Zach Woods (born September 25, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and director. He is best known for his roles as a series regular for three seasons as Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office, as Jared Dunn on the HBO comedy series Silicon Valley, as Zach Harper on the USA Network sitcom Playing House, and as Matt Spencer on the HBO comedy show Avenue 5. He also recurred on the HBO series Veep as Ed Webster, and starred as billionaire Edgar D. Minnows in the Apple TV+ murder mystery series The Afterparty.
Woods was born in Trenton, New Jersey. He is Jewish. The family surname had originally been Widensky. His father, Jonathan, is a psychiatrist who specializes in clinical therapy, and his mother, Lisa, is a nurse practitioner. Woods is a middle child; he has an older brother and younger sister. In 1997 and 1998, he attended summer camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts. He grew up in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Pennsbury High School in 2003. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University.
Woods started performing improv at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre at age 16 and was a part of the improvisational sketch troupe "The Stepfathers", whose members included Bobby Moynihan and Chris Gethard. He has taught improv at Columbia University, Duke University, and Lincoln Center. He has appeared in films such as In the Loop (2009) and The Other Guys (2010), and in the CollegeHumor skits "Adam and Eve in the Friend Zone" and "The Infinisphereb".
He is known for starring as Awkward Boy, the protagonist in the YouTube video series The Most Awkward Boy in the World. In 2010, he appeared as a zombie in a Starburst candy commercial.
Starting in 2010, he portrayed Gabe Lewis on the NBC sitcom The Office. He was promoted to series regular beginning in season 7.
Woods has had roles in a number of HBO shows. From 2014 to 2019, he co-starred as Jared on Silicon Valley. He also had a recurring role on Veep as Ed Webster. Woods had a role in the action comedy film Spy (2015), directed by Paul Feig, and appeared in Feig's film Ghostbusters in 2016. Beginning in January 2020, he had a role on the science fiction comedy TV series Avenue 5 as Matt Spencer, Head of Customer Relations.
He made his film directorial debut with the 2026 drama film The Accompanist starring Susan Sarandon and Aubrey Plaza, which he also co-wrote. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 4, 2026.