Zachary Levi

Biography:

Zachary Levi was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Susan Marie Pugh (1950–2015) and Darrell Alton Pugh (1946–2023). Of English, Welsh, and German ancestry, he grew up moving across several states before his family settled back in Ventura, California, where he attended Buena High School. Levi began acting at age six, performing leading roles in regional stage productions such as Grease, The Outsiders, Oklahoma!, Oliver!, The Wizard of Oz, and Big River at the Ojai Art Center.

He made his screen debut credited as Zachary Pugh in the 2000 Showtime/Goosehead.com series Whatever. His early work included Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie, the sitcom Less than Perfect, and the ABC Family film See Jane Date. Although he was cast in an ABC pilot, Three, for the 2004–2005 season, it was not picked up.

Levi’s breakout came in 2007 with the lead role in NBC’s Chuck, for which he and co-star Yvonne Strahovski won Teen Choice Awards in 2010. He was named one of Entertainment Weekly’s “Top Thirty People Under Thirty” in 2008. He later appeared in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel and voiced Flynn Rider in Disney’s Tangled (2010). He also narrated Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story (2011) and hosted the Spike Video Game Awards that year.

Levi continued working in both television and film. He replaced Josh Dallas as Fandral in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and returned briefly in Thor: Ragnarok (2017). On Broadway, he starred in First Date (2013) and later in the acclaimed 2016 revival of She Loves Me, earning a Tony Award nomination for his role as Georg. He also played Luke Collins in NBC’s Heroes Reborn (2015–2016) and guest-starred in Deadbeat.

From 2017 to 2020, he reprised Flynn Rider in Tangled: Before Ever After and Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure. In 2018, he appeared in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, sharing in the SAG Award for Best Ensemble. He gained major recognition starring in DC’s Shazam! (2019) and returned for Shazam! Fury of the Gods (2023). Other projects included The Mauritanian (2021), American Underdog (2021), Spy Kids: Armageddon (2023), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), Harold and the Purple Crayon (2024), and The Unbreakable Boy (2025).

Beyond acting, Levi has pursued music. He recorded “Terrified” with Katharine McPhee in 2010 and performed “I See the Light” with Mandy Moore for Tangled, which they sang at the 83rd Academy Awards. He has also sung with the charity band Band from TV.

In 2020, Levi launched Wyldwood Productions, which has developed short films and co-produced a podcast episode about his life. Its first theatrical film, Sarah’s Oil, is set for release in 2025 with MGM.

Levi is passionate about sports cars, motorcycles, and video games, and lives near Austin, Texas. He founded The Nerd Machine in 2010 and played in the 2011 NBA Celebrity All-Star Game.

In his personal life, Levi married Canadian actress Missy Peregrym in 2014, but they separated later that year and divorced in 2015. In December 2024, he revealed that his girlfriend Maggie Keating was expecting; their son was born in April 2025.

Levi has spoken openly about his struggles with mental health and suicidal thoughts, which he detailed in his 2022 memoir Radical Love.