selling Britney Spears on a joke he had pitched to her. Apparently, the idea would involve her being interviewed by Entertainment Tonight and then suddenly for no rhyme or reason, she would start bleeding from the mouth. Spears didn't get it. "I remember staring at the ground for, like, 20 seconds, just silent," Galifianakis said. "45,000 open mics, and I'm trying to impress this 18-year-old pop star." He lasted all of two weeks on the show as a writer.
He once really pissed of Nike
Galifianakis was once contacted by Nike to do promos for them, but it didn't move forward. During a conference call with the brand, he apparently asked if seven-year-olds were still making their shoes, and that was that - he didn't get the deal. It could have been his claustrophobia that made him panic, but my guess is that he didn't want it anyway. I hope it went to Lance Armstrong instead - I could just picture Galifianakis' face when that shit storm hit.
He has top banter with the slimmer and taller Bradley Cooper
In his own words, "be short, fat, and smell like Doritos and try to make it in Hollywood." He said this when comparing himself to the much slimmer and taller Cooper, but he has a point.
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He thinks they should have stopped at one Hangover
Having smashed it in the multi-award-winning The Hangover in 2009, the audience wanted to see more of the 'wolf pack' and the squeals followed the popular demand. However, Galifianakis believes that it should have been left as one epic movie. "Look, that was a good chunk of my life that I do not regret at all but I wished we had just done one," Galifianakis, who memorably played Alan, said. "I think leave well enough alone sometimes."
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He has a political side and has the biggest balls
In Funny or Die skits he interviewed both Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton in the feature 'Between Two Ferns', but did you know that his uncle once ran as congressman?
In his interview with Obama, he didn't hide his well-known satirical tone. He asked the president, "What's it like to be the last black president?" To which Obama replied, "Well, running three terms would be a like doing a third Hangover movie. It didn't really work out too well, did it?" - Ha, banter!
In his interview with Clinton, after he dusted himself off from being brought down by the secret service when he tried to scare the presidential candidate, he didn't disappoint with his hard-hitting questions . "As secretary, how does President Obama like his coffee, like himself, weak?" She didn't really play the game and answered: "Those are really out of date questions. You need to get out more." He then soon cut to an advert for Trump, taking the offense to another extreme.
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Happy 47th birthday Galifianakis - don't ever change - Hollywood needs more people like you in it!
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