Never one to make many press appearances, Zach Galifianakis stepped out for the Birdman premiere at the New York Film Festival on Saturday. Since his public appearances are few, he really went hard on this particular opportunity. The actor, normally quite funny, took a more serious tone with reporters that evening. He spoke about the idea of celebrity and how the industry tends to celebrate itself unnecessarily.
"It's confusing to me — all of this is confusing to me. They oversell it like we're curing cancer, you know what I mean?" he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I just think it can be gross sometimes, the way Hollywood congratulates itself all the time."
Galifianakis reminded reporters that while celebrities do have philanthropic side gigs, they're not primarily in the business of saving lives — even though they're lauded as if they were. "Being a celebrity is shit — it's dumb, and I'm not interested in it," he told THR. "I like to be an actor, and that's it."
Of course, being an actor and celebrity often entails the obligatory press appearance and red carpet event. But, for Galifianakis, there's a difference between being famous and playing into the hype. " The blurred lines are, I think, man-made. I think celebrity is a man-made thing; it's not innate in us. We have people telling us, 'We should pay attention to these people,' for all the wrong reasons, their personal lives and whatnot," he said. He ended his interview echoing the exact sentiment you feel every day of your life: "I'd rather just do my work and go home and watch Lifetime." (The Hollywood Reporter)