Charles Irving "Chuck" Bartowski is the main and titular character of the American fiction television show Chuck on NBC. He is portrayed by Zachary Levi.

At the outset of the show, Chuck Bartowski is presented as a twenty something underachiever who lives in the Echo Park Section of Los Angeles, California and works at a dead end job at the Burbank Buy More in its Nerd Herd division (a fictionalized Geek Squad). Chuck's life stalled after his college roommate, Bryce Larkin, planted test answers under Chuck's bed and then reported him to the officials, which led to Chuck's expulsion from Stanford University (where he was a scholarship student) in 2003 — only twelve credits shy of completing his bachelor's degree. For a long time, Chuck hated Bryce for his betrayal, but he later learns that Bryce got him expelled to protect him from being recruited into the CIA because he knew Chuck wouldn't survive in the field. He also lost his college girlfriend, Jill Roberts (Jordana Brewster). Following his expulsion, Chuck moved in with his sister and began working at the Burbank, California branch of Buy More. At some point over the next five years Chuck becomes the Nerd Herd supervisor.

Zachary Levi Pugh (born September 29, 1980), better known by his stage name Zachary Levi (pronounced /ˈzækəri ˈliːvaɪ/), is an American actor, director, and singer known for the roles of Kipp Steadman in Less than Perfect, Chuck Bartowski in Chuck, and Flynn Rider in Tangled.

Zachary Levi Pugh was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to Darrell and Susy Pugh. He is the middle child between two sisters, Sarah and Shekinah. He is of Welsh ancestry. As a child, his family moved all over the country before making their final move to their new home in Ventura, California, where Levi attended Buena High School for four years. He began acting in theatre at the age of six, performing lead roles in regional productions such as Grease, The Outsiders, Oliver, The Wizard of Oz and Big River at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center.

Levi first appeared in the FX television movie Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie. He played Kipp Steadman on the ABC sitcom Less Than Perfect. He also portrayed a potential boyfriend of Charisma Carpenter's character, Jane, in the ABC Family television movie See Jane Date. Levi was slated to be a lead in an ABC pilot called Three for the 2004/2005 television season. It was written by Andrew Reich & Ted Cohen, and would have costarred James Van Der Beek, Jama Williamson, and Jacob Pitts, but the show was not picked up. Levi financed Kendall Payne's album Grown after she was dropped by her label, Capitol Records.