No screeching. No explosive tic. This weekend at Funny Farm Comedy Club, Bobcat Goldthwait won’t be channeling the character he first squealed on his way to the 1980s pop culture landscape.
These days he’s more Bob than Bobcat, an entertainer who’s just as comfortable behind the scenes writing and directing movies such as the 2009 Sundance entry “World’s Greatest Dad,” starring Robin Williams, or helming TV shows.
Onstage, Goldthwait draws more from his own personality. But don’t expect some stuffy Hollywood exec either. During a recent giggle-laced phone conversation with the AJC, Goldthwait didn’t seem to take either of his identities too seriously.
Q: At one point you announced you were retiring from stand-up comedy.
A: Right. When I make an announcement, I’m not sure if it holds any bearing. I’m fully aware of where I fit in the spectrum of show business. It’s not like the media stops for that day. I did say that I thought I was done with stand-up, because I was directing “Jimmy Kimmel Live.” I directed that for three years. So there had been a period when I hadn’t been doing stand-up for like seven years. I kind of thought I quit. But there’s a connection I make with a live audience. And I ran out of money. I’m not going to lie. This is the alimony tour. I spend most of my time directing small movies and things, and I go out on the road so I don’t have to do “Paul Blart 2.”
Q: So you do have that itch that needs to be scratched as far as getting in front of a live audience?
A: Performing live is something that is new to me recently because I went on the road not long ago and thought, “Why am I not enjoying this?” And I realized I really hate this character. So I kind of force myself to go onstage and not do the persona that people know me for. And that at least made stand-up fun and interesting again. I’m sure there were people saying, “Why isn’t he going, ‘ah!’?” But let’s not kid ourselves. Watching a guy who’s almost 50 doing that for 45 minutes is kind of painful. [Laughs]
Q: You would sometimes remain in character offstage. Was having such a strong onstage persona that was synonymous with yourself a blessing or a curse?
A: I always enjoyed the idea of hiding behind a persona instead of going out there and selling myself as a product because I don’t think most people realize that all comedians are doing a character. They convince themselves that [Jerry] Seinfeld lives in an apartment and those guys were his neighbors. Whatever the persona people are selling onstage is still not them. So mine was so extreme I think it was a nice thing to hide behind.
Q: It seems like the movies you write and direct take on a life of their own. “Shakes the Clown” has become a cult classic. Are you a big fan of cult cinema?
A: If you try to make a cult movie, it’s going to be kitschy. I think that’s where my tastes lie. I don’t make these movies going, “Oh, I hope they have a real small and weird, devoted audience.” I went to a screening recently of “Shakes” and it was sold out. And there were women in the audience [in costume]. ... It is kind of funny when something like that happens. ... But I’m just kind of on my own trip when I’m making these movies.
Comedy preview
8:30 and 10:30 tonight; 7:30 p.m. Sunday. $22. Funny Farm Comedy Club, inside Andretti Indoor Karting & Games. 11000 Alpharetta Highway, Roswell. 770-817-4242, www.funnyfarmcomedyclub.com .
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