Greek-American actor and comedian Zach Galifianakis who celebrates his 55th birthday on Tuesday has appealed to Hollywood to stay out of politics in the presidential campaign.
Soon after Kamala Harris became the presumptive nominee when Joe Biden left the race, many A-list actors, athletes, directors, producers and writers quickly endorsed the vice president.
But Galifianakis has warned the Harris campaign not to get too cozy with celebs. “As a small-town guy from North Carolina … I do wish the Democratic Party would step back from the celebrities a little bit,” the “Hangover” star told Variety magazine.
“It works to a point, but they have to win over rural America,” Galifianakis said of celebrity support of politicians, adding, “Hollywood thinks it’s so important and that’s a problem. Actors are people too, and they’re citizens too, but I’m more on the small-town side of that than I am on the Hollywood side of that. That’s just me.”
Hollywood support for Kamala Harris
A number of the biggest names in Hollywood came out in support of Biden before he dropped out of the race, before turning their support to Harris.
Olivia Rodrigo, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris by sharing a video of a speech the vice president gave promising to “stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans.”
Major Democratic fundraiser George Clooney, who used a New York Times essay to call for Biden to drop out of the race, lent his support to Harris and Barbra Streisand said she would support Harris because of her vow to fight for reproductive rights.
Musician John Legend, who performed at the Democratic National Convention in 2024, posted he was “so ready” for a Harris presidency. Director Spike Lee, “West Wing” creator Aaron Sorkin and director Ken Burns threw their support behind Harris, along with actresses Rosie O’Donnell, Jamie Lee Curtis and Robert De Niro.
Taylor Swift, one of the music industry’s biggest stars, endorsed Kamala Harris for president shortly after the Presidential debate ended in September.
“As a voter, I make sure to watch and read everything I can,” Swift wrote on Instagram to her 283 million followers late on Tuesday, adding: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election.
Zach Galifianakis and his roots in Crete, Greece
Galifianakis was born in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, on October 1, 1969. His mother is of Scottish-Irish heritage while his paternal grandparents were Greek immigrants from Crete. He was baptized in his father’s Greek Orthodox faith.
He rarely visits Greece. Nea Kriti says that the first time he visited Crete was when he was fourteen years old, and he has visited only a few times since then.
The last time was in 2022 when he became the godfather of his niece at a church ceremony in Chania.
The little girl, baptized Katerina, is the child of his first cousin, local news site Nea Kriti reported.
Galifianakis has starred in films including The Hangover trilogy (2009–2013), Due Date (2010), The Campaign (2012), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) and Masterminds (2016).
He has also voiced characters in animated films such as Puss in Boots (2011), The Lego Batman Movie (2017), Missing Link (2019), The Bob’s Burgers Movie (2022), and Ron’s Gone Wrong (2021).
