ZACH GALIFIANAKIS, FROM “THE HANGOVER” TO “DUE DATE”

His breakout role came in director Todd Phillips’ blockbuster hit “The Hangover,” the highest-grossing R-rated comedy of all time. Now, new comic sensation Zach Galifianakis matches wits against Robert Downey Jr. in Warner Bros.' new road comedy “Due Date.”

In the film, Downey plays Peter Highman, an expectant first-time father whose wife’s due date is a mere five days away. As Peter hurries to catch a flight home from Atlanta to be at her side for the birth, his best intentions go completely awry when a chance encounter with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) forces Peter to hitch a ride with Ethan—on what turns out to be a cross-country road trip that will ultimately destroy several cars, numerous friendships and Peter’s last nerve.

By comparison to the high-strung Peter, Ethan, gives new meaning to the term laid-back. Galifianakis, who stars as the human lightning rod for trouble, observes, “Nothing affects him, no insult seems to penetrate. Ethan lives in his own head. He has no talent, and he’s on his way to Hollywood to capitalize on that. These two guys meet through a series of unfortunate circumstances that are entirely Ethan’s fault, to which he is completely oblivious. And every bad thing that happens from that point on is Ethan’s fault. Everything.” 

As infuriating as Ethan can be, whether mismanaging his funds, missing potty breaks or launching their car off an overpass, Todd Phillips concedes he has his good points, citing “honesty, innocence and a humanity that makes you connect with him and root for him despite it all. Ethan is a complex character. He has just lost his father, who was his best friend, and is having a tough time dealing with that. There’s an underlying desperation in everything he does and an eagerness to please to the point where just making friends means trying too hard.” 

Phillips marks his second collaboration with Galifianakis on “Due Date,” following “The Hangover.” He says, “Zach and I click because he knows I really get his humor, which can be pretty outrageous.” 

In “Due Date,” however, Galifianakis creates a character that calls for a great deal of subtlety. Notes producer Scott Budnick, “Every little nuance of personality and each detail—the way he walks, the way he talks, the way he thinks—Zach has figured out how Ethan Tremblay would do these things and it’s reflected in every single moment he’s on screen.” 

At the same time, there is a core of unpredictability to the performance. “Zach brings a sense of spontaneity and danger and I think comedy is best with an undercurrent of danger so that you never know exactly what’s going to happen or what someone will say or do. In that sense, he’s the perfect comedic actor,” says Phillips.

That point of view resonates with Galifianakis, who admits to being right alongside the director in appreciating “the inappropriate,” adding, “Todd and I have the same sense of humor. We like stuff that has a bit of a taboo element—things that are funny specifically because you’re not supposed to laugh at them. As a stand-up comic, I love it when audiences laugh before they realize maybe they shouldn’t have, and then start to question themselves." 

“That’s not to say that you can’t be offended by something Todd or I do in a film,” he continues with mock concern. “I’m often offended by the things I do in movies.” Opening soon across the Philippines, “Due Date” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

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