Zachary Levi
Zachary Levi is an actor known for the NBCNBCNBC (National Broadcasting Company) is an American national commercial broadcast television network. It was founded by RCA in 1926, began as a radio network and later developed television. With ABC and CBS it is one of the three traditional U.S. broadcast networks; it passed to General Electric with RCA in 1986, merged with Universal to form NBCUniversal in 2004, has been controlled by Comcast since 2011, and is one of the five networks that rotate in the White House television pool.Open the full entry series Chuck and the Shazam! films, and is developing Wyldwood Studios, a film production campus east of Austin, Texas.
Contents11 sections
Key facts
Acting: Major Screen Roles
Levi played the title character Chuck Bartowski in the NBC series Chuck, which ran for 91 episodes, several of which he directed.[1]
He voiced Flynn Rider in Disney’s animated film Tangled, and his film credits also include Thor: The Dark World and Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.[2]
His other work includes Shazam!, American Underdog, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.[3]
2011–2013The Nerd Machine and Nerd HQ
Levi’s company The Nerd Machine sells T-shirts, bags, and other merchandise and publishes original content and videos on its website; by October 2013 it had run Nerd HQ during three consecutive San Diego Comic-Cons, with attendance growing from 20,000 to more than 32,000 and speakers including Vin Diesel, Joss Whedon, Aaron Eckhart, and Nathan Fillion, and in 2013 it brought The Nerd Lounge to New York Comic Con.[1]
Nerd HQ’s “Conversations for a Cause” events raised more than $500,000 for the charity Operation Smile. IntelIntelIntel is a semiconductor company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, founded by Robert Noyce and Gordon Moore in 1968; it introduced the 4004 microprocessor in 1971, its x86 processors have long powered personal computers, it has pursued a foundry strategy since 2021, and Lip-Bu Tan has been its chief executive officer since 2025.Open the full entry had sponsored the company since its early days, and other partners included Fiat, VerizonVerizonVerizon (Verizon Communications Inc.) is one of the largest telecommunications carriers in the United States, formed in 2000 through the merger of Bell Atlantic, one of the “Baby Bells,” and GTE. Headquartered in New York City, it operates a nationwide wireless network, Fios fiber broadband and communications services for businesses and government, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.Open the full entry, Vitamin Water, Turtle Beach, and Universal.[1]
Levi said at the time, “Nerd culture has become a big part of pop culture today,” and that he wanted to expand the company’s editorial and original video offerings, adding that he would “love to have my own game studio.”[1]
2013Broadway Debut in First Date
In 2013 Levi made his Broadway debut in the musical First Date opposite Krysta Rodriguez.[2]
2016Tony Nomination for She Loves Me
In 2016 he received a Tony Award nomination for starring as Georg in She Loves Me.[2]
2017Ranch Outside Austin
In 2017 Levi sold his Los Angeles home and bought a ranch outside Austin, Texas.[4]
June 2022Publication of Radical Love
On June 28, 2022, Harper Horizon published Levi’s book Radical Love: Learning to Accept Yourself and Others, a 224-page title.[3]
June 2025Plans for Wyldwood Studios
In June 2025 Levi planned to build Wyldwood Studios on 75 acres he had bought along the Colorado River in Bastrop, east of Austin; the campus was planned at $100 million, he was seeking to raise $40 million, and the design combined traditional production facilities with housing, amphitheaters, and office space, with production days capped at 8 to 10 hours and housing for families.[5]
He described the industry as “crumbling” and said he wanted to foster “organic, human-made content.”[5]
March 30, 2026Interview with Hard Knocks Business
On March 30, 2026, Hard Knocks Business released a 24-second video, “Actor Zachary Levi in Austin Texas gave us words of wisdom!”, filmed in Austin, Texas. The host stopped Levi on the street and asked whether he was in The Office; he replied, “I am not in The Office. No.” and was then asked for one piece of advice for the younger generation. His name appears only in the video’s title and description.[6]
September 2026Update on Wyldwood Studios
By September 2026, Wyldwood Studios was planned as a multi-phase film and lifestyle campus in Bastrop County, designed as a hybrid production hub and creative retreat with soundstages, production offices, housing, and wellness spaces; its first two soundstages were expected to open in 2027.[4]
Interviewed alongside Liam Neeson, his co-star in The Fix, Levi said of California, “I grew up in California. I love California. It is a failed state,” and of Texas, “Fortunately, Austin’s awesome.”[4]
Advice Shared on Hard Knocks Business
He named authenticity, repeating it three times, as the key quality (video at 00:16).[6]
He advised learning to love yourself so that you can love others more deeply, and taking care of one another (video at 00:17).[6]
Sources
- Actor Zachary Levi runs a well-oiled Nerd Machine (opens in a new window)
- Zachary Levi Biography (opens in a new window)
- Radical Love by Zachary Levi on Apple Books (opens in a new window)
- Zachary Levi calls California a ‘failed state’ that is ‘literally and figuratively on fire’ after Texas move (opens in a new window)
- Zachary Levi follows Musk to Bastrop for “non-woke” film studio (opens in a new window)
- Actor Zachary Levi in Austin Texas gave us words of wisdom! (opens in a new window)