DC Star Finally Shines Light On Bizarre Behavior?
In recent years, Zachary Levi has been an unexpected source of controversy, beginning when he made a seemingly anti-vax tweet regarding Pfizer on X (formerly Twitter). And after Shazam 2 bombed at the box office, he had a prolonged online meltdown where he blamed everyone from Warner Bros. Discovery to Dwayne Johnson for the film’s failure. In a recent appearance on The Storytellers with Andrew Erwin, the star admits to having serious money problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, an admission that some think might explain his otherwise bizarre behavior in recent years.
In the interview, Zachary Levi discussed how he was making American Underdog, and Lionsgate, nervous about the pandemic, decided to delay production. The star describes how this decision “hosed” him because he had “spent a whole bunch of my liquidity.” As a result, he says, “when the pandemic came, I had no money and I had no income,” and he had no other major projects lined up at the time.
These sad revelations about Zachary Levi’s finances paint a bleaker picture of some of his previous claims.
His partial solution to these financial difficulties was to live with several of his friends in a kind of commune. Zachary Levi was grateful for the “friends who helped me through that time,” but he was still nervous because his money was “real tight.” He ultimately blamed Lionsgate for delaying the film for his financial woes, implying that he had made major purchases after American Underdog was greenlit and that its delay put him in a major bind regarding money.
While Zachary Levi didn’t explicitly address this in the interview, many are speculating that the belated admission of these money problems explains why he was so invested in Shazam 2’s success…
These sad revelations about Zachary Levi’s finances paint a bleaker picture of some of his previous claims. For example, he previously told Entertainment Tonight that his pandemic living conditions in Texas were a way of “living the quarandream” in “a little arts commune” filled with people “who live and work on my property.” This made it sound like the veteran actor was doing his buddies a favor, but it now sounds more like these friends were providing the star support during a time of crisis.
While Zachary Levi didn’t explicitly address this in the interview, many are speculating that the belated admission of these money problems explains why he was so invested in Shazam 2’s success and ultimately melted down over its failure. For the DCEU actor, this wasn’t necessarily just another role…it was his opportunity to return to headlining blockbuster films. When that sequel crashed and burned, it arguably took much of his leading man star power with it.
The DCEU may be dead and gone, but that doesn’t mean that Zachary Levi won’t successfully stage a comeback.
Many of Zachary Levi’s fans expressed sympathy at his financial hardship, but others wondered exactly what he was spending money on to the point that the delay of a single film could leave him with “no money.” The conclusion that some came to is that the actor was living paycheck to paycheck, which is a staggering possibility when you consider how much he got paid for his biggest roles.
Other fans wondered if his recent appearance on a “star-studded cruise” headlined by figures like Alicia Silverstone and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., might be an indication that he is still experiencing financial difficulties.
The DCEU may be dead and gone, but that doesn’t mean that Zachary Levi won’t successfully stage a comeback. He still has a loyal army of fans who loved him in shows like Chuck and big-screen films like Tangled and Shazam. With a whopping six upcoming films in pre-production, we can only hope the actor learned a valuable lesson during the pandemic: don’t spend it all in one place.
