Gaffigan hungry for new topics
Comedian Jim Gaffigan is moving on from his bread and butter — literally.
Since 2001, the popular stand-up performer has established a reputation with five specials that include relatable material that often explores the absurd side of unhealthy foodstuffs like Hot Pockets, and also frequently touches on the finer points of being excessively lazy and serving as a father to five children.
With his latest hour, “Noble Ape,” which Gaffigan is scheduled to perform at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheatre on Sunday, Sept. 17, the comic is taking a slightly different tack.
“I myself set an assignment to not talk about food and laziness too much,” he says. “For me, it’s not a huge departure. I’m very mindful of being known as the food guy, the lazy guy, and the guy who has kids. That said, I have no control over how I’m perceived.”
Over the course of a 16-year career, Gaffigan has become known both for the topics he frequently discusses and the fact that his material is entirely devoid of expletives and is largely considered suitable for fans of all ages. His appeal is also massive: The streaming service Pandora recently said Gaffigan’s tracks have been played a whopping 647 million times, and in 2014, he both sold out New York’s Madison Square Garden and performed for Pope Francis at Festival of the Families in Philadelphia.
He’s also had supporting roles in films like “Away We Go” and the upcoming “Chappaquiddick,” a dramatic biopic of Ted Kennedy that recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Gaffigan says that while a background in comedy can be helpful when facing the challenges of acting, it can also make things more difficult.
“In a sense, you’re just literally playing dress-up. It takes a lot of concentration, but it’s really fun,” he says. “The biggest hurdle for a comedian is that with stand-up, if something’s not working, you can adjust. You can bail on a topic and switch gears and it’ll be seamless, whereas in acting you really have to be selfless. You have no control. It’s very strange, because as a stand-up you have the immediacy of feedback. I think comedians get very spoiled by that.”
Gaffigan also recently finished starring in the second and final season of “The Jim Gaffigan Show” for TV Land, which he and his wife, Jeannie, wrote and executive-produced. He says the choice to end the series was bittersweet.
“Looking back on it, it’s a great, creative, fulfilling process, but for it to really capture your voice, it’s such an enormous task. TV just gobbles you up,” he says. “I’m at the point where I know I’m not going to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. I know there’s nothing profoundly sexy about what I do. I’m not dying to be more famous. Maybe if I didn’t have five kids, I’d have a different attitude.”
While fatherhood is largely off the table in Gaffigan’s new material, one topic he has incorporated into his set is the recent health scare involving his wife, who has assisted in writing and producing all five of her husband’s specials (and also served as director for his the most recent, “Cinco”).
In April, Jeannie underwent a lengthy procedure to have a brain tumor removed.
“She’s good,” says Gaffigan. “She’s not 100 percent, but her 60 percent is my 110 percent. When someone goes through something like that, living is a miracle, and that’s the victory. But the recovery process can be extensive. Every now and then, you have to sit there and remind yourself that three months ago she was in a ninehour surgery to have something removed from her head.”
Still, despite some bleak moments, it has always been in the Gaffigans’ nature to find mirth.
“Humor in awkward situations is part of my family culture,” he says. “She got out of a twohour MRI and had ideas for MRI jokes. I think, in a way, that’s just how Jeannie and I process situations.”