Zach Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to Mary Frances (Cashion), who owned a community arts center, and Harry Galifianakis, a heating oil vendor. His father is of Greek descent and his mother is of mostly English and Scottish ancestry. Zach moved to New York City after failing his last college class by one point. Zach got his start performing his brand of humor in the back of a hamburger joint in Times Square. He toured the country, performing in coffee shops and universities.
After more than a decade performing stand-up and making both television and film appearances, Zach broke through to wider recognition with his co-starring role as "Alan Garner", in the comedy mega-hit, Hangover (2009). Later that year, he played a large role in the CGI-heavy kids movie, G-Force - Agenten mit Biss (2009), and then appeared in memorable supporting parts in the films, Up in the Air (2009) (as a laid-off employee), Youth in Revolt (2009) (as a loutish stepfather), and Dinner für Spinner (2010), as one of the title characters. More recently, he co-starred with Keir Gilchrist in the teen dramedy, It's Kind of a Funny Story - Eine echt verrückte Story (2010), with Robert Downey Jr. in the road trip comedy, Stichtag - Schluss mit gemütlich (2010), and alongside Will Ferrell in the political spoof, Die Qual der Wahl (2012). He also voiced "Humpty Dumpty" in the animated film, Der gestiefelte Kater (2011), and reprised his character in both Hangover 2 (2011) and Hangover 3 (2013). In 2014, he appeared in the winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Birdman oder (Die unverhoffte Macht der Ahnungslosigkeit) (2014), and in 2016, he starred in the comedies Masterminds: Minimaler IQ, maximale Beute (2016) and Die Jones: Spione von nebenan (2016), released three weeks apart.
When not performing and acting, Zach spends time at his home in the mountains of his native North Carolina, where he hopes to open a writer's retreat on a completely self-sustained farm.
