Zachary Levi

In Chuck (2007), Zachary Levi can get a laugh out of a lie that will not come out properly. His computer repairman Chuck Bartowski is frightened by espionage and delighted to be involved, often at the same moment. The series was his breakthrough lead, and Yvonne Strahovski's stillness and Adam Baldwin's growling give his nervous comedy something firm to react against. Josh Schwartz's series wears its formula thin by the third season, but the cast remains worth watching across all five. We would still start here.

The move into animation with Tangled (2010) reveals how much he needs the writing to give him a reason to stop showing off. His Flynn Rider initially sounds pleased with himself, and the smirking banter is among the film's weakest stretches. Once Rapunzel has hit him with a frying pan and negotiated a deal, his voice becomes easier company. Mandy Moore gives Rapunzel enough hurt beneath the bounce to make Flynn's rehearsed charm seem inadequate. Levi improves when the character has something to lose, and we recommend the film with more confidence than its early exchanges deserve.

Playing the adult superhero Shazam in 2019 made obvious use of that boyish excitement. David F. Sandberg's sequel, Fury of the Gods (2023), shows how tiresome it can become. Billy Batson is nearly eighteen, yet Levi still plays the transformed version as a much younger boy, while Asher Angel's Billy barely appears. We winced when Levi fumbled a rescue and apologised to the crowd, because the boy who once made the routine touching had been pushed aside. The script gives him too little help, but his mugging makes the problem worse.

Sam Fell's Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) offers a quieter disappointment. Voicing Rocky as a father, Levi is amiable and broad, with less of the cheerful fraud that made the character interesting. It is competent work in a decent family film, but there is little in it to trouble his familiar manner. Give him a part with something to lose before asking him to be charming again.