Zach Galifianakis wishes he had put more distance between his real-life persona and that of his Between Two Ferns character, he revealed on Wednesday.
“I wish I kind of changed my name for Between Two Ferns, actually. I wish I made that more of a character," Galifianakis, 56, told The Hollywood Reporter about his hugely popular Funny or Die series.
From 2008–2018, Galifianakis hosted Between Two Ferns, where he interviewed—and frequently berated—celebrities, including President Barack Obama, Brad Pitt, Hillary Clinton, and Jimmy Kimmel. For the series, Galifianakis played a grumpy, uninterested version of himself, earning two Emmys for his performance.
His questions, often rhetorical, poked at celebrities’ egos.
“When you’re in the recording studio, do you ever think, ‘Hey, what if I don’t make something s---ty?’” he asked Justin Bieber.
To Jon Hamm, he quipped, “Is your middle name ‘Honeybaked’?”
The Hangover star said that fans and strangers often mistakenly believe his real-life personality is the same as his character’s.
“Sometimes, people think you’re the person that you’re actually playing,” he said. “Two nights ago, I was at an airport bar, and a guy comes up, and he’s like, ‘PG or R tonight? What are we having?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t drink.’”
“I mean, I used to. But, because of The Hangover, they just assume,” he continued.
Galifianakis said that he likely won’t bring the show or the character back anytime soon. “I feel like we’re kind of living in meaner times right now. And I’m not sure that that tonally might work at this moment,” he said on The Rich Eisen Show.
Now the host of a Netflix gardening show, aptly titled This Is a Gardening Show, the comedian said he needed to change his interview technique for the children he talks with in the series.
“I don’t want to be mean to children,” he said, laughing. “My approach is much different. I didn’t want the show to be that grumpy character that I did.”
“Asking dumb questions is always my thing,” he continued. “I just think it’s funny, but your approach to children is different than it is interviewing Jon Hamm.”
“I want parents and kids to watch it together so they can discuss these things,” he continued. “Kids love gardens. They love them much more than they do a lot of other stuff they do in school. And a lot of the stuff we’re teaching them is not as important as their food.”
Even in his new show, which focuses on introducing viewers to home gardening and growing their own food, Galifianakis still manages to fit in a few pop shots at celebrities. In nearly every episode, he inexplicably jabs at Ryan Reynolds.
“Who I’ve never even met! I don’t know that guy!” he told THR.
All episodes of This Is a Gardening Show are currently streaming on Netflix.
