HANK AZARIA

'Hank Albert Azaria' (born April 25, 1964 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, United States) is an American actor, director, comedian and voice artist. He is most famous for his long-running career as one of the main voice actors on the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. He performs the voices of Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and numerous other characters. He became better known for starring in the one off drama ''Tuesdays With Morrie'', and through his appearances in films including ''The Birdcage'' and ''Godzilla''. He starred in the drama ''Huff'', playing the titular character, to critical acclaim, as well as appearing in the popular stage musical ''Spamalot''. Married to Helen Hunt for a year, he has won three Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Contents

Early life

Career

Early career and ''The Simpsons''

Further career

Personal life

Awards

Emmy awards

Filmography

References

External links

Early life

Azaria was born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, to Sephardic Jewish parents from Thessaloniki, Greece.^[1] His father Albert ran several dress manufacturing businesses, while his mother raised him and his two older sisters, Stephanie and Elise. Before marrying his father, Azaria's mother had been a publicist for Columbia Pictures, promoting films in Latin American countries, as she was fluent in both English and Spanish. Both of his parents loved all forms of show business, which spurred him on to become an actor. Azaria graduated from The Kew Forest School in Forest Hills, and later studied drama at Tufts University. There he met Oliver Platt, with whom he became good friends; Azaria noted that "Oliver was a better actor than I was in college, and he really inspired me." He got his first job when he was seventeen, on a commercial advertising Italian television. Before leaving New York, Azaria worked for several years as a bartender, as well as appearing in a stage production of Harold Pinter's ''The Dumb Waiter''.

Career

Early career and ''The Simpsons''

Azaria's first role on ''The Simpsons'' was Moe Szyslak. Alongside him in this image is Moe's one-time girlfriend Reneé. She was voiced by Helen Hunt, whom Azaria was married to for a time.

Azaria has described his career as being very gradual, and that he has not skipped any of the usual "career steps". He moved to Los Angeles, where he was trained by acting teacher Roy London. He began working as a stand-up comedian, becoming popular at local comedy clubs. He made his first television appearance with a one-line role in an episode of the 1986 Peter Boyle series ''Joe Bash'', though his part was edited out before the show's broadcast. Still, the role won him admission to the Screen Actors Guild. Hank Azaria
He became most famous for his voice work on the animated television show ''The Simpsons'', a show that has continued to the present. He joined the show aged 22, having previously performed only one voice over, as an animated dog in a failed Fox "''Roger Rabbit'' type pilot." The first voice he performed was that of town bartender Moe Szyslak, replacing Christopher Collins who had voiced the character in several previous episodes. Having known him from the failed pilot, Azaria was called and asked to audition for the voice of Moe. At the time he was doing a play, in which he performed the role of a drug dealer, basing his voice on Al Pacino in ''Dog Day Afternoon''. He used that voice in the audition, and was told by Matt Groening and Sam Simon to make it more gravelly, with it becoming the voice of Moe. Groening and Simon thought it was perfect and took Azaria over to the Fox recording studio. Before he had even seen a script, he recorded several lines of dialogue as Moe for the episode "Some Enchanted Evening". Azaria had expected to not hear from the show again but kept being called back, firstly to perform the voice of Chief Wiggum, and then Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, until eventually during the second season he was doing "five or ten" voices. At that point he was given a contract and made a permanent member of the cast. As well as Moe, Wiggum and Apu, Azaria provides the voices of Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson, Cletus Spuckler, Professor Frink, Dr. Nick Riviera, Lou, Snake, Kirk Van Houten, the Sea Captain, Superintendent Chalmers, Duffman, the "Wise Guy" and numerous other one-time characters.^[2]
In addition to Moe's voice being based on Al Pacino, many of Azaria's other recurring characters are based on other people. He took Apu's voice from the many Indian and Pakistani convenience store workers in Los Angeles that he had interacted with when he first moved to the area. He also loosely based it on Peter Sellers' character Hrundi V Bakshi from the film ''The Party'', who Azaria thinks has a similar personality to Apu. Originally, Apu being Indian was thought to be too offensive and stereotypical and was going to be changed, but due to Azaria's reading of the line "Hello, Mr. Homer" it stayed. Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves Chief Wiggum's voice was originally a parody of David Brinkley but when Azaria was told it was too slow he switched it to that of Edward G. Robinson. Officer Lou is based on Sylvester Stallone, and Dr. Nick is "a bad Ricky Ricardo impression."^[3] The "Wise Guy" voice is "basically Charles Bronson," while Carl is "a silly voice [Azaria] always did." Two of the voices come from his time at college: Snake's is based on Azaria's old college roommate, while Comic Book Guy's voice is based on a student who lived in the room next door to Azaria's, who went by the name "F". Professor Frink is based on Jerry Lewis's performance in the original ''The Nutty Professor'', and the Sea Captain's is based on English actor Robert Newton's portrayal of many pirates. Azaria based his performance as the one-time character Frank Grimes, from the episode "Homer's Enemy", on actor William H. Macy. He counts Grimes as the hardest, most emotional performance he has ever had to give in the history of ''The Simpsons''.
His friends refer to him as "the freakish mimic" due to his ability to copy almost anybody's voice instantly after he has heard it. As a child he believed that everyone could do such a thing, until he realised that it was a rare talent. Azaria was glad to have found the "ultimate outlet" for his skill, in ''The Simpsons''. Matt Groening has stated that Azaria possesses the ability to turn unfunny lines into some of the best in an episode. Throughout the run of ''The Simpsons'', Azaria has had to sing in character several times, a task which he describes as easier than singing normally. Azaria's work on the show has won him several awards, including three Emmys for "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance". Azaria, with rest of the principal cast, reprised all of his voice roles from ''The Simpsons'', for the 2007 film ''The Simpsons Movie''.^[4]
Once ''The Simpsons'' was "going steadily" and Azaria had enough money to live on, he stopped working on commercials as he found them "so demoralizing" and he always sounded sarcastic whenever he read for them. When recording the part of "Jell-O Man" for a Jell-O advert, he was told to make the voice he offered "more likeable and friendly so that children like him." After pointing out that "Jell-O Man" was a fictional character, he left and never recorded for an advert again.

Further career

Azaria in ''Spamalot''.

After the continuing success of ''The Simpsons'', Azaria began taking other roles, featuring in the 1990 film ''Pretty Woman''. He then became a regular on the show ''Herman's Head'' playing Jay Nichols, alongside ''The Simpsons'' co-star Yeardley Smith.^[5] He next won praise as television producer Albert Freedman in the 1994 Academy Award nominated film ''Quiz Show''. In the same year, he made his first appearance on ''Friends'', playing the recurring character David, one of Phoebe Buffay's boyfriends. His first appearance was in the series tenth episode, before the character left for Minsk. He came back in one episode of the show's seventh season, before making several appearances in the ninth, that culminated in him proposing to Phoebe. She rejected him, and David left the show for good. From 1996, he also had a recurring role in ''Mad About You'' as Nat, the dog walker. Azaria earned an Emmy nomination for both roles. He continued his voice-over work as Venom/Eddie Brock in ''Spider-Man: The Animated Series'' for four years.^[6] He also lent his voice to the animated feature ''Anastasia'' as Bartok the bat, reprising the role in the direct-to-video sequel ''Bartok the Magnificent''.
In 1996, Azaria took on the role of gay Guatemalan housekeeper Agador Spartacus in the film ''The Birdcage'', being nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award, and often being critically described as "scene stealing." For the role, he put on the best Guatemalan accent he could, and made himself sound as effeminate as possible. He had chosen two possible voices for the role, a "fruity" one and another tougher voice. After advice from a drag queen, he chose the fruity voice. Three weeks into production, he realised he sounded exactly like his grandmother, which aided his performance. Azaria appeared in several films, often as minor characters. After appearing in ''Heat'' and ''Grosse Pointe Blank'', he was featured in the 1998 film ''Godzilla'' as photographer Victor "Animal" Palotti. He went on to appear opposite Gwyneth Paltrow, as Walter Plane in the 1998 adaptation of ''Great Expectations'', and co-starred in Tim Robbins' ''Cradle Will Rock''. Hank Azaria He next starred in both Disney's ''Mystery, Alaska'', and Universal's ''Mystery Men'', in 1999.
Azaria became more well known for his performance as Mitch Albom alongside Jack Lemmon in the 1999 television film ''Tuesdays With Morrie'',^[7] winning an Emmy for the role.^[8] Azaria described it as the "best work [he has] done." After ''Tuesdays with Morrie'', Azaria appeared as Professor Groteschele in ''Fail-Safe'', a show that was broadcast live. He also appeared in the films ''America's Sweethearts'', ''Along Came Polly'' and '', as well as the television film ''Uprising''. For his role as Claude in ''Along Came Polly'', Azaria donned a wig and had to work out "for seven or eight weeks," to get into the physical shape the role required.^[9]
Azaria starred as psychiatrist Craig "Huff" Huffstodt in the television series ''Huff'', on which he also served as a producer. Azaria loved the role, and was pleased how the show turned out, and by the second season began "to extend [the] character emotionally," and "he really is beginning to unravel." The show ran for two seasons from 2004-2006, garnering seven Emmy nominations in 2005 including a nomination for Azaria for "Best Actor in a Drama Series". Despite the awards, the show received low ratings and Showtime chose not to commission it for a third season.^[10] Azaria directed an episode of the show's second season, and expressed his wish to move into directing in the latter half of his career. Playing Huff Azaria wrote and directed the 2004 short film ''Nobody's Perfect'', which won the "Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Short" at the US Comedy Arts Festival.^[11] In January 2007, he was confirmed to be directing ''Outsourced'',^[12] a film about two American workers who journey to get their jobs back, after their factory is moved to Mexico.^[13]
Azaria has also appeared in several theatre productions. In 2003 he appeared in London's West End as Bernard in ''Sexual Perversity in Chicago'', along with Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver. In 2004, Azaria began appearing as Sir Lancelot, the French Taunter, and other characters in ''Spamalot'' the musical version of ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'', which opened in Chicago in December 2004 before moving to Broadway. The show was met with critical acclaim, receiving fourteen Tony Award nominations, including a "Best Actor in a Musical" nomination for Azaria. Azaria described it as "the most fun that I've ever had in my entire life." 2005 Tony Awards Q&A: Hank Azaria Robert Diamond He took a break from the show in June 2005, with Alan Tudyk filling in for him,^[14] to work on ''Huff'', but returned in December 2005. In late 2007, he will star in Aaron Sorkin's ''The Farnsworth Invention'', playing RCA head David Sarnoff.^[15]

Personal life

In the early 1990s, Azaria was in a relationship with Julie Warner and for a time was reportedly engaged to her. In 1994, Azaria began a relationship with actress Helen Hunt, and married her in a traditional Jewish ceremony at the couple's home in Southern California on July 17 1999. Hunt Files for Divorce Azaria had appeared in ''Mad About You'' with Hunt, as well the ''Simpsons'' episode "Dumbbell Indemnity" as Moe's girlfriend Reneé. After a year of marriage, Azaria moved out of their home and began staying in a Bel-Air hotel, using a false name.^[16] After being separated for six months, citing "irreconcilable differences" Hunt filed for divorce, which went through on December 18 2000.^[17]

Awards

Azaria has been nominated for numerous awards during his career.^[18] He has been nominated for seven Emmys and won four. He has won one Screen Actors Guild Award and nominated three other times, and has been nominated once for a Tony Award." Behind the Scenes: Cast Bios - Hank Azaria

Emmy awards

'Year'	'Award'	'Result'
1998	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance	'Won' - for Apu in ''The Simpsons''
1998	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nomination - Nat in ''Mad About You''
2000	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie	'Won' - for ''Tuesdays with Morrie''
2001	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance	'Won' - for various characters in ''The Simpsons'' episode "Worst Episode Ever"
2003	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance	'Won' - for various characters in ''The Simpsons'' episode "Moe Baby Blues"
2003	Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series	Nomination - David in ''Friends''
2005	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Nomination - Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt in ''Huff''

Filmography

★ ''The Simpsons'' (TV series) (1989-present)

★ ''Pretty Woman'' (1990)

★ ''Herman's Head'' (TV series) (1991)

★ ''Quiz Show'' (1994)

★ ''Friends'' (TV series, appearances in 1994, 2001, 2002 & 2003)

★ '' (voice) (1994-1998)

★ ''Heat'' (1995)

★ ''The Birdcage'' (1996)

★ ''Mad About You'' (TV series, joined cast in 1996)

★ ''Grosse Pointe Blank'' (1997)

★ ''Anastasia'' (voice) (1997)

★ ''Godzilla'' (1998)

★ ''Great Expectations'' (1998)

★ ''Homegrown'' (1998)

★ ''Celebrity'' (1998)

★ ''Cradle Will Rock'' (1999)

★ ''Mystery Men'' (1999)

★ ''Mystery, Alaska'' (1999)

★ ''Tuesdays With Morrie'' (made for TV) (1999)

★ ''Fail-Safe'' (made for TV) (2000)

★ ''America's Sweethearts'' (2001)

★ ''Uprising'' (2002)

★ ''Shattered Glass'' (2003)

★ '' (2004)

★ ''Eulogy'' (2004)

★ ''Along Came Polly'' (2004)

★ ''Nobody's Perfect'' (2004)

★ ''The Aristocrats'' (2005)

★ ''The Simpsons Movie'' (voice) (2007)

★ ''Run, Fat Boy, Run'' (2007)

References

1. Hank Azaria Nancy Basile
2. , , Jesse L., McCann, Harper Collins Publishers, 2002,
3.
4. Homer going to bat in '07
5. Herman's Head Mark Lewisohn
6. Venom
7. Hank Azaria Spends "Tuesdays With Morrie."
8. 'West Wing' sets Emmy record
9. Interview with "Along Came Polly" Co-Stars, Hank Azaria and Debra Messing Rebecca Murray
10. Showtime Stops 'Huff'-ing
11. Hank Azaria bio: The Simpsons Movie Actor
12. The Weekly Ketchup: "Indiana Jones" Is Back, "National Treasure 2" Gets A Name, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" To TV, And More!
13. Azaria's job 'Outsourced' for Col
14. Alan Tudyk replaces Hank Azaria in 'Spamalot'
15. Azaria and Simpson to Star in Sorkin's Farnsworth Invention on Broadway
16. Hunt, Azaria on the Rocks
17. Hunt files for divorce
18. Awards for Hank Azaria

External links

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