Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi is an American actor known for his versatile roles in television, film, and stage. He gained prominence for portraying Chuck Bartowski in the NBC series "Chuck" (2007–2012), where he played an underachieving computer technician who becomes a spy after unintentionally downloading government secrets into his brain. Levi also stars in the "Shazam!" film franchise, showcasing his appeal in superhero narratives. Born on September 29, 1980, in Lake Charles, Louisiana, Levi developed a passion for performing arts early on, participating in local productions and eventually achieving his dream of Broadway performance in the musical "First Date."
Throughout his career, Levi has contributed to various projects, including voicing characters in Disney's "Tangled" and participating in acclaimed series like "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." His work has resonated within "nerd culture," a community he identifies with, reflecting his interests in video games and comics. Levi's personal life is more private, but he is known to prioritize his Christian faith. He has been involved in initiatives supporting the nerd community, including co-founding The Nerd Machine and a production company, Coattails Entertainment. This blend of diverse roles and personal passions makes Zachary Levi a prominent figure in contemporary entertainment.
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Subject Terms
Zachary Levi
Actor
- Born: September 29, 1980
- Place of Birth: Lake Charles, Louisiana
Contribution: Zachary Levi is a television, film, and stage actor best known for his role in the television series Chuck (2007–12) and his starring role in the Shazam! film franchise.
Background
Zachary Levi was born Zachary Levi Pugh on September 29, 1980, in Lake Charles, Louisiana; he is the son of Susan and Darrell Pugh and has two sisters. His parents’ divorce and career changes led to the family moving around the country before settling in Ventura, California.
Levi sang and danced as a child and always dreamed of appearing on Broadway; he began to appear in local stage productions at the age of six. Levi attended Buena Vista High School. When he began to pursue a professional acting career, an agent suggested that he should change his name. In response, the young actor dropped his surname and became known as Zachary Levi. Levi has said that he never took acting classes but participated in productions at the Ojai Theater for several years, appearing in productions of The Outsiders and Godspell, among others.
Career
Levi’s first significant role as an actor was in the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect, which starred Sara Rue as a young woman transitioning from secretarial work to become a television anchor. Levi appeared in the series from 2002 to 2006, playing the role of Kipp Steadman in eighty-one episodes.
After the success of Less Than Perfect, Levi was offered a starring role in the television series Chuck, alongside actors Yvonne Strahovski and Adam Baldwin. In the NBC (National Broadcasting Company) comedy an underachieving computer technician—Levi’s titular Chuck Bartowski—accidentally downloads a program into his brain that gives him all the information and skills, including fighting capabilities, necessary to become a spy. In the role Levi was frequently asked to take on action sequences and worked closely with the show’s Emmy Award–winning stunt coordinators.
The series was success with audiences and critics but garnered relatively low ratings in the second season, leading to speculations of cancellation. Fans rallied in support of the show and convinced the network to renew the series for a third season. Chuck ultimately lasted for five seasons, airing its finale in January 2012. In the course of the show’s run, Levi also took on work behind the camera, directing episodes in 2010 and 2011.
Levi took on additional roles throughout Chuck’s series run. In 2008 he starred in the independent film Shades of Ray. Levi also voiced characters in the children’s animated film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in 2009 and in the video games “Halo: Reach” and “Fallout: New Vegas” in 2010.
In 2010 Levi was also asked to play a starring role in Tangled, an animated Disney musical based on the fairy tale Rapunzel. The movie also featured the voice of singer and actor Mandy Moore, as Rapunzel, with Levi playing Flynn Rider, her love interest. Tangled was a major critical and popular success, earning a Golden Globe nomination for best animated feature film. Levi and Moore performed the film’s Oscar-nominated song “I See the Light” live at the Academy Awards ceremony in 2011. Levi later reprised his role in the sequels Tangled Ever After (2012) and Tangled Before Ever After (2017) and the companion animated series Tangled: The Series (2017–19).
In 2013 Levi starred in the Broadway production First Date, alongside Krysta Rodriguez. The musical comedy focuses on a burgeoning relationship between a financial analyst named Aaron and a musician named Casey. Levi noted that First Date helped him to achieve a lifelong dream of singing and dancing on Broadway.
Levi was also cast as the warrior Fandral in the 2013 film Thor: The Dark World. The movie, based on comic book character Thor from the Marvel Comics universe, was the sequel to the 2011 hit Thor. It was released in November 2013. He returned to the part in Thor: Ragnarok in 2017.
Around that time, Levi returned to television, starring as the titular character in the short-lived action comedy Tiny Commando in 2013. His next major part was that of Luke Collins in Heroes Reborn (2015–16), a single-season reboot of the show Heroes. At about the same time, he landed the recurring role of James McMahon on the soap opera–themed sitcom Telenovela, appearing in 2015–16 episodes, and portrayed Jeremiah Pontelli in the six-part murder miniseries Alias Grace (2016).
In the years that followed, Levi gave a Tony Award–nominated performance in the 2016 Broadway musical She Loves Me and took a few film roles: he voiced the part of Joseph in the Christmas-themed animated film The Star (2017), played Thin White Duke in Psych: The Movie (2017), and appeared in the comedy-horror film Blood Fest (2018). In 2019, he landed a starring role in the critically acclaimed superhero comedy Shazam!.
In 2018, Levi joined the cast of the widely acclaimed Amazon Original show The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. (By 2019, the period drama had already raked in eight Emmy Awards, a 2018 Golden Globe Award, and a 2018 Peabody Award.) Levi's character, Benjamin, served as a love interest for the protagonist, comedian Midge, in season 2.
In addition to reprising his role as Shazam! in the 2023 sequel, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, Levi also starred in several other high-profile films including Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), and Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024).
Impact
Levi’s role in Chuck earned him a devoted following among television fans and made him an icon in what is often called “nerd culture.” Levi has said that he considers himself a part of this culture, having been a fan of video games, science fiction, and comic books since he was a child.
Personal Life
Though often mistaken as Jewish after his name change, Levi is a Christian who has noted that his religious faith is an important part of his life. Though he mostly keeps his personal life out of the press, Levi had a publicized breakup with singer Caitlin Crosby in 2010 and was married to Missy Peregrym from 2014 to 2015.
In 2010, Levi partnered with David Coleman and Courtney Coleman to start the Nerd Machine, a website serving as an online community for “nerd culture” and hosting a series of panel discussions and interviews with celebrities coinciding with the annual Comic Con convention circuit. Levi and his friend Joel David Moore were also partners in a production company called Coattails Entertainment.
Bibliography
Bianco, Robert. “Death-Defying ‘Chuck’ Finishes on Its Own Terms.” USA Today 23 Jan 2013: 6D. Print.
Itzkoff, Dave. “Pulling Out All the Stops to Rescue a TV Hero.” New York Times 5 Jan. 2010: C1. Print.
Levi, Zachary. “The Verge Q+A: Zachary Levi, Star of Chuck, Most Interesting Christian in Hollywood.” Interview by Steve Heisler. GQ, 1 Mar. 2010, www.gq.com/story/the-verge-qa-zachary-levi-star-of-chuck-most-interesting-christian-in-hollywood. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
Venables, Michael. “Zachary Levi Talks STEM Skills, Digital Literacies and Human-Centric Tech.” Wired, 11 May 2012, www.wired.com/2012/05/zachary-levi-stem/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.
"Zachary Levi." IMDb, 2024, www.imdb.com/name/nm1157048/. Accessed 19 Sept. 2024.