Hank Azaria - Early Life

Early Life

Azaria was born Henry Albert Azaria on April 25, 1964 in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, the son of Sephardic Jewish parents from Thessaloniki, Greece. His father, Albert, 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 often "memorize and mimic" the scripts of the films, shows and stand-up comedy routines that he enjoyed.

Azaria attended The Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills. He did not consciously decide to become an actor until he performed in a school play at the age of 16, becoming, at the expense of his academic studies, "obsessed with acting." 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 until 1985, before training at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. At Tufts he met Oliver Platt, with whom he became best friends; Azaria noted that "Oliver was a better actor than I was in college, and he really inspired me." Together they both starred in various college stage productions, including The Merchant of Venice.

Although he did not expect the endeavor to be successful, Azaria decided to become a professional actor, so that later in his life, he would not regret not having tried. Azaria's first acting job was an advertisement for Italian television when he was seventeen years old. He also worked as a busboy. Azaria originally intended to work predominantly as a theatrical actor, and he and Platt set up their own company, named Big Theatre, although Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter was the only thing they ever performed. He decided that television was a better arena and offered more opportunity so, after being offered work with talent agent Harry Gold, Azaria moved to Los Angeles.