Hank Azaria

At 60 years old, Hank Azaria has this physical status:

Henry Albert Azaria ( ?-ZAIR-ee-?; born April 25, 1964) is an American actor, voice actor, singer, comedian and producer.

He is known for his voice characterizations as a variety of characters in the animated sitcom The Simpsons (1989–present), which has included Moe Szyslak, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Chief Wiggum, Comic Book Guy, Carl Carlson and others.

After attending Tufts University, he joined the series with little voice acting experience, but became a regular in its second season, with many of his performances on the show being based on famous actors and characters.

In addition to his work on The Simpsons, Azaria became more widely known for his live-action appearances in feature films such as The Birdcage (1996), Godzilla (1998), Mystery Men (1999), America's Sweethearts (2001), Shattered Glass (2003), Along Came Polly (2004), Run Fatboy Run (2007), Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and The Smurfs (2011).

Since 2017, he has starred as the titular character in Brockmire. Azaria had recurring roles on the television series Mad About You and Friends, as the titular character in the drama Huff (2004–2006) and appeared in the popular stage musical Spamalot.

Originally known as a comedic actor, he has also taken on more dramatic roles, including the TV films Tuesdays With Morrie (1999) and Uprising (2001).

He has won six Emmys and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

He was married to actress Helen Hunt from 1999 to 2000 and has been married to actress Katie Wright since 2007.

Early life

Henry Albert Azaria was born in the Queens borough of New York City, New York on April 25, 1964, the son of Ruth Altcheck (1928-2022) and Albert Azaria (1927-2013). His grandparents on both sides were Sephardic Jews from Thessaloniki. His family spoke Ladino, also known as Judaeo-Spanish, which he described as "a strange, antiquated Spanish dialect written in Hebrew characters." Azaria's father ran several dress-manufacturing businesses while his mother raised him and his two older sisters, Stephanie and Elise. Before marrying his father, Azaria's mother had been a publicist for Columbia Pictures, promoting films in Latin American countries as she was fluent in both English and Spanish. During his childhood, Azaria would often "memorize and mimic" the scripts of films, shows, and stand-up comedy routines he enjoyed. He attended Camp Towanda in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, and now visits annually as a judge for the camp's Olympics.

Azaria attended The Kew-Forest School in Queens' Forest Hills neighborhood. He decided to become an actor after performing in a school play at the age of 16, becoming "obsessed with acting" at the expense of his academic studies. Both of his parents loved all forms of show business, which further spurred him to become an actor. He studied drama at Tufts University from 1981 to 1985, where he met and befriended actor Oliver Platt and noted that Platt was a "better actor" than he was and inspired him. Together they starred in various college stage productions, including The Merchant of Venice, before Azaria went to train at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Although he did not expect the endeavor to be successful, he decided to become a professional actor so that he would not regret not having tried later in life. His first acting job was an advertisement for Italian television when he was 17 years old. He also worked as a busboy. He originally intended to work predominantly as a theatrical actor, and he and Platt set up a company called Big Theatre, although Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter was the only show they ever performed. Azaria decided that television was a better arena and offered more opportunity, and moved to Los Angeles after being offered work with talent agent Harry Gold.

Personal life

In the early 1990s, Azaria was in a relationship with actress Julie Warner. His relationship with actress Helen Hunt began in 1994; they married in a traditional Jewish ceremony at the couple's home in Southern California on July 17, 1999. The two had appeared together in Mad About You and the Simpsons episode "Dumbbell Indemnity". After a year of marriage, Azaria moved out of the couple's home, and Hunt filed for divorce after a six-month separation, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on December 18, 2000.

Azaria began dating former actress Katie Wright in 2007, and the two married later that year. They have a son named Hal (born 2009). The family has one dog, Truman, and two rescue cats, Mookie and Wilson. In 2013, the family began renting a home on 80th Street in Manhattan, with plans to make a final decision on where to live in two years. They previously lived in a four-bedroom house in Pacific Palisades, which Azaria bought from his Simpsons co-star Dan Castellaneta in 2011. Several weeks earlier, Azaria had sold his home in Bel Air. Azaria previously owned the fifth-floor co-op loft on Mercer Street in Manhattan's Soho neighborhood, which he bought from photographer Cindy Sherman in 2005, before selling it in 2013.

Azaria is the godfather of Oliver Platt's son, George. He is also a regular poker player, appearing twice on Celebrity Poker Showdown and competing at other events, finishing a few places short of the bubble in the main event of the 2010 World Series of Poker. Azaria is a supporter of the Democratic Party. He enjoys the music of Elvis Costello, and has stated that he would have been a therapist if he were not an actor. He considers The Godfather Trilogy to be what inspired him to become an actor, and counts Peter Sellers and Walt Frazier as his heroes. Azaria co-founded the educational support charity, "Determined to Succeed".

On May 22, 2016, he was awarded the Honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (DHL) from Tufts University.

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Career

Azaria grew to be a prankster for working with him, but he was still rejected for auditions after a woman Azaria had been working with in New York "got really angry with [Gold] for breaking his promise to work with Azaria. Joe Bash's pilot episode made his television debut with his role in the ABC comedy-drama series Joe Bash's 1984 ABC comedy-drama series. Before the show was shown, his part, a one-line job as the police officer Maldonado, was edited out, but his position allowed him to join the Screen Actors Guild. Azaria appeared in the TV film Nitti: The Enforcer, about the gangster Frank Nitti, and appeared in the failed pilot Morning Maggie with Matthew Perry, with whom he became good friends. In 1988, Joe appeared in a single line on the sitcom Family Ties, and the following year, he appeared in an episode of Growing Pains. Azaria has described his career progression as gradual; he did not achieve overnight fame or fame. Azaria was taught by acting coach Roy London in Los Angeles. He performed as a stand-up comedian and as a bartender for a catering company in between acting and catering jobs.

Azaria's voice in the continuing animated television series The Simpsons made him well known. He appeared on only one voice-over in the failed Fox pilot Hollywood Dog, as the titular animated dog in the failed Fox pilot Hollywood Dog, but everyone else was real." Moe Szyslak, the town bartender, had the first voice on The Simpsons, was replaced by Christopher Collins, who had not yet recorded the character's voice. Bonita Pietila, a film director, called Azaria and asked him to audition for Moe. In a scene he was playing a drug dealer, he was using a voice based on Al Pacino's appearance in the film Dog Day Afternoon. In his audition for The Simpsons, he used the voice and made the song more "gravelly" (at the request of show's executive producers Matt Groening and Sam Simon. Groening and Simon decided that the resultant voice was ideal for Moe, so they took Azaria away from the Fox recording studio. Before he had even seen a script, he recorded several lines of dialogue as Moe in the film "Some Enchanted Evening" dubbing Collins' voice.

Azaria did not expect to hear from the show again, but they kept calling him back, first to perform Chief Wiggum's voice and then Apu Nahapeema. "[the designers] didn't seem too happy with what I had achieved," he said...[and] he was kind of impatiently instructing me on the ABCs of comedy. Then, to my surprise, he'd still have me back every week. But every week, I thought it was going to be my last week because I honestly didn't think I had done well." However, by the show's second season, he was already performing multiple recurring voices and was made a permanent member of the cast. Groening also considered Azaria the "new guy" because he arrived later than the majority of the cast. Azaria is a multi-time character starring comic Book Guy, Carlson (until season 32, now voiced by Alex Désert), Cletus Sprinkler, Professor Frink, Lou, Snake Jailbird, Kirk Van Houten, Captain Chalmers, Superintendent Chalmers, Disco Stu, Duffman, and numerous one-time characters in addition to Moe, Wiggum, and Apu. Nancy Cartwright, Hank's co-star, wrote that: "The thing about him is that he started out so young, and then, little by little, his talents were revealed, and his contributions to the show soared." Hank was going to be our breakaway star," he said.

As Moe's voice is based on Al Pacino's, many of Azaria's other recurring characters are based on current sources. He took Apu's voice from the many Indian and Pakistani convenience store workers in Los Angeles who he had visited when he first came to the area, and also based it on Peter Sellers' character Hrundi V. Bakshi from the film The Party. Initially, it was thought that Apu being Indian was too offensive and stereotyped, but after Azaria's reading of the word "Hello, Mr. Homer," which the show's creators thought was amusing, the role stayed. Azaria, on the other hand, denied this on LateNet with Ray Ellin, who argued that Apu was always meant to be stereotypical. Chief Wiggum's voice was first a parody of David Brinkley, but when Azaria was told it was too slow, he switched it to Edward G. Robinson's. Officer Lou is based on Sylvester Stallone, and Dr. Nick is "a bad Ricky Ricardo impression." Carl is "basically Charles Bronson," according to the "Wise Guy" voice, while Carl is "a stupid voice [Azaria] never did." Two of the voices in Azaria's old college roommate, while Comic Book Guy's voice is based on a student who spent in the room next door to Azaria and went by the name "F." Professor Frink is based on Jerry Lewis' appearance in the original The Nutty Professor, and the Sea Captain is based on English actor Robert Newton's portrayal of many pirates. Frank Grimes, a one-time protagonist from the film "Homer's Enemy," based on actor William H. Macy, based his performance on him. Grimes is his most emotional appearance in The Simpsons' history.

In 1998, 2001, 2003, and 2015, Azaria's work on the show has earned him four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Achievement. He was also nominated for the award in 2009 and 2010, but unfortunately, Dan Castellaneta and guest star Anne Hathaway were both nominated for the award. In 2012, he was nominated again. Azaria, along with the rest of the principal cast, retold all of his voice roles from The Simpsons in 2007. Azaria says he spends "an embarrassingly little amount of time on The Simpsons." When we read through the script, we have an hour on Thursday, then four hours on Monday, and I'll probably come back once or twice." It's "the best job in the world, as far as I'm concerned."

Azaria was paid $30,000 per episode up to 1998. Azaria and the five other main The Simpsons voice actors were then involved in a wage dispute in which Fox threatened to replace them with younger actors and went as far as preparing for the casting of new voices. However, the problem was soon resolved, and they received $125,000 per episode from 1998 to 2004. The voice actors deliberately skipped several script read-throughs in 2004, insisting that they be paid $360,000 per episode. The strike was ended a month later, with Azaria's pay up to something like $250,000 to $360,000 per episode. Production for the twentieth season was suspended due to new contract talks with the voice actors, who needed a "healthy bump" in salary. The contentious issue was later settled, and Azaria and the rest of the cast received their requested salary increase, approximately $400,000 per episode. Azaria and the other cast members accepted a 30 percent wage cut, down from more than $300,000 per episode three years ago, with Fox threatening to cancel the series unless production costs were reduced.

Azaria talked about his reaction to The Problem with Apu, a 2017 film by Hari Kondabolu that looked at Azaria and other white actors who had appeared in South Asian roles as stereotypes in a lecture hosted in Stephen Colbert's The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on April 24, 2018. "The belief that anyone, young or old, past or present, was mocked or teased based on Apu's character makes me sad," Azaria said during the interview. "I'm completely able and eager to step aside, or help transition it into something new," Azaria said. "Thank you, @HankAzaria," Kondabolu tweeted in response to Azaria's words: "Thank you, @HankAzaria." I love what you said and how you said it." Azaria announced in early 2020 that he was moving away from the Apu person mainly because of the stereotypes and bias it propagated. He will resign from voicing Carl later this year for similar reasons. Azaria had previously apologised for narrating the Apu name on Dax Shepherd's podcast in April 2021.

Azaria began playing other, mainly live-action, roles as a result of The Simpsons' continuing success. He appeared on Herman's Head (1991–1994) as Jay Nichols, co-star Yeardley Smith, as a main cast member. He filmed Herman's Head and The Simpsons on the same day and filmed Herman's Head. Following the series's cancellation, Azaria unsuccessfully auditioned for the role of Joey Tribbiani, one of the main characters in the sitcom Friends series. He was instead cast as Dr. David, one of Phoebe Buffay's boyfriends in the film. In the show's tenth episode "The One with the Monkey," the protagonist was sent to Minsk for a research trip. He reprised his role in the show's seventh season (2001), before appearing in numerous sequels (2003). This return culminates in David's invitation to Phoebe; she rejects him; and David leaves the show for good. Azaria played Nat Ostertag, the dog walker, from 1995 to 1999. Azaria was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearances in both Mad About You (1998) and Friends (2003). In 1995, Azaria appeared in If Not For You, a short-lived sitcom, while playing record producer Craig Schaeffer.

Imagine That in 2002, Azaria produced and appeared in the sitcom Imagine That, effectively ending Emeril mid-season in the NBC lineup. Josh Miller, a comedy writer who "transformed" each episode into a story Miller imagined, "provid[ing] a comedic outlet for his anxieties at home and work." After just two episodes aired, production was suspended after five episodes and it was cancelled after two of them were cancelled due to poor critical reaction and ratings. "I wanted to do something really honest, informative, and impactful," Azaria later expressed on the program: We had a group of executives in the room, all agreeing that The Larry Sanders Show was our favorite thing on television, but we didn't do it on NBC, and frankly, it didn't make enough money to be concerned about from a business standpoint. The writing was definitely on the wall by the time it was broadcast, and I don't blame them at all. It was evident that it wasn't working."

In the Showtime drama series Huff, which aired 24 episodes between 2004 and 2006, Craig "Huff" Huffstodt starred as psychiatrist Craig "Huff" Huffstodt. Azaria appeared on the show and produced an episode of its second season as an executive producer and producer. After reading the pilot script, he sent it to Platt, who played Huff's companion Russell Tupper. Azaria loved being on the show but was often in conflict with its creator, Bob Lowry, who said that "we all cared so much about it that neither of us were able to understand." Azaria's role, according to Gillian Flynn of Entertainment Weekly, was "impressively subtle," while John Leonard of New York magazine said, "shrewd bit of casting." In 2005, the show received seven Emmy Awards, including a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Despite the awards, the show received poor ratings, and Showtime decided not to license it for a third season.

Azaria appeared on NBC sitcom Free Agents, a reimagining of the British series of the same name. Alex Taylor, a recently divorced public relations executive "who is missing his children and trying to keep himself together," spent his days with a co-worker (Kathryn Hahn). On the show, Azaria also appeared as a producer. He was unsure of the venture, disliked the long timeline demanded of a lead actor in a single-camera film, and favoured cable shows' "sensibility." Nevertheless, he loved the script and executive producer John Enbom's previous series Party Down, and decided to participate. Despite Azaria's efforts on Twitter to save it, the show was cancelled after four episodes due to poor ratings. Azaria appeared in the second season of Showtime's Ray Donovan, playing FBI agent Ed Cochran.

As Buzz, Azaria made his film debut in the direct-to-video film Cool Blue (1990). Albertson, a police detective, made his first theatrically released feature film appearance in Pretty Woman the year before. Albert Freedman, a television producer from 1994, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture in his next major film role. In 1996, Azaria played gay Guatemalan housekeeper Agador Spartacus in the film The Birdcage. He was nominated for Outstanding Achievement by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and the Austin Chronicle's Alison Macor's "most funny appearance in the film," but Empire wrote that he "[stole] the film." He played a Guatemalan accent and made himself appear as effeminate as possible in this role. He had two possible voices, an effeminate one and a more difficult one. He took the effeminate voice after receiving a drag queen's suggestion. He knew he sounded exactly like his grandmother three weeks into production, which aided in his success. Agador was originally intended to be a single scene scene piece, with David Alan Grier playing the housekeeper. Azaria inherited the entire role with the producers afraid of the racial connotations of a black actor in such a role.

He appeared in many other films in the late 1990s, including Heat (1995), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Celebrity (1998), and Walter Plane, as Walter Plane in the 1998 version of Great Expectations. Victor "Animal" Palotti appeared in Godzilla (1998). Godzilla was one of Azaria's first acting roles in a blockbuster film. It was the longest shooter of his career to date, but he thought it was a good way to lift his profile. "I'm so used to melding into every character I play." Even within the company, the individual in charge of Birdcage, Quiz Show, and Great Expectations are three different people, which makes me proud in a sense, but in another sense, it is frustrating. It's the curse and blessing of the character actor." Azaria's physical discomfort and the film's critical failure later made it "tough to make" and "very disappointing when it came out." It was one you could never forget or say, 'That was part of paying your dues, and better luck next time.' As the faux-British silverware throwing master The Blue Raja appeared in the drama Mystery, Alaska as Charles Danner and the comedy superhero film Mythical Men as the mysterious British silverware throwing specialist. Hector Gorgonzolas in America's Sweethearts (2001), Claude in Along Came Polly (2004), and the young Patches O'Houlihan in DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story (2004), the latter two with Ben Stiller. Claude, a French scuba instructor, in Along Came Polly, wore a wig and went outside regularly to get to the physical form the role requires.

In Tim Robbins' film Cradle Will Rock in 1999, Azaria played composer Marc Blitzstein. Azaria was "brilliant as the tortured (is there any other form of artist Blitzstein?) according to Paul Clinton. Mitch Albom, a writer and journalist, appeared in the television film Tuesdays with Morrie, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for the role. Azaria referred to the former as the "best work [he] has] achieved." These were two of Azaria's first dramatic roles; during his career, the actor mainly worked in comedy, but she is trying to strike a balance between the two genres. "All the roles I got were in comedy at first, and I was certainly keen to get those," Azaria said, "I never felt the shame of being a dramatic actor because I was so excited to get what I wanted." I was pleasantly surprised later on when I first got to dramatic roles. But I never went to say, 'OK, now it's time to play a lead.'" In 2001, his next dramatic role was in the television film Uprising. Mordechaj Anielewicz, one of the rebellion's leaders, was based on the 1943 Ghetto Uprising and Azaria's Mordechaj Anielewicz. Azaria was perplexed by his role in Uprising and had often asked the film's producer and director Jon Avnet why he was chosen. "I know [Avnet] admired that I was Jewish, and he knew I could do accents well." [Uprising] cast me and David Schwimmer, and we were both astonished. He had an intuition that he wanted people who were more well-known for being funny. He never explained it to me in a satisfactory manner; I'm not sure why." His appearances in the comedy series Monty Python's With Morrie and Uprising affected him, resulting in a depressive mood that he combated with Monty Python DVDs. Azaria found Uprising to be "very difficult and emotionally challenging" material. In the drama film Shattered Glass, Azaria played journalist Michael Kelly, the former editor of The New Republic. Kelly died a few months before the film was released, and Azaria said the film "has evolved into a strange kind of eulogy to him."

Azaria has continued to make multiple film appearances since Huff's departure in 2006. In David Schwimmer's debut directorial debut Run Fatboy Run (2007), he played the smooth-talking Whit. During filming, he became good friends with co-star Simon Pegg, who appeared on request, often distracting Pegg when he was supposed to be filming. On 2009's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, in which Azaria played the villainous pharaoh Mun Rah, Boris Karloff's accent was used. Although the film received mixed feedback, critics lauded Azaria's performance. "Thanks to Azaria, a master of comic timing," TV Guide's Perry Seibert wrote. When deliberating if Oscar the Grouch and Darth Vader are evil enough to join his army, his grandiose and barely fey poor guy is just as funny as he is when chewing out minions as he is. He appeared as Abraham in Year One, Dr. Knight, 2010's Love & Other Drugs, and in Deep Throat director Gerard Damiano in Lovelace (2013).

In the 2011 computer-animated/live action version of The Smurfs, Azaria performed Gargamel. Azaria's nose, ears, buck teeth, eyebrows, and wig were all included in his hair, as well as shaving his head. Over the course of the production, he spent about 130 hours in the make-up chair. Gargamel's voice was regarded as the most significant part of his show, according to Azaria. The producers wanted a "old, failed, Shakespearean actor" voice, but Azaria felt it would lack motivation and wanted something more Eastern European. He eventually selected a voice similar to Paul Winchell's from the cartoon. When the cartoon first appeared, Azaria looted it; Gargamel was too one-dimensional and "just this straight villain"; he made Gargamel "more sarcastic" than the cartoon; but "today, he got his head up and got him very angry about Smurfs." He described him as "very sad," adding that "he hates the Smurfs because they're such a happy family." He needs him so bad. He seems he wants to be accepted as a Smurf." Azaria worked with the writers to "infuse" the script with some of his ideas about the character, "especially with Gargamel's [his cat] Azreal [sic]" that Azaria conceived.

Reviewers from The San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe wrote about Azaria's "overacting" in the role of Gargamel. More positive feedback came from USA Today's Scott Bowles, who called Azaria the "human standout"; Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times said he did the film's cast suffered the "greatest disservice" of the film's cast due to poor script. In an interview with The A.V., Azaria discussed her career. The Smurfs and Night at the Museum were films he wanted to see mainly for the money, but that "I won't even do it unless I feel it would be fun to do." Azaria reprised his role in the 2013 film The Smurfs 2. Azaria appeared in Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer with Richard Gere in 2016.

Azaria did a variety of voice roles in addition to The Simpsons in 2005, but he admitted later: "I started doing other voiceovers for cartoons for a few years, but I didn't really love it." The Simpsons spoilt me. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, Eddie Brock / Venom appeared. Bartok the bat was on display in Anastasia (1997), and he reprised the role in Bartok the Magnificent (1999). Azaria received the Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in a Male Performer in an Animated Film Festival for his role in Anastasia. In the 2001 Futurama episode "That's Lobstertainment," Eric was also named Eric in the American dub of the series Stressed Eric, Harold Zoid. "Abbie Hoffman and Allen Ginsberg, as well as Abbie Hoffman and Allen Ginsberg in Chicago ten years ago." Carlos and Phil were in charge of the 2011 film Hop. The reaction to the film was mostly critical, but several commentators lauded Azaria's performance. For example, Sandie Chen of The Washington Post said, "Azaria has been honing his over-the-top Spanish accent since The Birdcage, so anything he says makes him laugh out loud," while Emma Simmonds of Time Out described him as "unflappable presence, voicing two characters with style." In Happy Feet Two later this year, he voiced The Mighty Sven. In Mack & Moxy, Azaria voices Shelfish Sheldon. In Bordertown, which began in 2016, he also played lead agent Bud Buckwald.

As the Simpsons were "going smoothly" and Azaria had enough money to live on, he stopped working on commercials as he considered them "demoralizing," and he became sarcastic whenever he read about them. When recording "Jell-O Man" for a Jell-O commercial, he was told to make the voice "more likable and welcoming so that children like him." Since pointing out that "Jell-O Man" was a fictional character, he departed and promised not to appear for an advertisement again. In addition, he appeared in a Chevrolet Sonic commercial in 2012 and described many insects.

Nobody's Perfect, Azaria's 2004 short film that received the Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Short at the US Comedy Arts Festival. After their factory is relocated to Mexico, he was confirmed to be directing Outsourced, a film about two American workers who are trying to get their jobs back. Azaria told Empire in 2009 that he was instead focusing on making a fatherhood documentary. "Forever looking for financing to finish it," he told the Los Angeles Times two years ago. It began on AOL in 2014 as an online series called Fatherhood. Azaria's "touching, amusing, and often enlightening journey from a man who is not positive he wants to have kids to a father who is going through the joys, trials, and tribulations of being a dad" is published in AOL.

He has frequently returned to theatre performance, appearing in several productions. He appeared as Bernard in a revival of David Mamet's play Sexual Perpetuality in Chicago, along with Matthew Perry and Minnie Driver in London's West End in 2003. In Spamalot, the musical version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Azaria made his first appearance as Sir Lancelot, the French Taunter, and four others, the first in Chicago, the musical interpretation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The show received fourteen Tony Award nominations in 2005, with Azaria receiving the Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical. Since reunited with The Birdcage creator Mike Nichols and being a huge Monty Python fan, he saw it as a chance he could not miss out on, describing it as "too much fun that I hadn't realised how tiring it is" and "the most fun I've ever had in my entire life." In June 2005, he took a break from the show, with Alan Tudyk filling in for him, but he returned to Huff in December 2005. In late 2007, he appeared in Aaron Sorkin's The Farnsworth Invention, playing RCA head David Sarnoff. He appeared in the world premiere of Dry Powder opposite Claire Danes, John Krasinski, and Sanjit De Silva, produced by Thomas Kail, at the off-Broadway Public Theater in New York City in 2016.

"A Legend in the Booth" was both written and directed by Azaria in the third episode of the Funny or Die web-series Gamechangers. After finding his wife was having an affair, Jim Brockmire, a legendary baseball announcer, died on air for a profanity-filled breakdown. Brockmire's voice and style were based on many veteran sportscasters, including Bob Murphy and Phil Rizzuto, for Azaria. Since being named Brockmire on the NFL Network's The Rich Eisen Podcast to address the National Football League, he has been on the show. Azaria sued actor Craig Bierko for the Brockmire voice in November 2012. In 2014, the case was decided in Azaria's favour. Both actors had been using a baseball announcer voice before and after attending a party in 1990, but US district judge Gary Allen Feess found that only Azaria's voice was heard as Brockmire, a distinct, "tangible" character and therefore subject to copyright.

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