By Zorianna Kit
LOS ANGELES, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Zach Galifianakis may be best
known as the breakout star of "The Hangover" movie franchise,
but on Friday, he takes on politics -- and Will Ferrell -- in
the Jay Roach directed comedy "The Campaign."
The film is about Cam Brady (Ferrell), a congressman in
North Carolina who has run unopposed for the last few elections
and expects to cruise to another victory. But two CEOs
determined to oust him decide to hand-pick a naive man, Marty
Huggins (Galifianakis), to run against him.
Galifianakis, 42, recently talked with Reuters about his
personal connection to politics and his newfound passion for
farming.
Q: Why is the world of politics such a goldmine for comedy?
A: "Politics has become so insanely rough and there's so
much B.S. out there that we thought it would be interesting to
make a movie about the making of candidates. Basically how the
sausage is made, if you will."
Q: Did you draw on any real-life politicians?
A: "There are several people that have been on the national
stage that we borrowed from for sure. I think the most prevalent
example is the Sarah Palin aspect where -- and I don't blame
Sarah Palin, I blame it on the human ego -- when somebody
chooses you to do something, you start believing (you can do
it). If I got hand-picked to do something or was told I was
really good at something, I would want to believe it because it
sounds nice."
Q: Exactly. You hope that people genuinely think you're
qualified ...
A: "I've never thought I was qualified for anything. But the
last couple of years people think I'm qualified to act in
movies, so I'm running with it! (laughs)"
Q: Do you follow politics in general?
A: "I've paid attention to politics since I was a kid. My
uncle (Nick Galifianakis) was a congressman (between 1967 and
1973) and he was involved in a very unfair campaign against him
in North Carolina in the '70s. So I'm pretty well aware of past
races and elections. When we were filming the movie, all I did
was watch political television on both sides ... A lot of these
political ads are so ridiculous! They look like they were
produced by fourth graders!"
Q: Did you ever think twice about getting into it yourself?
A: "Me? No, no, no. I'm not eloquent enough to be like that.
It's a tough world to be involved in. I look at these guys
running for president and I don't know how they do it. They must
really believe that they can do something or maybe they're just
power hungry. I have no idea ... I ran for school president in
sixth grade and I lost. I stopped trying after that. My mom
forced me to run. I thought I was going to win. I was cocky and
it didn't go my way."
Q: Clearly the acting choice worked out for you. You're a
go-to guy in comedy for these loveable losers. Do you feel
typecast?
A: "My character (in "The Campaign") is different from
anything that I've played. I think in the movie-making business,
they want to paint you in a corner and re-use you for the thing
that you're known best. I can play dumb very well and I play
dumb in this one. But it's a different kind of dumb. It was fun
to play somebody that's not so vacant."
Q: You're currently shooting "You Are Here," with Owen
Wilson and Amy Poehler in North Carolina, where you happen to
own a farm.
A: "Yes, I live there part of the time, so to be on my farm
and commute to work is the greatest."
Q: Is farmland important to you?
A: "A few years ago I had this real craving to nurture land
and grow things. I get a big kick out of watching my grapes and
blueberries grow (laughs). The idea is to figure out how to feed
my family and myself off the farm."
Q: And how's that going?
A: "When you don't know what you're doing, it takes a lot of
work! But it's very rewarding."
Q: This fall, you're reprising your role as Alan in a third
"Hangover." Got any clues as to what will be the boys' next
adventure?
A: "Yeah, I have a little bit of a clue, but we're
tight-lipped about that."
Q: Is there an end in sight? Or is this an infinite
franchise?
A: "This is the last one. We're all in agreement that this
is it. We're doing a third one to make a conclusion."
(Reporting by Zorianna Kit, editing by Jill Serjeant, desking
by Gary Crosse)