Hank Azaria - Biography

Last Editor: puzer3				Hank Azaria Biography -   Name : Hank Azaria Date of birth : 25 April 1964 Place of birth : Queens, New York, USA Birth name : Hank Alber Azaria Height : 6' (1.83 m)

Hank Azaria Trivia -

Engaged to Helen Hunt. [1997] Was trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. Was a bartender in New York at the Arcadia. Attended Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, from 1981-1985, but did not receive his B.A. until he completed two courses in L.A. in 1987. Tufts awarded him its Light on the Hill Award in 1999. A favorite of playwright Jenelle Riley; characters in her shows are frequently hybrids of his name with his "The Simpsons" (1989) characters (e.g. Hank Wiggum). The lead character in her award-winning film The Perfect Candidate (2004) is named Frank Grimes, after "Homer's Enemy." Both sets of his grandparents came from Salonika in northern Greece. Based the voice of Moe the bartender ("The Simpsons" (1989)) on actor Al Pacino His family is of Sephardic Jewish background. He based his character in The Birdcage (1996) (a flamboyantly, almost over-exaggeratedly feminine homosexual house servant) on his grandmother, in particular his character's speech. Spent over $300,000 of his own money to make his short film Nobody's Perfect (2004). Based the voice of Lou the cop (in "The Simpsons" (1989)) on actor Sylvester Stallone. Based the voice of Chief Wiggum (in "The Simpsons" (1989)) on actor Edward G. Robinson. Based the voice of Apu (in "The Simpsons" (1989)) on the "standard" 7-11 employee and on Peter Sellers character Hrundi V. Bakshi in The Party 1968 Based the voice of Comic Book Guy (in "The Simpsons" (1989)) on his college roommate. Appeared in two films in 1999 with the word "Mystery" in the title. Mystery, Alaska (1999) and Mystery Men (1999). Based the voice of quack Dr. Nick Rivera (in "The Simpsons" (1989)) on actor Desi Arnaz. He and his ex-wife Helen Hunt, have both guest-starred on the TV show "Friends" (1994), though not in the same episode.

Hank Azaria Detailed Biography -

Azaria ‘s upcoming projects include the feature films Captured, in which he stars with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller, and Eulogy, starring with Winona Ryder and Debra Winger. He is starring in new fall series Huff, for Showtime. Azaria is currently starring in the David Mamet's Sexually perversity in chicago with Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver at the Comedy Theatre in London. He starred in the Emmy-winning NBC miniseries Uprising which tells the story of Jewish resistance fights in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. Azaria's film credits include America's Sweethearts, in which he starred opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts and Billy Crystal. In 1999, Azaria starred in three films -- Cradle Will Rock, Disney's Mystery, Alaska, and Universal's Mystery Men, based on the Dark Horse Comic series. Also in 1999, Azaria starred with Jack Lemmon in the acclaimed ABC telefilm Tuesdays with Morrie. This true story had been on the New York Times best-seller list for almost two years. Produced by Oprah Winfrey Presents, Azaria portrayed Mitch Albom, a journalist inspired by his ailing former teacher and mentor's lessons about life. His portrayal earned him an Emmy Award and a SAG Award nomination. Azaria was also seen as Professor Groteschele in CBS' live television broadcast of Fail-Safe. The Golden Globe-nominated and Emmy award-winning telefilm was based on the early 1960's novel of the same name. In 1998, Azaria starred in Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's Godzilla and Homegrown, a black comedy about a trio of pot plantation workers. He also portrayed Gwyneth Paltrow's straight-laced fiancé in Fox's modern-day adaptation of Great Expectations, and appeared in Woody Allen's Celebrity. Azaria received critical acclaim and a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for his memorable turn as Agador Spartacus, the scene stealing Guatemalan houseboy, in Mike Nichols' smash hit The Birdcage. His portrayal of television producer Al Freedman in Robert Redford's Academy-Award nominated Quiz Show also garnered him critical praise. His other feature credits include Heat, Grosse Point Blank, Now and Then and Pretty Woman. He also lent his voice to Fox's animated feature Anastasia, as Bartok the comical bat. He reprised the role in the video sequel Bartok the Magnificent. Azaria provides the voices for several key characters on the animated hit comedy series The Simpsons. He has won two Emmy's for his work on the show. Azaria was also nominated for an Emmy and for his recurring role as Nat the dog walker on NBC's Mad About You. Azaria trained at the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York and played Hamlet in a production of rosencrantz and guildenstern are dead at Columbia University. He continued his theater studies at Tufts University, appearing in such plays as uncle vanya, the merchant of venice, the ballad of the sad café'and the dumb waiter. After moving to Los Angeles, Azaria studied under the direction of Roy London. Experimenting in improv and sketch comedy, he became a favorite at the local comedy clubs and co-wrote an evening on thin ice, which was presented at Theatre-Theatre. Azaria also won a Dramalogue Award for his performance in conspicuous consumption.