Hank Azaria's Real Name: Hank Azaria

Quick answer: The actor and voice artist is documented as Hank Azaria. Encyclopedia.com gives the full name Hank Albert Azaria and dates his birth to April 25, 1964, in Forest Hills, New York. A Greater Astoria Historical Society profile published by QNS instead uses Henry Albert Azaria and places the birth in Queens on the same date (Encyclopedia.com; QNS).

Real name and early life

He is known professionally as Hank Azaria. The two non-Wikipedia sources disagree on the first given name: Encyclopedia.com's "full name" line is Hank Albert Azaria, while the QNS historical profile opens with Henry Albert Azaria. That conflict is noted here rather than silently resolved, so the title uses the public professional name. Both sources agree on April 25, 1964, and on a Queens upbringing; Encyclopedia.com specifies Forest Hills, and QNS says he attended the Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills. QNS describes a Sephardic Jewish family in which Ladino was spoken at home. Encyclopedia.com records a B.A. from Tufts University in 1987 and later study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts; QNS also places him at Tufts, where he acted in stage productions before moving to Los Angeles.

Career highlights

QNS says he found early bit parts on Family Ties and Growing Pains and began voice work on The Simpsons in 1989. Encyclopedia.com independently lists him among the show's voice cast from 1989, including the Kwik-E-Mart clerk Apu, and records an Emmy Award for outstanding voice performance in 1998. Live-action work in Encyclopedia.com includes a Screen Actors Guild award, with the ensemble, for The Birdcage (1996), plus film roles in Quiz Show and Heat, later work in Godzilla, and the series Huff. It also notes an Annie Award for the animated feature Anastasia (1998) and a guest-acting Emmy nomination for Mad About You. QNS notes guest appearances in the 1990s on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, and Mad About You, and says he has won multiple Emmys. Encyclopedia.com also records a later marriage to the actress Helen Hunt, which ended in divorce; Hunt has her own name page in this batch and is not linked here.

Name notes for searchers

Hank Azaria is the professional name. Encyclopedia.com uses Hank Albert Azaria; QNS uses Henry Albert Azaria. Searchers looking for longtime Simpsons voice work or for The Birdcage are usually aiming at the same person.