Zach Woods (born September 25, 1984)[1] is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office, as Jared Dunn on the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley, as Zach Harper on the USA Network sitcom Playing House, and as Matt Spencer on the HBO comedy show Avenue 5. He also recurred on the HBO series Veep as Ed Webster, and starred as billionaire Edgar D. Minnows in the Apple TV+ murder mystery series The Afterparty.
Zach Woods | |
|---|---|
 Woods at SXSW 2016 | |
| Born | September 25, 1984 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | New York University (BA) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2004–present |
Early life
editWoods was born in Trenton, New Jersey.[2] He is Jewish.[3] His father is a psychiatrist who specializes in clinical therapy, and his mother is a nurse practitioner.[3] Woods is a middle child; he has an older brother and younger sister.[3] In 1997 and 1998, he attended summer camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts.[4] He grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Pennsbury High School in 2003. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.[5][6]
Career
editWoods started performing improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at age 16 and was a part of the improvisational sketch troupe "The Stepfathers", whose members included Bobby Moynihan and Chris Gethard.[7] He has taught improv at Columbia University, Duke University and Lincoln Center.[8] He has appeared in such films as In the Loop and The Other Guys, and appeared in the CollegeHumor skits "Adam and Eve in the Friend Zone" and "The Infinisphere".
He is known for starring as Awkward Boy, the protagonist in the YouTube video series The Most Awkward Boy in the World.[9] In 2010, he appeared as a zombie in a Starburst candy commercial.[10]
Starting in 2010, he portrayed Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office. He was promoted to series regular beginning in season 7.[11]
From 2014 to 2019, he co-starred as Jared on HBO's Silicon Valley. He also appeared on HBO's Veep as Ed Webster.
Beginning in January 2020, he had a role as Matt Spencer, Head of Customer Relations for Avenue 5, a science-fiction comedy TV series created by Armando Iannucci that premiered on HBO in the United States.
Woods had a role in the action comedy Spy (2015), directed by Paul Feig,[12] and appeared in Feig's film Ghostbusters in 2016.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Terrorists | Drugstore Cashier | |
| 2009 | Strangers | Man | Short film |
| In the Loop | Chad | ||
| The Honkys | O.G | Short film | |
| 2010 | The Other Guys | Douglas | |
| 2011 | High Road | Tommy | |
| Andy and Zach | Zach | Short film | |
| Damsels in Distress | Rick DeWolfe | ||
| 2012 | Rich Girl Problems | Duncan | Short film |
| 2013 | The Heat | Paramedic | |
| 2015 | Spy | Man in Purple Tie | |
| 2016 | Other People | Paul | |
| Ghostbusters | Garrett | ||
| Mascots | Mike Murray | ||
| 2017 | The Lego Ninjago Movie | Zane | Voice |
| Zane's Stand Up Promo | Voice Short film | ||
| The Post | Anthony Essaye | ||
| 2019 | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Carl | Voice |
| 2020 | Downhill | Zach | |
| David | — | Short film Director, writer and producer | |
| 2021 | Bud | — | Short film Director, writer and producer |
| 2022 | Spin Me Round | Dana | |
| TBA | Huntington | Filming |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | My Wife, the Ghost | Geets Wilson | 1 episode |
| 2006 | Sexual Intercourse: American Style | Ted | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Washingtonienne | Mark | 1 episode |
| 2010–13 | The Office | Gabe Lewis | Main role, 51 episodes Nominated – SAG Award for Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2011–12) |
| 2011 | Funny or Die Presents | Stuart | 1 episode |
| Bored to Death | Super Ray fan | 1 episode | |
| 2012–15 | The League | Lane | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | Arrested Development | Trippler | 1 episode |
| Comedy Bang! Bang! | The Remarkable Greg | 1 episode | |
| 2013–14 | Veep | Ed Webster | 3 episodes |
| 2013–16 | The Good Wife | Jeff Dellinger | 4 episodes |
| 2014 | Kroll Show | Cal Culvers | 1 episode |
| 2014–17 | Playing House | Zach Harper | Main role, 8 episodes |
| 2014–19 | Silicon Valley | Donald "Jared" Dunn | Main role, 53 episodes |
| 2015 | Drunk History | Lee Duncan | 1 episode |
| 2016 | Animals | Brian (voice) | 1 episode |
| Better Things | Zach | 1 episode | |
| 2017–23 | Big Mouth | Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | The Simpsons | Zane Furlong (voice) | Episode: "The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson" |
| 2020–22 | Avenue 5 | Matt Spencer | Main role, 17 episodes |
| 2023 | The Afterparty | Edgar D. Minnows | Main role; 10 episodes |
| 2024 | In the Know | Lauren Caspian (voice) | Main role; also co-creator, writer, director, and executive producer |
Web
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | The Podcast | Gabe Lewis | 3 episodes |
References
edit- ^ Mike Rose, cleveland com (September 25, 2023). "Famous birthdays list for September 25, 2023 includes celebrities Donald Glover, Mark Hamill". cleveland. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ "Meet Zach Woods, the Anxious Heart of "Silicon Valley" – Los Angeles Magazine". Los Angeles Magazine. May 29, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Episode 597 – Zach Woods". April 27, 2015.
- ^ "And the nominee is ... Interlochen at the Grammys, Golden Globes and Academy Awards". Interlochen Center for the Arts. Archived from the original on January 28, 2016. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
- ^ "Episode 597 - Zach Woods". WTF with Marc Maron Podcast. April 27, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ Ivie, Devon (April 15, 2015). "Zach Woods and Human Comedy". Interview Magazine. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
- ^ "The Stepfathers". Newyork.ucbtheatre.com. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ "UCB Theatre – Zach Woods".
- ^ "Zach Woods • UCB Comedy". Ucbcomedy.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2013. Retrieved May 20, 2013.
- ^ Tim Nudd (December 1, 2010). "Starburst "Zombie" Commercial". The 30 Freakiest Ads of 2010. AdFreak.com. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ^ "Exclusive: 'The Office' promotes 'Gabe' to series regular". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. June 16, 2010. Archived from the original on June 18, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
- ^ "Adrian Lester Joins 'Grey Lady'; Zach Woods Cast In 'Spy'". Deadline. May 2, 2014. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
External links
edit- Zach Woods at IMDb