Giorgio A. Tsoukalos (; ; born 1978) is a Swiss-born writer, and television presenter and producer. He is a ufologist and a promoter of the ancient astronauts hypothesis. He is host and producer of Ancient Aliens, a History Channel series.
Career Tsoukalos is of Greek-Austrian heritage. He is a 1998 graduate of Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York, with a bachelor's degree in Communications. From 1999 to 2007, he worked as a promoter for IFBB-sanctioned bodybuilding contests, including Mr. Olympia. He was a promoter and contest director for IFBB San Francisco events from 2001 to 2005.
Since 2002, Tsoukalos has appeared in programs broadcast by Travel Channel, History Channel, Syfy, and National Geographic. He was the editor of Legendary Times magazine from 1999 to 2008. He is a co-executive producer of Ancient Aliens franchise, and since 2009 he has appeared in more than 300 episodes. He presented and co-produced the 2014 H2 series In Search of Aliens.
Ancient Aliens meme 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 ..." Variations of the meme were uploaded by users as early as November 2010. According to Dictionary.com, the meme mimicked "the tone of conviction used by Tsoukalos to present unfounded far-fetched pseudo-logic as fact."
In a 2015 Reddit "Ask Me Anything" interview, Tsoukalos said he loved the meme, adding "it's a great honor to have been embraced" by Internet users. 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."
Tsoukalos made a cameo appearance in the 2021 Resident Alien episode "Welcome Aliens". He was described by the lead character as "that high-haired gentleman". The episode included several references to the Ancient Aliens meme. Tsoukalos reprised his cameo in the episode "Best of Enemies".
A Meme Studio analysis of Google Trends placed the Ancient Aliens meme fourth in its list of the 20 most-searched meme templates in the United States. Between June 2024 and May 2025 the meme was searched more than 2,000 time per month when paired with "meme generator" or "template".
Filmography
Television YearTitleRoleNotesRef2002In Search ofSelf1 episode; Credited as an Egyptologist2003Is It Real?Episode: "Ancient Astronauts"Is There a Stargate?Documentary short2007Mysterious Journeys3 episodes2008Indiana Jones and the Ultimate QuestTV documentary2009Race to Witch MountainGiorgio (cameo)Uncredited appearanceUFO HuntersSelf3 episodes2009–2026Ancient Aliens281 episodes; Co-executive producer2010Extreme UniverseEpisode: "Star Gates"2011The Mo'Nique ShowEpisode dated July 21, 20112013Contacto ExtraterrestreGiorgio Tsoukalos (cameo)Episode: "Caídos a Tierra"America's Book of SecretsSelfEpisode: "The Ancient Astronaut Cover-Up"2014In Search of AliensSelfPresenter10 episodes; Co-executive producer2015Ancient Aliens: The Ultimate Evidence7 episodes; Consulting producer2016CNN PhilippinesSelfGuestFeatured interview2017Ancient Aliens DeclassifiedSelf6 episodes; Highlights from Ancients AliensNext Week with Jeff DurbinSelfGuestEpisode: "Conspiracy Theories and Sam McClure"; Archive footage2018BuzzFeed Unsolved: SupernaturalSelfEpisode: "The Unexplained Phoenix Lights Phenomenon"The Noite com Danilo GentiliSelfGuestEpisode: "Ufólogos"2018–2019WGN Morning News2 episodes; National news program2019Truth-SeekersGiorgio Tsoukalos (cameo)Short film2020The UnXplainedSelfEpisode: "The Truth About UFO's"2021–22Resident AlienGiorgio Tsoukalos (cameo)2 episodes2022Les Secrets du miracle de FatimaSelfTV documentary; Archive footage2022–2024Ancient Aliens: Special PresentationSelfPresenter24 episodes; Co-executive producer20231st Annual 4bidden Conscious AwardsTV special2023Jesse Watters PrimetimeSelfGuestEpisode aired September 13, 202320242nd Annual 4bidden Conscious AwardsSelfPresenterTV special2024–26Ancient Aliens: OriginsSelf12 episodes; Co-executive producer
Radio and podcast appearances
YearProgramHostEpisodesRef2008–2016Coast to Coast AMGeorge Noory9 episodes2009Donna Seebo ShowDonna SeeboEpisode dated September 2, 20092010The Spirit RevolutionKathleen McGowan, Philip CoppensEpisode dated November 16, 2010When Pigs FlyAndrew FederEpisode dated October 22, 20102010–2012Life Changes ShowFilippo Voltaggio2 episodes2011Connecting The LightMike QuinseyEpisode dated May 6, 2011The Metaphysical HourDolores CannonEpisode dated June 3, 2011; Published as podcast in 20212011–12The Joe Rogan ExperienceJoe Rogan2 episodes2017Hysteria 51Episode: "Pyramids of Giza"; Archive audio2025IntergalaktisktEpisode: "Zeus var chefsalien"On the Phone with John MingioneJohn MingioneEpisode: "On the Phone With: Giorgio Tsoukalos"
References
External links