Lewis Black’s week: Comedian drops Tom Brady, preps for headliner gig at Mirage

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014 | 2:33 p.m.

As Lewis Black speaks, sirens blare in the background, as if supplying a soundtrack to the conversation.

“I’m in New York,” he reminds, without needing to, “and that’s what New York sounds like.”

Black is back, in Las Vegas, once more, for a one-off Saturday at 10 p.m. at Terry Fator Theater in the Mirage as part of the “Aces of Comedy” series.

Black is a veteran of the Las Vegas stage, having performed at various venues in the city for better than 10 years, including Hollywood Theater at MGM Grand and House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.

He’s been an anchor in the “Aces” series for more than five years. Some highlights of the conversation:

He is the voice of “Anger” (naturally) in the next Pixar film, “Inside Out,” due for release Wednesday: “They finally found they like my voice. It’s like everything else, they say, ‘You have an interesting personality, you should have no trouble finding work on television!’ ” Black says. “Ha-ha-ha, well, that personality that is so defined didn’t work on TV. … But of late, they have kind of picked up on me for voice work in movies, which is actually kind of startling at this point in my career. I’m lucky to be privy to their creativity because it is really extraordinary watching them put a movie together.”

He would like to be able to do more of his “Back in Black” segments on “The Daily Show”: “It’s hard to line up with them because either I’m busy or they’re busy,” Black says. “That’s kind of disappointing because I really love doing those segments. Where I’m lucky is that standup is steady, and hopefully I’ll continue to evolve.”

He says people are often surprised his standup act is not performed in full rant: “A lot of people expect me to be screaming from the beginning of the act to the end of the act,” Black says. “It doesn’t mean I’m tired. It’s means that I’m actually trying to find ways to modulate this (stuff). … There are other ways to express anger, not just by screaming.”

He plays fantasy football: “I can’t watch ESPN because it makes me psychotic,” Black says. “I’m a Washington Redskins fan, so I need another form of pain. I’m 2-2. I just picked up Joe Flacco and dropped Tom Brady … he’s been worthless.”

He is sarcastic when asked about his hobbies: “In my spare time, I have my gun collection, my massive gun collection,” Black says. “I like to clean my guns. I have all my bullets together.”

He still has the fire to perform in front of an audience: “I still have it, or I wouldn’t be doing it,” he says. “I’m not always thrilled, though. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Do I have to do it?’ Like I’m going to the gym. But right before I go onstage, it kicks in, every time.”

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