Marcus Price
Hannibal Buress has popped up in many popular comedies over the last decade, including this year’s Blockers and Tag. His TV career is blossoming, too, with spots on 30 Rock, Broad City and SNL, where he also wrote. He also co-hosts a freewheeling podcast, Handsome Rambler. But he is probably best known as the comedian whose joke — filmed by an audience member with a cell phone — outed Bill Cosby as a serial rapist in 2014. Now the comedian is not taking questions about Cosby and focusing on what he loves most: stand-up. Isthmus talked with Buress in advance of his Sept. 20 stop at the Orpheum.
Are you going to be taping or recording this new tour as an album or a special?
We’re recording a little documentary footage on the road. When I did Hannibal Takes Edinburgh, it was one camera guy, and he had a sound guy, so it was a small crew. I remember getting really annoyed sometimes, frustrated — even though I totally created that situation myself. But sometimes it’s just like...“Oh...can y’all get the fuck out of my face for a little bit please? Can you get these goddamn cameras out of my face?!”
I just watched that, and it was amazing. You’re not afraid to be you. It doesn’t feel like you play a character.
I guess the reason why I don’t play a character is … laziness. You have to prepare that character’s philosophies, what that character’s school of thought is versus yours, and try to separate the character from yourself. I just try and talk about the things I’m interested in, and then have fun with it. When you do stand-up for a while, it makes you overreact to stuff for comedic effect.
That makes sense.
Most of the stuff in my set that I say I’m annoyed by, I’m actually annoyed by it. I don’t think I’m playing it up. Sometimes it’s stuff I said; sometimes it’s a cooler version of what I wish I said.
What’s the difference for you between writing for TV and stand-up?
With stand-up, I don’t have an internal boss, or an external boss, to say “Hey, we need you to develop that parking ticket premise.” For TV, like with SNL, you write a couple sketches a week for that show that hopefully that guest, that host, is into. For 30 Rock, you’re writing in a room with other writers. There’s bosses and people that judge you. In stand-up the audience is your boss, you can do it at your own pace.
You’re transitioning into big movies now. You’re a movie star.
No! No, I’m just a dude that does movies. A movie star is a different thing.
Could you give me a primer on your podcast, Handsome Rambler?
It’s an interview podcast, co-hosted by Tony Trimm. It’s kind of veered off into us half-interviewing, half going into weird songs and freestyling and playing instruments. Sometimes, we make a really good song while improvising. Sometimes, it’s just two dudes in their mid-30s goofing off. One thing I like about it is that we can do whatever, man. It’s cool that people listen, but we just try and have fun with it, and we put out episodes erratically. We’ve had Chris Rock on, Chance the Rapper, Open Mike Eagle, DJ Premier, Tiffany Haddish, Lil Rel.
Do you have any hopes or aspirations for this tour?
Nah, my only hope is to do good shows, review the shows, and improve each time I go out there and really just develop while I’m on the road. That’s the goal with this one: to really dive back in and keep it moving.
