Bill Burr has reached a point in his critically acclaimed career when he should be hosting his own late-night talker, signing million-dollar book contracts and topping the list of People's Sexiest Angry Men Alive.
'F Is for Family' comedian Bill Burr loves Midwest, Vikings
"F Is for Family" series co-creator isn't a household name — and that's just fine with him.
October 23, 2015 at 7:49PM
One significant obstacle: ambivalence.
The 47-year-old comedian may be behind the upcoming Netflix animated series "F Is for Family" and regularly headlines midsize venues, including the Orpheum Theatre on Wednesday, but in a recent phone interview he seemed more interested in tending to his pit bull and sharing how a Boston-bred kid became obsessed with the Minnesota Vikings.
Q: Your Twin Cities performance is part of a packed tour throughout the Midwest. Is your stand-up schedule always so hectic?
A: I wasn't on the road all summer, which I've never done before. I was editing "F Is for Family," which was a different kind of busy. I'm a huge, huge fan of the Midwest. Both my parents are from there. I hate when arrogant jerks that live on the coasts think they're instantly intelligent because they can see an ocean. When they use the term "flyover states," I say, "Oh, you mean where you get your food supply?"
Q: Do you have any preshow rituals when you're on tour?
A: I'm one of those people who finds everything interesting. When I'm in the South, it's barbecue and college sports. In New Orleans, there's this antique gun shop that I love. I've shot at a gun range in Jacksonville and visited presidential libraries. One thing I've never done in Minneapolis is have a Jucy Lucy. You've got to try heart-attack food in every city. When I was growing up, the Vikings were my favorite team because my favorite color was purple. I used to tell my mother I was going to move to Minnesota and paint everyone's house purple, whether they liked it or not.
Q: Kevin Hart is selling out sports stadiums. Is that something you aspire to?
A: Well, that's Kevin. He's the only guy right now who can do that. I remember when Larry the Cable Guy sold 38,000 tickets in Oklahoma. I found myself trying to calculate how many gigs I would have to book at Funny Bones to match that. It must be a hell of a rush for Kevin and Larry, but honestly, I've never thought about it. If you can sell out comedy clubs, you're making more than enough money than you'll ever need. The rest is gravy.
Q: Seems to me that you have just the right amount of fame. Real fans will recognize you, but otherwise you probably don't get bothered.
A: Yeah. When someone comes up to me and says they really like my comedy, it makes my day. But being known just for being known would become annoying. Everyone's got a camera right now, and having people shoot you constantly would be really unsettling. I'm a big believer in not doing extra TV, appearing when you're not promoting something or doing your work. Then it wouldn't be fun anymore.
Q: Is that one of the reasons you're doing an animated series instead of a live-action sitcom where your face would be front and center every week?
A: There was a little bit of that. I don't want to deal with wardrobe and makeup. It was nice to show up to work in a baseball cap and a T-shirt. Not that it wasn't hard. We weren't even thinking about a lot of the animation challenges like how the characters would look. We spent a week just talking about head and shoulders. "Oh, those eyes don't look sinister enough."
I'm not averse to doing a sitcom. I did a great pilot with the guys from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" that didn't get picked up, but it seemed like it would be fun. I'm not going to do something if it doesn't sound fun. If that means I'm the guy who makes a little less money, I'm OK with that.
Neal Justin • Twitter: @nealjustin
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