Why Zach Galifianakis keeps his family out of the Hollywood spotlight

IOL News

22-05-2025

Zach Galifianakis once told his kids that he was a librarian instead of a Hollywood actor and comedian.
Image: File.
Zach Galifianakis knows better than to mix business with pleasure.
The actor and comedian, famed for his breakout role as Alan in "The Hangover" franchise, has made it clear that he chooses to keep his family life away from the limelight.
In a recent interview with "People" magazine, the 55-year-old star expressed his desire to maintain a distinct barrier between his professional career and personal life.
"I keep show business away from my family,' Galifianakis said.
"I've never wanted my real life and show business to combine. This is my work, and that's why they're not here."
His commitment to privacy extends to his wife, Quinn Lundberg, whom he married in August 2012, and their two young sons, both under the age of 12.
In fact, in a light-hearted confession, Galifianakis shared that he had once told his children he worked as a librarian.
"I said that when they were younger because I didn't want them to know anything," he joked.
"But now they're older, they know that I'm down here promoting this", he said about his current project, the highly anticipated live-action remake of "Lilo & Stitch".
Despite his preference for privacy, Galifianakis's sons are gradually exposed to their father's celebrity life.
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While they won't be accompanying him to premieres, he promised they'll eventually see him in "Lilo & Stitch".
"They'll see it. Yeah, we'll take them to the movie theatre to see it on time. But we live pretty remotely, so I don't know if it's even going to be playing where we live," he added.
The actor's views on fame are not unique, as other celebrities such as Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Jessica Biel and Justin Timberlake, also maintain a separation between their careers and family life, choosing to protect their children from the relentless glare of the media.
Galifianakis's approach to parenting is underscored by a humorous incident he recounted where his young son saw a billboard featuring his father's face.
"We were driving in my car and there was a bus with my face on it," Galifianakis recalled.
"He goes, 'Who's that?' and I don't know why I said, 'Oh, some idiot' ... He thinks his dad is a professional idiot."