Biography

Both sets of his grandparents came from Salonika in northern Greece.

He based his character in The Birdcage (1996) (a flamboyantly, almost over-exaggeratedly feminine homosexual house servant) on his grandmother, in particular his character's speech.

Based the voice of Moe the bartender (The Simpsons (1989)) on actor Al Pacino.

Based the voice of quack Dr. Nick Rivera (in The Simpsons (1989)) on actor Desi Arnaz.

Attended college with Oliver Platt; attended acting school with Sharon Stone.

Just watching Jack Lemmon made me want to get into this business.

Godzilla's a monster for the 90s. He's been working out.

(2011, on Godzilla) That was... Ultimately, you'd have to call it a tough experience. I remember I was with Helen Hunt at the time-we were together-and that movie was a big break for me as well. It was a big part in a big, big action film. I remember right before I went to shoot, Roland Emmerich met with me and said, "So, listen, I've decided all the exteriors are going to be in the rain. I think the creature's going to look much more excellent in the rain, so this is what we're going to do." I'm, like, "Okay, man!" I get home and tell Helen, and... It's going to be a five-month shoot, and I say, "Every exterior's going to be in the rain," and she said, "Oh, my God, you're kidding me. That's terrible!" And I had not worked enough... I don't think I'd ever shot in movie rain before, and I didn't know what that meant. And I learned very quickly that that was absolutely a disaster. I mean, you get soaked, and... I remember in particular that there was a stretch of three and a half weeks of night shooting in L.A., all in the rain. By 4 a.m., you're just permanently shivering. There's no getting around it. And talking about acting, the only usable takes were the ones that your teeth weren't actively chattering in. It was one of those things where you just kept telling yourself, "Look, I'm going to get through this, because it's going to be a huge film!" Again, like Mystery Men, it was still early enough in the days of CGI where it wasn't as seamless with what you were doing with these creatures that weren't there. Now it's much more actor-friendly, how you act like that, but back then, they were still sort of figuring it out, and it was hard and not very rewarding. But again, we all kept telling ourselves, "Well, it's all going to be worth it when the movie makes a gajillion dollars." I know it was perceived as a tremendous flop, so it was a tough experience. Tough to make, and very disappointing when it came out. It was one you definitely chalk up and say, "That was part of paying your dues, better luck next time."

(2011, on Herman's Head) I was very excited to get that when I got it. It was... fun. It was one of Witt-Thomas' last real big shows. [Paul Junger Witt and Tony Thomas] had an amazing run of really funny sitcoms in the '70s and '80s-Soap, The Golden Girls, Empty Nest, blah blah blah-and I was really psyched. I learned a lot. You know, there's nothing that replaces when, every week, you have to get out there and make shtick work, basically. I never really stayed with the stand-up thing. I think a lot of comedians find those kinds of chops out on the road and spend years doing stand-up and working audiences. The Simpsons meant a lot for me as far as learning to create characters, but there's no audience when we record The Simpsons, so it's a different thing. So to just get out there and make jokes work week after week after week... That's what I remember most about that show. Especially the times when the jokes were, y'know, maybe not that great, and you really have to make a purse out of a sow's ear, if you will. That becomes a skill that's even more valuable than making good material work, in some ways. For a comedian, anyway. Like they say, there's no unfunny material, only unfunny actors, which isn't quite true. I made really good friends doing that, but the truth is... I didn't really love that show...And the people who still come up to me and say, "Oh, Herman's Head, I used to love that show," it's... It's always an awkward moment when people come up to you and they like something you did that you don't like, 'cause you kind of want to go, "Well, then, you must be kind of an idiot." But you don't say that, of course. You say, "I'm glad you enjoyed it." But I was sort of happy when that show ended. I was kind of tired of doing that.

(2011, on Tuesdays With Morrie) Working with Jack Lemmon was a tremendous learning experience. I asked him a lot about acting. It was actually very moving when I realized halfway through shooting that... Jack actually was quite ill when he shot that, so I think that's why the material spoke to him so much.