San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
‘The joy of playing Todd Packer’
“I hate Todd Packer” is the best compliment David Koechner gets about his portrayal of the wildly offensive traveling salesman he played on “The Office.”
“When people say online ‘I hate Todd Packer,’ I did my job,” Koechner said in a telephone interview.
The NBC sitcom ended in 2013. For the past three years or so, Koechner has revived the Packer persona from time to time for trivia nights.
He will be kicking off his three-night run at the Laugh Out Loud Comedy Club with that show.
“There’s such a thirst for all things ‘The Office,’ and since I was a player on the show, we decided to make a show just for those people that want a deeper experience,” he said. “It’s a trivia show, but it’s also a hybrid stand-up storytelling show, with audience participation, a Q&A and a picture with Todd Packer. So it’s jam-packed.”
Koechner, who will spend the rest of his time at the club performing stand-up, had a lot of fun working on “The Office.” That was partly because he got to work with fellow Second City veterans Steve Carell and Kate Flannery, whom he’d known for a long time.
“For me, I’m doing a show with my buddies,” he said. “That’s the joy for me. Plus you never get to say horrible things to a person’s face without consequence — that’s the joy of playing Todd Packer. ‘I’m going to say something awful to you. And personal. And I’ll get away with it.’ He is just the worst human imaginable.”
Koechner has a slew of other credits, including voice work on “American Dad” and a series of “Captain Underpants” specials,
as well as roles in a slew of movies, including “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” and “Thank You for Smoking.”
But people who recognize him usually know him for either Todd Packer or Champ Kind, the sports anchor in “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy” and the sequel.
“Anchorman” wasn’t a hit at the box office, finding its audience on DVD and television, he said. Writer/director Adam McKay and writer/star Will Ferrell learned that fans were dressing as the film’s Channel 4 news team for Halloween. That’s when they decided to make the sequel, which was great news for Koechner.
“Sometimes, I wished it was a TV show that would never end,” he said. “It was absolutely joyful, both movies, 100%.”
Koechner spends a lot of time these days on the road and is developing a podcast that relates to his travels. He’s looking forward to coming to San Antonio because he wants to hit Penner’s. He bought several hats at the downtown men’s clothing mecca on a visit a few years ago and is eager to add to his collection.
“I might have to bring an extra suitcase,” he said. “I’m a bit of a hat fanatic. If you’re going to have a vice, let it be hats and boots, right?”
He’s having a great time performing across the country.
“Any time someone decides that you’re their evening, what’s more joyful than that?” he said. “It’s like being chosen for the prom over and over again.”