Zachary Levi

Zachary Levi

Levi in 2011.
Born Zachary Levi Pugh
September 29, 1980 (1980-09-29) (age 31)
Lake Charles, Louisiana, US
Occupation Actor, singer, director
Years active 2002–present
Website
TheNerdMachine.com

Zachary Levi Pugh (born September 29, 1980), better known by his stage name Zachary Levi (pronounced /ˈzækəri ˈliːvaɪ/), is an American television actor, director, and singer known for the roles of Kipp Steadman in Less than Perfect, Chuck Bartowski in Chuck, and Flynn Rider in Tangled.

Contents

Early life

Zachary Levi Pugh was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Susy and Darrell Pugh.[1]He is the middle child between two sisters, Sarah and Shekinah. He is of Welsh ancestry.[2] As a child, his family moved all over the country before making their final move to their new home in Ventura, California, where Levi attended Buena High School for four years.[3] He began acting in theatre at the age of six, performing lead roles in regional productions such as Grease, The Outsiders, Oliver, The Wizard of Oz and Big River at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.

Career

Levi first appeared in the FX television movie Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie. He played Kipp Steadman on the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect. He also portrayed a potential boyfriend of Charisma Carpenter's character, Jane, in the ABC Family television movie See Jane Date. Levi was slated to be a lead in an ABC pilot called Three for the 2004/2005 television season. It was written by Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen, and would have costarred James Van Der Beek, Jama Williamson, and Jacob Pitts, but the show was not picked up.[4] Levi financed Kendall Payne's album Grown after she was dropped by her label, Capitol Records.[5]

He landed the starring role in Chuck, a series in the midst of its fifth and final season. Levi and his Chuck co-star, Yvonne Strahovski, were both nominated for Best Action Actor and Actress Choice TV Series for the Teen Choice Awards 2010 where they both won and presented.[6] In the summer of 2008, Levi was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Top Thirty People Under Thirty.[7] He later starred in the film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in the lead role as the Chipmunks' cousin Toby Seville.[8] He stars alongside Mandy Moore in the 2010 Disney-animated feature film Tangled, which is based on the popular fairy tale Rapunzel. He voices Flynn Rider, a bandit who finds refuge in Rapunzel's tower. Levi provided narration in the 2011 film Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story, a documentary about the game of Monopoly.[9] Levi hosted the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards.[10]

Music

In April 2010, Katharine McPhee released a preview of a music video to cinemas for her single "Terrified". Levi duets with her on the song (which was re-recorded; the original album version features Jason Reeves) and appears in the music video singing with McPhee. On May 3, 2010, the song was previewed on Entertainment Weekly's website and was made available for purchase on iTunes.[11] The full video premiered on May, 7th, 2010 on the music video website Vevo.[12]

He is also featured on the soundtrack of the movie Tangled singing a duet with co-star Mandy Moore called "I See the Light," as well as being featured in the song "I've Got a Dream." In honor of the Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, Levi and Moore performed "I See the Light" at the 83rd Academy Awards.[13]

He has also been a guest member of Band From TV, a band made up of actors from various American TV shows.

Personal life

Levi is a sports car and motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2009 Nissan GT-R.[14][15] He dated Caitlin Crosby from 2008 to January 2010.[16][17]

Levi is an Evangelical Christian and has been since childhood. In a 2002 interview with Relevant Magazine, he said, "My job on my set, I believe, is to first just love people and gain that trust with people where they know that I really do love them and care about their well-being, so that when they are running into problems, they will hopefully, at some point, come to me and ask me, 'What is your peace all about? What is your comfort all about? Where do you get your love? Where do you get your talents?' And I can turn to them and say without blinking, 'Jesus Christ.'"[18]

In September 2010, Levi started his own company, The Nerd Machine.[19]

Levi was selected as a participant in the Celebrity All Star Game at NBA All Star Weekend 2011 at Los Angeles. He played for the team coached by Magic Johnson.

Levi is an avid gamer, having first played Super Mario Bros. and has come to appreciate video games for their ability to provide "interactive stories."[10]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2002 Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie Adam
2002–

2006

 Less than Perfect Kipp Steadman TV, 81 episodes
2003 See Jane Date Grant Asher Television film
2003 The Division Todd TV, 2 episodes: "The Box" and "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here"
2004 Curb Your Enthusiasm Bellman TV, 1 episode: "Opening Night"
2005 Reel Guerrillas Evon Schwarz
2006 Big Momma's House 2 Kevin
2007 Spiral Berkeley
2007 Ctrl Z Ben Pillar Short film
2007–

2012

 Chuck Chuck Bartowski TV, 91 episodes
Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor – Action
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor on Television
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor – Action
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Breakout Star – Male
2008 Wieners Ben
2008 The Tiffany Problem Zac
2008 An American Carol Lab Tech #1
2008 Shades of Ray Ray Rehman
2009 Stuntmen Troy Ratowski
2009 Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel Toby Seville
2010 Byron Phillips: Found Byron Phillips
2010 Tangled Eugene Fitzherbert/Flynn Rider Voice
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Animated Voice
2010 Under the Boardwalk: The MONOPOLY Story Narrator Voice
2011 The Guild Himself Episode: "Social Traumas"

Discography

Live performances

On February 27, 2011, Levi performed "I See the Light" with Mandy Moore at the 83rd Academy Awards.

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Halo: Reach Trooper 4
2010 Fallout: New Vegas Arcade Gannon

References

  1. ^ "Zachary Levi: Biography". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  2. ^ Wyatt, Edward (September 30, 2007). "Super Nerd Is Out to Save the World". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/30/arts/television/30wyat.html?ei=5088&en=ea760dfd1c5f7e97&ex=1348804800&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&pagewanted=all. Retrieved August 21, 2010. 
  3. ^ "Anytime with Bob Kushell feat. Zach Levi". Anytime with Bob Kushell. February 5, 2009. No. 8, season 1.
  4. ^ Lisotta, Christopher (May 16, 2005). "SPECIAL REPORT: Upfront Navigator". Television Week 24 (20): pp. 32–37. 
  5. ^ Carlozo, Louis R. (April 4, 2006). "Grown". Christian Century 123 (7): p. 55. 
  6. ^ Stransky, Tanner (August 9, 2010). "2010 Teen Choice Awards winners announced". EW. http://news-briefs.ew.com/2010/08/09/teen-choice-awards-winners-201. Retrieved March 8, 2011. 
  7. ^ Markovitz, Adam; Tanner Stransky (March 3, 2008). "30 Under 30: The Actors". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20166944_20166999_20180615_21,00.html. Retrieved March 10, 2009. 
  8. ^ Corliss, Richard (January 11, 2010). "ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKQUEL". Time. 175 (1):51.
  9. ^ Wright, Anders (March 2, 2011). "Rolling the dice". San Diego City Beat. http://www.sdcitybeat.com/sandiego/article-8798-rolling-the-dice.html. Retrieved March 25, 2011. 
  10. ^ a b Webb, Charles (2011-12-05). "Spike VGAs Interview: Meet Your Host, Zachary Levi". MTV. http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2011/12/05/spike-vgas-interview-meet-your-host-zachary-levi/. Retrieved 2011-12-07. 
  11. ^ "Terrified featuring Zachary Levi on Entertainment Weekly". Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  12. ^ "Terrified premieres on Vevo today!". Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  13. ^ Skerry, Kath (February 27, 2011). "Zachary Levi Sings at the Oscars (Video)". Give Me My Remote. http://www.givememyremote.com/remote/2011/02/27/zachary-levi-sings-at-the-oscars. Retrieved March 8, 2011. 
  14. ^ Carolla, Adam (July 16, 2010). "Zach Levi". CarCast. http://www.adamcarolla.com/CarCastBlog/2010/07/16/zach-levi. Retrieved September 12, 2010. 
  15. ^ Nygaard, Sandra (October 2007). "With a name like Levi, he's gotta know jeans". Men's Health 22 (8): 134. 
  16. ^ Semigran, Aly (June 18, 2009). "Caitlin Crosby: Can Zach Levi's singing ladyfriend boost 'Chuck' awareness?". Entertainment Weekly. http://music-mix.ew.com/2009/06/18/caitlin-crosby-zach-levis-singing-ladyfriend-releasing-debut-album-on-tuesday. 
  17. ^ Everett, Cristina (January 13, 2010). "'Chuck' star Zachary Levi and singer Caitlin Crosby split after two years together". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/01/13/2010-01-13_chuck_star_zachary_levi_and_singer_caitlin_crosby_split_after_two_years_together.html. Retrieved January 15, 2010. 
  18. ^ "Q&A With Zachary Levi". Relevant Magazine. http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/features/2830-qaa-with-zachary-levi. Retrieved October 13, 2009. 
  19. ^ "Zac Launches The Nerd Machine". ChuckTV.net. http://chucktv.net/2010/09/24/zac-launches-the-nerd-machine. Retrieved September 24, 2010. 

External links