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Comedian Bill Burr talks 'Breaking Bad,' hecklers and his first love

(Photo courtesy of Koury Angelo)
(Photo courtesy of Koury Angelo)

(Photo courtesy of Koury Angelo) (Photo courtesy of Koury Angelo)

Bill Burr is a triple threat – comedian, actor and podcaster. The "Breaking Bad" actor will be in Phoenix on Oct. 5 for a standup show at the Celebrity Theatre. In a phone interview with The State Press, Burr discusses future acting dreams, creative freedom and his close relationship with the art of standup comedy.

 

State Press: You did radio in college. Did you originally want to go into radio or did you always know you wanted to do comedy?

Bill Burr: I knew I wanted to do standup. Radio was just a way to talk to people, be on a microphone, but I didn’t have to see them.

 

SP: You have a lot more freedom with standup than you do with acting. Do you like the structure of having a script to follow or do you prefer the creative liberty of standup?

 

BB: I like them both. Even though they have the dialogue written out, what you do with it is the creative part – and you can also throw in lines, pray to God that they work ... standup is always gonna be my first love.

 

SP: At this point you have a multifaceted career with TV, podcasts, movies and standup. Is there one you prefer over all of the others?

 

BB: I’m a comedian. It’s impossible to explain to somebody how awesome doing standup is unless they did it. I wouldn’t know how to explain it, the connection you have with the crowd. People can heckle, and it’s just considered part of the show. People do enjoy watching a comedian, I think, handle a heckler. But I just think it’s funny that it’s accepted. Even politicians, they get heckled, you get ushered out of the room, but in standup they get to stay, which I just think there’s something cool about that. I say so many ignorant things in an hour, like, why wouldn’t you yell at me?

 

SP: Is that aligned with what you had envisioned for yourself, or have your goals changed over time?

 

BB: What I’m doing right now is exactly what I wanted to do. I’m a standup comedian that is playing some pretty cool venues, and I’m selling tickets. And I’m also getting to do some acting work in some cool TV and movies.

 

SP: You landed a role on "Breaking Bad," which is a massive hit. Was it an easy transition for you to go from comedy to drama?

 

BB: I mean, just because you’re a comedian doesn’t mean you don’t have drama in your life. If you look at what people are talking about, comedians, they are talking about a dramatic event in a funny way. "Breaking Bad," I would also argue, is one of the great dark comedies in television history.

 

SP: You’ve been quoted as saying that you were a big fan of "Breaking Bad" and you approached them for a role. Are there any other dream TV shows that you’d like to join?

 

BB: I’d like to be in a Western. I like getting killed. I’d like to just chop up a horse. I’d like to fight zombies.

 

SP: You have a reputation of having no filter. Do you regret anything you’ve said publicly?

 

BB: I don’t regret anything that I’ve said on stage, unless I was in a bad mood and I was deliberately being malicious, then I regret those moments. But, those moments are few and far between. If you go out to a comedy show, you have the right to decide to take the comic seriously whenever you want to, but just because you took me seriously doesn’t mean I meant it. When someone in the crowd blogs about what somebody says and then all of a sudden the comic has to go on TV, it’s cringe worthy. It’s so childish, I can’t even look at it.

 

SP: "You People Are All The Same" was very well received. What kind of comedy specials would you like to do in the future?

 

BB: I’d like to have each one be a little better than the last one. If I get a little bit of acting work and people buy tickets to my show, I got money to get myself a sandwich.

 

Bill Burr will perform at the Celebrity Theatre on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and are available here.

 

 

Reach the reporter at jurgiles@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @MrsMathers94


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