Zachary Knight Galifianakis

Year Inducted: 2014

Zach Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, in 1969. Galifianakis graduated from Wilkes Central High School in 1987, and attended North Carolina State University, where he was a communications major. Galifianakis’ career began on television; he played in the sitcom Boston Common and joined Saturday Night Live as a writer. Galifianakis co-starred in the film Out Cold and had small roles in CorkyRomano, Below, Bubble Boy, Heartbreakers, Into the Wild, Super High Me, Little Fish Strange Pond and Largo.

Beginning in September 2001, Galifianakis hosted his own VH1 talk show, played a coroner named Davis in the Fox drama Tru Calling and appeared many times on JimmyKimmel Live! These are only a few of his early accomplishments.

Galifianakis began his film career in 2008. He starred in the independent film Visioneers. The movie was given direct-to-DVD release. He also completed the pilot Speed Freaks for Comedy Central.

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis is a series of videos on the Funny or Die website. He conducts interviews with popular celebrities between two potted ferns. He has interviewed President Barack Obama, Ben Stiller, Steve Carell, Sean Penn, Bruce Willis, Jennifer Aniston, Will Ferrell and Samuel L. Jackson, just to name a few.

Galifianakis co-starred as Alan Garner in the hit comedy The Hangover and earned the MTV Movie Award for the Best Comedic Performance. After the film's release, he was prominently advertised in subsequent films that featured him in supporting roles. These included 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. He hosted Saturday Night Live on March 6, 2010, during the show’s 35^th season. In 2010, he starred in several films, including Dinner for Schmucks; It’s Kind of a Funny Story and DueDate. He has starred in Hangover II and worked along Will Ferrell in The Campaign.