Zachary Levi’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Zachary Levi Pugh (born September 29, 1980) is an American actor and singer. He received critical acclaim for starring as Chuck Bartowski in the series Chuck, and as the title character in Shazam!, as a part of the DC Extended Universe.

He voiced Flynn Rider in the 2010 animated film Tangled, where he performed “I See the Light” with Mandy Moore; the song won a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. He reprised the voice role in the 2012 short film Tangled Ever After and in 2017, Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, a Disney Channel television series based on the film. He has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok as Fandral. Levi starred as Georg Nowack in the 2016 Broadway revival of She Loves Me opposite Laura Benanti, for which he received a Tony Award nomination.

Early life

Zachary Levi Pugh was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the son of Susan Marie (Hoctor) and Darrell Pugh. He has Welsh ancestry. When Levi was a child, his family moved across several states before finally heading back to their home in Ventura, California, where he attended Buena High School for four years. He began acting on stage at the age of six, performing lead roles in regional productions such as Grease, The Outsiders, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, The Wizard of Oz, and Big River at the Ojai Art Center.

Career

Acting

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 then-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, but the show was not picked up.

He landed the starring role in Chuck in 2007. 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. In the summer of 2008, Levi was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s Top Thirty People Under Thirty. He later starred in the film Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel in the lead role as Dave’s cousin Toby Seville. He starred 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. He provided narration in the 2011 film Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story, a documentary about the game of Monopoly. Levi hosted the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards.

BuddyTV ranked him #97 on its list of “TV’s Sexiest Men of 2011.” Levi landed the male lead in the 2012 TV pilot Let It Go, which would have aired on Fox, but was not picked up. Levi hosted the web documentaries Tomb Raider The Final Hours, going behind the scenes of the new Tomb Raider game. He was originally to portray Fandral in Thor, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Chuck. He did play the role in the sequels, Thor: The Dark World (2013), after original actor Josh Dallas had scheduling conflicts of his own, and briefly in Thor: Ragnarok (2017). Levi made his Broadway debut in a production of the musical comedy First Date in August 2013.

In January 2015, it was announced that Levi would be a lead member of the cast of NBC’s 13-episode miniseries Heroes Reborn as Luke Collins. The show was not picked up for a second season. He also guest-starred as Abraham Lincoln in the Hulu original series Deadbeat.

Levi joined the cast of the Broadway revival of She Loves Me in the lead role of Georg, alongside Laura Benanti as Amalia. It opened at Studio 54 on March 17, 2016 after previews on February 19, 2016 for a limited engagement through June 12. The run was later extended through July 10, when it closed. The production received high critical praise, receiving 5 Stars from The Guardian and was selected as a Critics’ Pick for The New York Times. Levi was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical for his performance. Critics praised Levi’s performance of Georg, noting that his portrayal is “suave and handsome at times, disarmingly nebbishy at others,” and that he “[exudes] sweet modesty and just a pinch of hauteur.” The production had a historic livestreamed performance on June 30, 2016 with Levi and the cast participating in the first livestreamed show in Broadway history.

In 2017, Levi reprised his role as Flynn Rider in a Disney Channel Original Movie titled Tangled: Before Ever After. This movie continued the story as a regular series titled Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure, which lasted for 3 season, premiering on March 24, 2017 and concluding March 1, 2020. The series is based on the 2010 film Tangled and features the returning voices of Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi.

In 2018, Levi appeared as Dr. Benjamin Ettenberg, a love interest for the main character, Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel, in the second season of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. With the series’ other principal cast members, Levi won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at SAG’s January 2019 awards ceremony.

In 2019, Levi, along with Asher Angel, starred as Billy Batson (also known as Captain Marvel) in Warner Bros. Pictures’ superhero comedy Shazam!

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 the Entertainment Weekly website and made available for purchase on iTunes. The full video premiered May 7, 2010 on the music video website Vevo. Levi financed Kendall Payne’s album Grown after she was dropped by her label, Capitol Records.

On the soundtrack of the movie Tangled, Levi sings “I See the Light” (with costar Mandy Moore) and “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. Levi has also been a guest member of Band from TV, a band made up of actors from various American television shows.

Personal life

Levi is a sports car and motorcycle enthusiast and owns a 2009 Nissan GT-R. He is an avid gamer, having first played Super Mario Bros., and appreciates video games for their ability to provide interactive stories.

In September 2010, Levi started his own company, The Nerd Machine. He participated in the Celebrity All Star Game at NBA All Star Weekend 2011, playing for the team coached by Magic Johnson.

On June 16, 2014, Canadian actress Missy Peregrym announced that she and Levi had married in Maui, Hawaii. They filed for divorce in April 2015, with the separation date listed in court documents as December 3, 2014.

On May 21, 2019, Active Minds, a mental health charity, announced that Levi will be an ambassador for the organization.

Levi is a libertarian, stating that he is “neither left or right leaning” and that his politics “focus on valuing, upholding, and protecting one’s individual liberty to live one’s life as they see fit, so long as they are not adversely affecting the individual liberty of another.”

Religion

Levi is a Christian, who has spoken about his faith in interviews and speaks about teachings of Jesus Christ on his twitter. In a 2002 interview with Relevant Magazine, he said:

Discography

• “Terrified” (2010) – Performed by Katharine McPhee featuring Zachary Levi.
• “I See the Light” (2010) – Performed by Zachary Levi and Mandy Moore for the film Tangled.
• First Date (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
• She Loves Me (2016 Broadway Cast Recording)

Live performances

On February 27, 2011, Levi performed “I See the Light” with Mandy Moore at the 83rd Academy Awards. On June 12, 2016, Levi performed the title song from “She Loves Me”, as part of the medley presented on the 70th Tony Awards. He has also performed live in various programs from childhood.

Awards and nominations

Film

Television

Theatre