For more than 40 years now, David Cross has been regaling audiences with his unique style of comedy. Throughout his decades-long career, the Grammy-nominated stand-up veteran has toured the globe multiple times and has likely been somewhere in the vicinity of your town at some point or another. You may also recognize Cross as one of the stars of HBO’s Mr. Show with Bob and David, alongside Bob Odenkirk, or from his unforgettable run as Tobias Fünke on Arrested Development. That’s, of course, in addition to the many hit films he’s appeared in, some of which include Men in Black, Alvin and the Chipmunks, Scary Movie 2, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Cross’s latest project, The End of the Beginning of the End, is his ninth stand-up special to date. Filmed at the 40 Watt Club in Athens, Georgia, his new hour premieres exclusively on YouTube on April 7. Prior to its release, we decided to check in with Cross and get his thoughts on a few things. We even managed to clear up a long-standing internet rumor in the process. Read on to find out which major role he missed out on years ago and what the future holds for the prolific and self-proclaimed “very old” comedian.
Most comedians seemed to look at stand-up as more of a stepping stone than a lifelong career back in the day. What drives you to keep hitting the road, and how much longer do you see yourself doing it?
I love doing it. I mean, it’s one of my favorite things. Not to travel. Touring sucks, but I love doing the shows. I love accruing material for the shows. I love every part of it, and I think I will do it until either I don’t have that feeling anymore, I wouldn’t do it if it feels burdensome, my heart isn’t into it, or I’m just physically not able to do it. I’ve probably got three more tours in me. Maybe, I don’t know. I’m old. I’m very old, and I’m breaking down. I’m dying.
Watching your new special made me realize how good you are at singing. What’s the story behind that? Is it something you’ve ever pursued seriously?
Oh, God no. That’s legitimately the only time I’ve really had stage fright, which is when I have to sing something. I’m better at it now. I’m more comfortable with it now, but for a long time, I would get nervous about singing. But it just fit. It fits in this special. I don’t know where I came up with that idea. But I read that little transcript of what he had said, and I was like, “This is insane.” In one of the Ronnie Dobbs sketches on Mr. Show, we specifically had him sing because it was a bit of a shock.
I noticed that Tom Segura is listed as one of the producers of the special. How did you get him attached?
I think it was a mutual friend, and I had done his podcast. I really enjoyed myself, and I think it was a mutual friend who said, “Hey, you know, they’re expanding their business, and they’re starting to produce stuff.” And they knew that I was on tour at that point, and I was going to shoot a special, and I think it was just getting us together on the phone, and that was it. There’s not a whole magical story to it.
Last year, you shared a lengthy post on Instagram about comedians performing at the Riyadh Comedy Festival. How do you feel about the way some of them have responded to the backlash since then?
I have yet to hear a defense or justification that has made any sense. In fact, it’s all just made it worse. The only one who had a thoughtful response was Louie. Everybody else was like, you know, “Hey, man, I had a good time. It was fun. The audience loved it.” It just has nothing to do with any of the issues at hand. I’ve yet to hear anybody outside of Louis C.K. give a thoughtful response to that.
The Wayans brothers have finally returned to the Scary Movie franchise after 25 years, and your former on-screen nemesis, Chris Elliott, is joining them in the upcoming sequel. Any chance we might see your character make a comeback as well?
No. I mean, I shouldn’t say no chance, but nobody’s approached me. So I guess the answer is no. They’re probably shooting it already. So, yeah, nobody’s asked.
How did you end up doing Scary Movie 2?
I had a meeting with Keenan [Ivory Wayans], and he brought me in, and we talked about what he wanted to do. And I was like, “Sure.” And, you know, it was a fun experience. I mean, I had to have created something for them to bring me in. So there’s that part. It wasn’t easy, but because of that stuff, I’ve gotten to work with some amazing, very special people.
This is a rumor that’s been floating around for years, but hopefully we can either debunk it or confirm it right now: Is it true that you auditioned to play Walter White on Breaking Bad?
Yes, I did. I did audition, yeah, and I think I got as far as a callback. But they clearly made the right decision with Bryan Cranston. I mean, I can’t imagine, you know? What an amazing show. That would have been very different, living in New Mexico for however many years.
There are some old pictures floating around of you and Bob Odenkirk hanging out with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. How did you first meet those guys, and have you kept in touch over the years?
I don’t know how we met. I think they were fans of ours, and we were fans of theirs. And, it’s Hollywood, somebody has a party at a house, you know. And I remember the last time I think I talked to them was a while ago. But they did one of the most underrated pieces of comedy in the last 30 years. They did a two-part episode called “Cartoon Wars,” and it is genius on many different levels, and it was just one of the most impressive episodes I’ve seen of South Park, if not the most. I mean, just everything about it. Remembering it, I’m still blown away. And I saw it, and I reached out to them, and I was like, “This is genius. This is next level.” Meta, meta, meta, meta, meta. Really, really smart stuff. And I think that was the last time I talked to them.
Out of all the people you’ve cited as inspirations, Lou Costello stands out a bit. Can you elaborate on how he’s influenced your work?
I don’t know that he’s influenced my work, but he’s somebody that I think is just the personification of that type of comedy. He’s the best at it. The physical [stuff], the being dumb, but not too dumb. And I was a fan as a kid, like I loved Abbott and Costello, and I was not a Three Stooges fan at all—ever, really. And as an eight-year-old, I was like, “This is funny, and this guy’s really funny.” I wouldn’t say he was an influence so much on my performance, but just the idea of kind of being funny and, you know, physical, and just the timing and all that.
Netflix briefly revived Mr. Show in 2015. Has there been any talk about doing more with that in the future?
No. Bob and I have developed other projects, but they didn’t get anywhere. We had a really, really great one, and I would say probably the best thing we’ve ever written. Bob, his brother Bill, and I wrote an eight-part limited series. Bill was a writer/producer on Mr. Show. It was called Guru Nation, and it was Bob and me as different cult leaders that were like archetypes of, you know—I was like the NXIVM guy, and Bob was the Wild Wild Country guy. And then we were in two different worlds, two different styles of shooting it in the beginning, and there’s a young woman and a young guy who thread the story. And then our stories converge, because we’re trying to get the same couple, and it was really cool. Really funny, smart, and we were going to do it for, I think, Paramount+. And then some people who had signed off on it and started developing it with us left, and others replaced them. And then those people said, “We’re not interested.” And it’s too bad. It’s a really, really funny script. But, yeah, so Bob and I—I mentioned in the special that we hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, and we filmed that, and we are editing it now, and it’ll make a festival run at some point.
What was that like?
They tell you going into it that it’s going to be tough. “And here’s what it’s going to be like on this day, and this day, and day three is the hardest,” and all this stuff, but you really can’t prepare. I mean, you can, obviously, right? But once you’re there and you’re 14,000 feet up, and there’s thin oxygen, you really feel it. It really messes with you. And it was hard. It was as hard as they told you it would be, but absolutely worth it. And stunningly beautiful. This documentary we’re making captures a lot of that. It’s just beautiful. You don’t see that many other people either. So I would highly recommend it for anybody.
What else do you have coming up besides the special? Any new movies or shows to look out for?
There’ll be a couple of movies. I don’t know when they’re coming out. I know one will be a movie I acted in and co-produced. I can’t say it because they haven’t announced it, but we’ll be at a major festival, and we’re putting together the doc. That’ll be out. With David Klein, Machu Picchu. At some point, you’ll be able to see that. A couple of other movies that, who knows when they’re going to come out, if they ever come out. And then I started about a month ago, putting together new material for what will be a tour in late fall, I assume.
David Cross’s new special, The End of the Beginning of the End, is available on YouTube on April 7.
The post David Cross on ‘Stage Fright’ During His New Special, the Blockbuster TV Role He Missed Out On, & Riyadh Comedy Festival Criticism appeared first on VICE.
