Zach Galifianakis’s Time article opens with the comedian living for two weeks in his Subaru on the streets of L.A. (later, he camped out in an Audi) and ends with Galifianakis actively repulsed by the fans that made him famous. “My whole attitude is, You can’t think of funny s— yourself? You have to come watch me?†Galifiankis says, explaining a bit that invariably ends with him screaming at an audience member to shut up. Despite his massive success on the heals of The Hangover, Galifianakis continues to evolve as a prickly, complicated comedian, a performer who loves his family and operates from a clear moral center, when not threatening to rape a loud audience member or informing his gawking fans that his mother is actually a prostitute. Says Galifianakis, “Being popular is poison. My mom and dad are like, ‘You’re not enjoying any of this.’ I say, ‘It’s your fault for not raising me to be superficial.’†Says Hangover director Todd Phillips, “He has a hate-hate relationship with his audience. Comedy is about the unexpected. That’s about as surprising a thing as you can do — hate being loved.â€
