You’ve seen him as the Church Lady. You’ve seen him banging his head to Queen as Garth Algar in a beat-up AMC Pacer. But when you look at him standing next to Mike Myers or his former Saturday Night Live castmates, you probably find yourself wondering: how tall is Dana Carvey in real life? On screen, he’s got this wiry, frantic energy that makes him seem larger than life. In reality, he’s a lot more average than you might think.
The Official Numbers: Height and Build
Let’s get the hard data out of the way first. Dana Carvey is officially 5 feet 8 inches tall.
That’s about 173 centimeters for those of you keeping track on the metric system.
It’s funny because when he was playing George H.W. Bush, he managed to carry himself with a sort of lanky, stiff posture that made him feel taller. The real Bush Sr. was actually quite a bit taller—standing at 6'2"—but Dana’s impression was so spot-on that your brain just sort of fills in the gaps. He’s never been a big guy. He’s always maintained a relatively slight, athletic build, which probably helped him in high school when he was a member of the Central Coast Section champion cross-country team. You need that lean frame for long-distance running.
Why He Often Looks Shorter on Screen
A big reason people go looking for the answer to "how tall is Dana Carvey" is because of his iconic pairing with Mike Myers in Wayne's World.
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Mike Myers is roughly the same height, officially listed around 5'8" as well. However, in the movies, Garth is almost always slouching. Between the ripped jeans, the oversized flannel shirts, and that mop of blonde hair that’s constantly falling into his face, Carvey intentionally makes himself look smaller and more "shrunken" to fit Garth’s submissive, awkward personality.
Contrast that with his time on SNL during the late 80s and early 90s.
When he stood next to someone like Kevin Nealon (who is a towering 6'4"), Carvey looked like a kid. When he was doing "Hans and Franz" with Nealon, the height difference was a massive part of the visual gag. He had to wear these giant foam muscles just to occupy the same amount of space as his partner.
The Perception vs. Reality
Height in Hollywood is a weird thing. Producers use camera angles, "apple boxes" (wooden crates actors stand on), and specific framing to make leading men look taller. But Dana is a character actor and a comedian. He uses his body as a tool. If he needs to look like a tiny, judgmental old woman (the Church Lady), he pulls his shoulders in and compresses his spine. If he’s playing Ross Perot, he leans into that diminutive, "scrappy" energy.
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Honestly, being 5'8" is pretty much the middle of the road for American men. It’s not "short" by standard definitions, but in a world of 6-foot-plus leading men, it can feel that way.
Beyond the Measuring Tape: A Career of Large Impact
While we’re talking about his physical stats, it’s worth noting that Dana’s height hasn't ever limited his range. Born in Missoula, Montana, and raised in California, he’s always been more about the "vibe" than the physical presence.
He’s 70 years old now (born June 2, 1955), and he’s still got that same twitchy, high-octane energy on his Fly on the Wall podcast with David Spade. Spade, for context, is about 5'7", so they’re a pretty matched pair when they’re sitting across from each other.
- Height: 5'8" (1.73 m)
- Weight: Usually stays around 150-160 lbs.
- Notable Physical Feature: That expressive, rubber-like face that can mimic anyone from Paul McCartney to a grumpy turtle.
People often get confused because they compare him to the people he’s mimicking. When you spend years playing a 6'2" President or a 6'0" rock star, people are naturally going to be surprised when they see you at the grocery store and realize you're a "regular-sized" human.
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What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Dana is "tiny." He’s really not. He just has a gift for physical comedy that involves making himself small. He can disappear into a character. When he’s doing stand-up, he commands the stage, and you don’t even think about his height because he’s moving so much.
It's also interesting to look at his brother, Brad Carvey. Brad is the guy who Garth Algar was actually based on. Brad is an engineer and the guy who helped design the Video Toaster (an early digital video effects tool). The "Garth" look—the glasses, the hair—is all Brad. Dana just added the 5'8" frame and the nervous energy.
The Takeaway on Dana’s Stature
If you’re ever in a trivia contest and the question of how tall is Dana Carvey comes up, remember the number 5'8".
But more importantly, remember that he’s a master of "physicality." Whether he’s wearing a wig or just doing a voice, he uses his height—or lack of "intimidating" height—to his advantage. He’s approachable. He’s the underdog. That’s why characters like Garth resonated so much; he wasn’t the big, tough guy. He was the guy you knew from school who was a little bit shorter, a little bit quieter, and a whole lot funnier than everyone else.
If you're looking for more info on the SNL legends of that era, check out some of the old "Hans and Franz" sketches. Now that you know Dana is 5'8", watch how he uses that height difference with Kevin Nealon to sell the bit. It makes the comedy work twice as hard. Basically, he’s proof that you don't need to be the biggest person in the room to have the biggest presence.
To get a better sense of how he looks today, check out recent video clips of his podcast. You'll see that while he might have aged, he's still got that same athletic frame he had when he was running cross-country in high school. It’s a build that has served him well for over four decades in show business.