Zach Galifianakis: Famous Enough for Fan to Imitate, But Not Recognize

Zach Galifianakis is getting pretty famous, even if his biggest fans don’t quite recognize him.

After his breakout turn in “The Hangover” last year, the stand-up comedian-turned-movie star is just about everywhere these days: his new comedy “Due Date” pairs him with Robert Downey, Jr. and hits theaters this weekend, his “Between Two Ferns” web show is a viral sensation and the "Bored to Death" actor even lit up a "joint" live on Bill Maher’s HBO series “Real Time.” He’s so ubiquitous Galifianakis has even run into himself, kinda.

“We were shooting 'Due Date' in Albuquerque last year on Halloween and I went to a Halloween party,” Galifianakis said. “I didn't really know anybody. I went with a couple of people from work and I was just dressed like this, and there was a guy there dressed as the character from 'The Hangover'. I thought that it would be interesting to walk up to him and say, 'Hey – You're dressed as me. I'm the real person.' He goes, 'Yeah, right,' and he just walked away. So that was a bit freaky.”

Don’t expect to recognize the real Galifianakis in his film roles, either, he says. His “Due Date” role isn’t quite as out-there outrageous as his “Hangover” stint (he’s currently filming the sequel with Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms), but it’s also nothing like the real deal.

“I don't think that Ethan Tremblay is anything like me – God, I hope not!” he says. “This Ethan guy is a lot more complicated, I think. My stand-up is more like how I am in real life. I don't really do a character thing in stand-up. It's just a bunch of sentences that are supposed to be funny.”

“When you're doing stand-up, you're kind of going, 'Hey. I thought of this. This may be funny,” he explains. “But Ethan has no idea he's being funny, and I think that people that are not self-aware and a truck with no brakes is really kind of funny. He's saying things but he doesn't understand why they're funny, which I think is inherently funny.”

 

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