Hank Azaria: Poker Career, Results and Biography

October 20, 2023
Updated November 6, 2026

Table of Contents

Hank Azaria is an American actor and voice actor, best known for the many characters he has voiced on The Simpsons since 1989. ^[1][2] He is also a long-time recreational poker player: he played on Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown, finished just outside the money in the 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event, sat at the celebrity table of the 2015 Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout and later organized and hosted charity games with PokerStars. ^{[4][6][2][12]} He is not a professional player, and his poker record is that of a well-known amateur.

Hank Azaria in New York in 2016 — “Hank Azaria (25755582981) (cropped)” by Greg2600, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

Hank Azaria: key facts

Name	Hank Azaria
Born	April 25, 1964 (age 62), Queens, New York ^[1]
Known for	Voice work on The Simpsons, including Moe Szyslak and Chief Wiggum ^[3]
Poker TV	Celebrity Poker Showdown (Bravo, 2004); Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout (NBCSN, 2015) ^[4][2]
Best-known WSOP run	2010 Main Event, eliminated just outside the money ^[6]
Charity poker	Co-organizer of Stars Call for Action (2020); host of Hank’s Home Game on PokerStars.net (2021) ^[10][12]

From Queens to The Simpsons

Azaria was born in Queens, New York, on April 25, 1964. He attended The Kew-Forest School in Forest Hills, where he has said he was “obsessed with acting,” and later Tufts University. ^[1] He has voiced characters on The Simpsons since 1989 and based the voice of the bartender Moe on Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon. ^[1] The Television Academy lists Emmy wins for his Simpsons voice work in 2001, 2003 and 2015, with Moe Szyslak and Chief Wiggum among the characters named. ^[3] On screen his credits include Friends, Ray Donovan, Along Came Polly and Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian. ^[2]

A regular home game player

Poker coverage consistently describes Azaria as an enthusiast rather than a professional. Card Player wrote in 2015 that he tries never to miss his regular poker game with friends, that he credits poker with helping him in business negotiations, and that he uses the game to raise money, especially for the Geffen Playhouse and Determined to Succeed, a charity supporting low-income students. ^[7] In 2021 Card Player described Azaria, Don Cheadle and Michael Ian Black as “regular poker players for quite some time.” ^[13] In a 2020 PokerNews Podcast interview he talked about how he learned the game and about playing at the World Series of Poker. ^[11]

Celebrity Poker Showdown

Azaria was part of the celebrity poker boom of the mid-2000s. Bravo’s Celebrity Poker Showdown, hosted by Dave Foley with commentary from poker pro Phil Gordon, put celebrities in televised No-Limit Hold’em tournaments. Azaria played Game 5 of the second tournament of the 2004 run, broadcast on August 5, against Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Jeffrey Ross and Gail O’Grady. ^[4]

The 2010 WSOP Main Event

Azaria’s best-documented tournament run came in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship. On Day 2b, PokerNews reported that he was “off to a great start,” having picked up 51,000 chips in the second half of Level 5 to move past 100,000. ^[5] He made it to the money bubble but no further: his pocket queens lost to ace-king when an ace came on the river, and he was eliminated just short of a cash. In ESPN’s broadcast, commentator Norman Chad marked the moment with a joke about one of Azaria’s Simpsons characters, Chief Wiggum. ^[6]

Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout (2015)

In June 2015 Azaria was one of five actors invited to the Super High Roller Celebrity Shootout, hosted by Poker Central at ARIA in Las Vegas on June 27 and 28 and broadcast on NBCSN from July 29. The celebrity table was Azaria, Don Cheadle, Brad Garrett, Norm Macdonald and Kevin Pollak; the pro table was Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Selbst. The two table winners met in a best-of-three match for a $1 million prize. ^[2][7] Pollak won the celebrity table and lost the final to Selbst, so Azaria did not reach the final match. ^[8]

Charity poker with PokerStars

During the pandemic in 2020, Azaria and director and screenwriter Andy Bellin turned the idea of expanding their home game into Stars Call for Action, an online play-money tournament on PokerStars with dozens of celebrities and fans. PokerStars contributed $1 million to pandemic relief charities. ^[9] Azaria said in the announcement: “A friendly game of poker reminds us how life used to be, which hopefully we get back to soon.” ^[9] Actor David Costabile won the event and its $100,000 donation, which went to World Central Kitchen. ^[10]

In February 2021 PokerStars.net launched Hank’s Home Game, an online series streamed on its YouTube channel with Azaria as host. In the first game he played Don Cheadle, Jon Hamm, Michael Ian Black, Josh Charles and Michael Cera for shares of a $50,000 donation to their chosen charities, decided by play-money chip counts. ^[12] “Hank’s Home Game is all about great company and good conversation,” Azaria said at the launch. ^[12] Each player started with 10,000 chips, the blinds stayed at 50-100 and rebuys were unlimited over a two-hour limit. Cera won and sent $20,000 to First Responders First. ^[13]

A second game followed with Jack Black, Amy Schumer, Jason Alexander and JK Simmons, plus Jon Hamm returning, with the funds allocated through the Edward Charles Foundation. “I’m excited to be back for another game and more entertainment for everyone to enjoy while we raise more funds for charity,” Azaria said. ^[14]

Video: Hank’s Home Game

FAQ about Hank Azaria

Does Hank Azaria play poker?

Yes, as an amateur. Poker media describe him as a regular home game player who has appeared on televised celebrity poker shows and played the WSOP Main Event. ^[7][6]

Has Hank Azaria played the World Series of Poker?

Yes. In the 2010 Main Event he went past 100,000 chips on Day 2b and was eliminated on the money bubble when his pocket queens lost to ace-king. ^[5][6]

Was Hank Azaria on Celebrity Poker Showdown?

Yes. He played Game 5 of the second 2004 tournament on Bravo, broadcast on August 5, with Seth Meyers, Amy Poehler, Jeffrey Ross and Gail O’Grady. ^[4]

What is Hank’s Home Game?

An online charity poker series hosted by Azaria and powered by PokerStars.net, launched in February 2021. Celebrities play with play money, and their chip counts decide how a charity donation is shared; the first game split $50,000. ^[12]

What is Hank Azaria’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure. His poker activity does not change that picture: as of October 10, 2026, we found no WSOP.com or PokerNews player profile with live tournament earnings for him, and his best-documented WSOP run ended just short of the money. ^[6]

Which Simpsons characters does Hank Azaria voice?

Among others, Moe Szyslak and Chief Wiggum, both named in his Emmy nominations, and he has voiced characters on the show since 1989. ^[3][1]

Related profiles

Read about Kevin Pollak, who won the celebrity table at the 2015 Shootout, Don Cheadle, who played both the Shootout and the first Hank’s Home Game, and Doyle Brunson, who sat at the pro table of the same Shootout.