Zack Galifianakis on the cover of the "Rolling Stone"
In the Rolling Stone cover story, Zach Galifianakis – who doesn’t have a publicist or an assistant and still drives his 1998 Subaru – tells Rolling Stone contributing editor Josh Eells that he’s having difficulty getting used to life as a celebrity. “I’m terrible about people wanting to take pictures with me,” Galifianakis says. “I’m a giant baby about it. They treat you like a cartoon. There’s nothing you can do except make light of it. That’s if I’m in the mood. Sometimes I get superbummed.”
That doesn’t mean he’s going to stop making movies. “They want to do a Hangover III,” he says. “I’m getting fricking phone calls already.” According what he’s heard, the plot ditches the format of the first two and focuses on his character escaping from a mental institution with help from the wolf pack.
Other highlights from the story:
• At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after party, Galifianakis wandered down to the pool and bumped into Jane Lynch and her wife and Modern Family‘s Jesse Tyler Ferguson and his boyfriend. “Nice to meet you!” he said to the group. “I didn’t realize it was Gay Night by the swimming pool.” At the time, he saw nothing wrong with the exchange. “I walked away like, ‘Another good one!'” he says. “But my girlfriend said, ‘I gotta tell you, Zach – that did not go over well. You have to watch people’s reactions!'”
• About 10 years ago, he got hired to write for Saturday Night Live. Britney Spears was the musical guest and he pitched a sketch in which Spears was being interviewed by Entertainment Tonight when she suddenly, and without explanation, began bleeding from the mouth. She didn’t find the idea funny. “I remember starring at the ground for, like, 20 seconds, just silent,” Galifiankis says. “45,000 open mics, and I’m trying to impress this 18-year old pop star.” He lasted two weeks at the job.
• Galifianakis says he turned down $700,000 to be a Time Warner spokesperson, and after the success of The Hangover Nike contacted him. “We had a conference call,” he says. “The first thing I said was, ‘So, do you guys still have seven-year-olds making your stuff?'” He didn’t get the job.
The complete interview with Galifianakis appears in the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone on newsstands Friday. More information at http://www.rollingstone.com.