Hank Azaria is turning down acting roles to focus on his Bruce Springsteen cover band

He was born to run.

Legendary actor Hank Azaria, 60, says he is now turning down acting roles to focus on his Bruce Springsteen cover band, Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band.

“My whole life has been about sharing vocal impressions,” he told Rolling Stone in an article published Sunday.

“It is, in some ways, the ultimate for me.

Azaria, who has won six Emmys, has starred in several movies and TV shows, including “The Birdcage” with Robin Williams and Nathan Lane, “Godzilla” in 1998, “Along Come Polly” with Jennifer Aniston and Ben Stiller in 2004. , “Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian” in 2009, and TV shows such as “Friends” and “Ray Donovan” (for which he won an Emmy in 2016).

He also received a Tony nomination in 2005 for “Spamalot.”

For 36 years, he also voiced many characters on “The Simpsons,” including Comic Book Guy, Chief Wiggum, Moe the Bartender, and formerly Apu, the convenience store owner (until he apologized and stepped down from the role in 2020, which after creating controversy).

“I’m the luckiest person in show business,” he told Rolling Stone, adding that when aspiring actors ask for advice, his answer is, “Go on a cartoon show that’s been on for 36 years. And then don’t worry about anything.”

He added that he doesn’t think season 36, which will premiere in the fall, will be the end of the road for “The Simpsons.”

“I think we knew if we were finishing, because they would probably make a big deal about ‘this is the last season.'”

When “The Simpsons” producers noted that her voice sounded strangely hoarse lately, Azaria explained “I’m working on a thing,” and re-recorded some of her vocal performance, she told the outlet.

The “thing” he’s working on is his Bruce Springsteen cover band, for which he’s the front man.

Hank Azaria and the EZ Street Band play their first official gig at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan on August 1.

Proceeds will go to his social-justice-themed charitable foundation.

“I think of it as a theater performance,” he said. “I’m in the character of Bruce even though I’m telling the story about myself. It’s a performance piece, but I’m not impersonating Bruce.”

Azaria, who was friends with Matthew Perry, was married to Helen Hunt from 1999-2000 and is currently married to Katie Wright – with whom he shares 15-year-old son Hal – eventually wants to perform with his cover band at the 2,000-seat theatre, he said

Azaria also worked on the boss’s speaking voice, which he noted was “a mix of Frank Pentangeli from ‘The Godfather’ and Scatman Crothers.”

Azaria said he first assembled the band for a one-off performance at his 60th birthday party, which was at City Winery in April.

Azaria says, “I was feeling 60, and I thought, ‘What fun?’” He told his friends that a “great Bruce Springsteen cover band” would be the entertainment at the party, surprising them with the fact that he would be the front man.

“I was so nervous,” he said, about playing as boss in front of all his friends.

“I was more nervous that day than any other performance in my life. I had a panic attack, to be honest with you. I was like, ‘What am I doing? This is insane. This is insane!’ And I had a full blown panic attack. I was sweating and I actually threw up. I’ve never been so nervous in my life.”

Azaria, who has been in recovery for alcoholism and sobriety since 2006, noted that Springsteen holds special meaning to him, as the musician was his hero as a teenager.

“Beyond 40, nostalgia takes on a different meaning,” Azaria said.

“It becomes such a painful longing … I’m doing a lot of recovery work now with alcoholics and grown children in dysfunctional families, and your inner teenager is literally a thing. My inner teenager was incredibly excited about all of this. ‘We want to be Bruce!’ And he’s also the one who threw up, sure enough. But I felt that he was the one who added to it all and it was his joy that came out.”

He said that his opening act as “Bruce” went so well that “after the party on Monday, I was offered two acts.”

But, he added, “I turned them both down and spent the morning pursuing whatever was next with the band.”