Zachary Levi is multitalented and in demand
by amber ray / metro new york
PROFILE. In one role or another, Zachary Levi was going to set himself up to become a star this fall. Both comedy icon Mel Brooks and television wunderkind Josh Schwartz (“The O.C.”) handpicked the 26-year-old to take the lead in their major upcoming projects — the Broadway version of “Young Frankenstein” and NBC’s action comedy “Chuck,” respectively.
Although the shaggy, amiable actor admits his first love is the stage, choosing to return to prime time — and in the process, kind of blowing off an entertainment legend — wasn’t really a difficult decision to make … mostly because it wasn’t entirely his choice.
“It all came down to whether or not ‘Chuck’ got picked up,” says the Los Angeles-based Levi, who assures us that he’s ecstatic to be in one of the season’s most critically acclaimed shows. “That was very comforting. Because if I had to choose [between the two], I would have [had regrets and] kicked myself in the ass for the rest of my life.”
Ego in check, Levi calls the double-booking situation an embarrassment of riches. First, NBC casting sent him through exhaustive rounds of interviews with network suits, only to later tell him he had been Schwartz’s choice for “Chuck” from his first read-through.
Still unsure of the series’ fate on network TV, Levi hit Broadway to try out for Brooks. The audition made the musically inclined actor so nervous Levi recalls his leg twitching uncontrollably while onstage, forcing him to improvise by stomping his foot along to the song.
Reliving the moment, Levi is charismatic and funny and soon slips into an uncanny Brooks impersonation — “‘Spaceballs’ the flame thrower!” — which makes his appeal to such major players in the entertainment industry evident. That likeability also translates onscreen — Levi in person is very Chuck-like.
A big-box electronics store employee, Chuck is a goofy, geeky slacker type who doesn’t really seem to mind his retail gig or lack of a love life.
When super secret government information is accidentally downloaded into his mop-topped head (just go with it), Chuck soon becomes an integral component in national security — when he’s not freeing customers’ laptops of some current computer virus, that is.
“With Chuck, it’s just a matter of tuning into those geeky, affable things about me,” Levi says, declaring a personal weakness for video games. “He’s just an every-guy, and I think that people will relate to that.”
If not, there’s always Broadway.
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