Photography by Koury Angelo
Bill Burr’s acerbic observations on politics and all other facets of life have taken him far. The comic's appeared in multiple standup specials, as well as such shows as Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Breaking Bad, New Girl, and Chappelle’s Show. In 2012, he founded the All Things Comedy network, a digital comedy commune that hosts podcasts and releases albums from a stable of comedians, including his own Monday Morning Podcast. And since December, his animated series F Is For Family has been streaming on Netflix. This Friday, he visits the Fox. SLM recently caught up with him about acting, standup, and current events.
You work a lot, and in a lot of different ways. Were TV and movies always a goal?
Being a standup, on the road selling tickets, that was always the goal. Comedians were getting, like, a sitcom, and I just started taking acting classes since I was like, "Well, I guess I’m gonna get a sitcom. I’d better know how to act." I didn’t realize that I had a choice, to be honest. Back then, I didn’t want to do one because other than, like, Seinfeld, they were all pretty lame. Something happened in the '80s, and it spun out in the '90s where it just became like Friends, just a bunch of really good looking people in a giant New York apartment and the problems they went through. It was silly.
Was the transition tough?
At first. I would compare it to when I first started doing standup. I just did standup in and around Boston, and one day I did a show in New Hampshire and some of my references didn’t work. I made a reference to a 7-Eleven-type store that they only have in Massachusetts, and the joke bombed. I was like, “Oh my gosh. I’m in New Hampshire. Am I not funny in New Hampshire?” But then I went to New Hampshire enough times that I didn’t have to make any adjustments. That’s what happened between standup and acting: At first, it was like, “Oh, wait. This isn’t just me; this is me and another person or other people?” They’re both awesome. I’m a standup first and foremost—I always will be. If you had to take one away and say you could never do it again, it would definitely be acting.
Your jokes aren't always politically correct. Does that ever worry you?
Every interview I have makes it seem like the sky is falling in comedy clubs, and it isn’t. It’s reporters completely and knowingly blowing it all out of proportion because they’re not going to talk about the real shit, which is people messin’ with our food supply and being involved in a never-ending war. People who come out to comedy shows are adults. They realize that they’re seeing a comedy show and that they made the choice to go do it. It’s so ridiculous and absurd; it’s a complete nonstory.
There are people in the middle of nowhere who can light their tap water on fire, OK? And you barely see stories about it, or you see a briefing and then it goes away. But somebody tells a joke that somebody doesn’t like, and they have to issue an apology or people want to have this big meeting. Is anybody issuing an apology for genetically altering food, for fracking down the street and ruining an entire city’s tap water? Is anybody apologizing for that? They don’t apologize for that.
But nobody on your end is taking those people to task on any sort of position, but they’re always talking to us about jokes about Caitlyn Jenner. A joke. About Caitlyn Jenner. Right? As opposed to ruining an entire city’s drinking water. You get more coverage for that. You know why? Because it’s easy, there’s nothing at stake. It’s this big bunch of people flapping their arms and yellin’ and screamin’ and it doesn’t mean shit.
I’m fully confident that when I got to St. Louis, I’m going to be standing in front of a bunch of adults who have a sense of humor and understand that they’re at a comedy show.
Bill Burr’s "Plowin’ Ahead" tour comes to the Fox Theatre this Friday, April 22, at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 and available online or by calling MetroTix at 800-293-5949.
