Kevin Nealon is one of those comics that has mastered the art of stumbling onto a new audience every few years. In the decades since he was on SNL, he's been ever present on the small screen, in comedy clubs and of course whatever Adam Sandler movie is coming to a theater near you. On December 6th through the 8th, Nealon will be showcasing his stand-up chops at the Irvine Improv but before he hits the road with his still unnamed standup tour, we reminisced with him about his days on Weeds, found out what's coming up next for him professionally, and addressed his fascination with clowns.
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OC Weekly (Ali Lerman): Sorry to bring this up but, do you ever miss Doug? I miss him and Weeds every week.
Kevin Nealon: I do miss playing that character because I could live vicariously through him. I could be this naughty guy who was selfish, self-centered, and a pot head. That show was just something else. When I first got the script to audition for it I saw that the title and I just thought it was going to be a stoner show. Then I read it and the characters were so good and the writing was so great.
Would you ever do another show like that again? I mean not necessarily all about pot but…
Oh yeah! I'm writing my own series right now and I'm hopeful and excited for that. Right now it's called, The Pleaser. It's a half-hour comedy and it's pretty much a reflection of my life. With exaggeration of course.
You've done a lot of stuff with Adam Sandler in the past so I was wondering if you're working on anything new with him.
Yeah in fact, we just got back from South Africa a couple of months ago. We were filming a movie with Drew Barrymore called Familymoon. Like honeymoon. I think it's going to be a really good movie. We had a lot of fun over there in Africa. We were there for almost two months and went on a bunch of safaris. It was a long flight though, it was like 20 hours. There was even an astronaut on the airplane sitting behind me saying, “When are we going to be there?”
That's crazy long! Yuck. I saw that you posted on your website that you were trying to figure out a name for your 2014 tour. Did you ever find one?
That's right! I got a couple of suggestions for it but nothing that has knocked it out of the park yet. Maybe I'll just call it the “2014 tour.” If I was a woman who was a comedian and I had kids, I would call it the “Torn Taint Tour.” (Laughs.) Do you have any ideas?
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Ummm…not any as amazing as that! I say you call it that anyway. I also saw you mention on Twitter that you'd be changing your avatar. I happen to like the clown one that you have now.
You like the clown, huh?
I'm just used to it I guess. When I scroll through and see the clown face I know it's you so I stop and check out whatever you're saying.
Yeah it's interesting because when I scroll down too, I think there are certain avatars that attract your attention. I don't know what I'll change it to though. Just something easy to see when you scroll down you know? I'm thinking of changing it from a circus clown to a rodeo clown. [Laughs.]
Or the picture that you posted on Halloween. That was you right? It was kind of a scary clown. Whoa. I just realized you really have a thing for clowns!
That was me. That was the original outfit that I bought in Height-Ashbury about five years ago. I lost it and I thought the movers took it so I was always looking around for a mover with a clown outfit on. [Laughs.] I finally found it in my storage unit right before Halloween and I put it on and retook the picture. It's kind of like a serial killer clown.
OK clowns freak me out so back to your tour. I know Whelmed, but not Overly is only like a year old but, I'd personally like to see another special. Are you working on that?
I am! That's really why I'm going to do the tour because it's all new material for a new special of some sort so I'm looking forward to that. I like doing stand-up and every time I get up, I'm working on new material. I like comedy clubs because there are older people who know me from SNL and then younger people who know me from Weeds. It's really great to stay relevant. That's why I had a kid, so I could stay connected to the youth. [Laughs.]
Does your son have any ideas for a tour name?
I haven't asked him yet but whenever I go out of town and I tell him I'll be leaving for a few nights he says, “Daddy, why do you have to be funny and famous?”
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www.Improv.com. For more info, check out his website www.KevinNealon.com, follow him on Twitter: @Kevin_Nealon, and pick up his latest special “Whelmed, but not Overly” on Amazon.
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Ali Lerman knows much about comedy, basketball, and celebrating Wu-Tang Wednesday. She’s been writing for sixteen years and still calls her mom with grammatical questions.
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