Galifianakis Considers Sitting On Wall, Having a Great Fall, in “Puss in Boots”

Man of the hour Zach Galifianakis. 

Some people may think of 2009 as the year of the ox on the Chinese calendar. Or they may think of it as the centennial of the birth of Abraham Lincoln and Edgar Allan Poe. Or they may think of it as the Year of Zach Galifianakis.

Galifianakis had been kicking around for a while, but it was his role in this summer’s surprise, bargain-priced hit “The Hangover” that maded him one of Hollywood’s Most Wanted. Today The Hollywood Reporter says that Galifianakis is in talks to join Shrek spin-off “Puss in Boots” as the voice of Humpty Dumpty.

The Puss in Boots character, voiced by Antonio Banderas, will appear in this summer’s “Shrek Forever After.” “Puss,” set to open on November 4, 2011, is actually a prequel that will detail the events that lead up to Puss’s arrival on the Shrek scene. Chris Miller is directing; Salma Hayek is also in the cast.

Here’s what Galifianakis has booked since ”The Hangover” opened:  the Jay Roach-directed  comedy “Dinner for Schmucks”; Todd Phillips comedy ”Due Date,” opposite Robert Downey Jr.; and the Ryan Fleck-Anna Boden-directed drama “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” from Focus Features. Oh, there’s also a sequel to “The Hangover,” planned for summer 2011. And then there’s “Bored to Death,” Galifianakis’s HBO series. That just got renewed for a second season.

If you’re lucky in Hollywood, you have that moment where after years of struggling and just getting by, of no one noticing what you do, you land that one role that makes everyone sit up and take notice. Then suddenly you’re the flavor of the minute, and boy, you better make sure you’re make the most of it, because you probably won’t get a second chance. Galifianakis seems to be doing a good job of making sure his moment doesn’t pass him by.