Giorgio A. Tsoukalos
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Tsoukalos at AlienCon 2016
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| Born | (1978-03-14) 14 March 1978 (age 46) |
| Education | Ithaca College |
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| Website | thealiensguy |
Giorgio A. Tsoukalos (/ˈsuːkələs/, Greek: Γεώργιος Τσούκαλος; born 14 March 1978) is a Swiss-born writer, and television presenter and producer. He is a ufologist and a promoter of the pseudoscientific ancient astronauts hypothesis.[2] He is best known for his appearances on Ancient Aliens, a History channel series of which he is also producer.[3]
Tsoukalos is of Greek-Austrian heritage.[4] He is a 1998 graduate of Ithaca CollegeinIthaca, New York, with a bachelor's degree in Communications.[5] For several years he worked as a bodybuilding promoter and a volunteer in IFBB sanctioned bodybuilding contests, including Mr. Olympia.[6] He produced and directed the annual IFBB San Francisco Pro Grand Prix from 2001 to 2005.[7][5]
Since 2002, Tsoukalos has appeared in programs broadcast by Travel Channel, History, Syfy, and National Geographic. He was the editor of Legendary Times magazine from 1999 to 2008.[8][9][10] He is a co-executive producer of Ancient Aliens, and he has appeared in more than 200 episodes since 2009.[11] He presented and co-produced the 2014 H2 series In Search of Aliens.[12]
Tsoukalos's appearances in Ancient Aliens inspired a meme highlighting his unusual hairstyle overlaid with the caption: "I'm not saying it was aliens … but …"[13] Variations of the meme were uploaded by users as early as November 2010.[13][14] According to Dictionary.com, the meme mimicked "the tone of conviction used by Tsoukalos to present unfounded far-fetched pseudo-logic as fact."[14]
In a 2015 Reddit AMA, Tsoukalos said he loved the meme, adding "it's a great honor to have been embraced" by Internet users.[4][15] During a 2016 appearance on CNN Philippines, Tsoukalos's meme-ification was discussed at length. A partial transcript of the interview was later published online as "Meet the Hair Guy from Ancient Aliens."[16]
In 2021, Tsoukalos made a cameo appearance in the Resident Alien episode "Welcome Aliens". He was described by the lead character as "that high-haired gentleman".[17] The episode included several references to the Ancient Aliens meme.[18] Tsoukalos reprised his cameo in the 2022 episode "Best of Enemies".
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | In Search of | Self | 1 episode; Credited as an Egyptologist |
| 2003 | Is It Real? | Episode: "Ancient Astronauts" | |
| Is There a Stargate? | Documentary short | ||
| 2007 | Mysterious Journeys | 3 episodes[5] | |
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Ultimate Quest | TV documentary[5] | |
| 2008–2016 | Coast to Coast AM | Syndicated radio program; 9 episodes[19] | |
| 2009 | Race to Witch Mountain | Giorgio Tsoukalos (cameo) | Uncredited appearance |
| UFO Hunters | Self | 3 episodes[5] | |
| 2009–2024 | Ancient Aliens | Self / Producer |
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| 2010 | Extreme Universe | Self | Episode: "Star Gates" |
| 2011 | The Mo'Nique Show | 1 episode; Archive footage appeared in later episodes | |
| 2011–12 | The Joe Rogan Experience | Podcast; Episodes #125 and #232 | |
| 2013 | Contacto Extraterrestre | Episode: "Caídos a Tierra" | |
| America's Book of Secrets | Episode: "The Ancient Astronaut Cover-Up" | ||
| 2014 | In Search of Aliens | Self / Presenter | 10 episodes; Credited as co-executive producer |
| 2017 | Ancient Aliens Declassified | Self | 6 episodes; Highlights from Ancients Aliens |
| Next Week with Jeff Durbin | Episode: "Conspiracy Theories and Sam McClure"; Archive footage | ||
| 2018 | BuzzFeed Unsolved Supernatural | Episode: "The Unexplained Phoenix Lights Phenomenon" | |
| The Noite com Danilo Gentili | Episode: "Ufólogos" | ||
| 2019 | Truth-Seekers | Giorgio (cameo) | Short film |
| 2020 | The UnXplained | Self | Episode: "The Truth About UFO's" |
| 2021–22 | Resident Alien | Giorgio Tsoukalos (cameo) | 2 episodes |
| 2022 | Les Secrets du miracle de Fatima | Self | TV documentary; Archive footage |
| International |
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| National |
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