Take Five: Jim Gaffigan

Dave Wilson

Friday, Nov. 23, 2007 | 7:16 a.m.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan grew up as the son of a banker in small-town Indiana and is still incredulous at the success he's had by skewering Hot Pockets ("a Pop-Tart filled with nasty meat") and being a friend of the everyman. "I'm a lazy, gluttonous slob, and so are you," he says. Making his second appearance as a Vegas headliner tomorrow at the Palms, he marvels at where he came from to get here. "It's kind of a running joke that I'm the third-funniest guy in my family," he said. "Announcing I was gonna be a comedian ... I might as well have announced that I was gonna live on the moon."

1. He loves a challenge (in eating)

What does a guy whose act revolves around eating, and bad food, think about being in the buffet capital of the world? "The whole notion of all-you-can-eat is insane. It's a challenge: It's not even all you want to eat. It's all you can eat." So, in Gaffigan's world, what would be the ultimate buffet? "First of all, there would be bacon. Three different trays. Traditional bacon, some honey-cured bacon, and then some Canadian bacon, because I love eggs Benedict." He goes on in great detail. There would be burgers, all sorts of burgers, including from different restaurants: In-N-Out; Midwest favorites Steak n Shake, Schoop's and Culver's; and a section just for Wendy's triple-meat burgers. French fries and onion rings would also get the spotlight with an assortment of styles and sauces, and there would be Chicago-style pizza, flown in from Giordano's or Uno, and bratwurst flown in from Wisconsin.

2. He loves a challenge (in acting)

Besides doing his stand-up act, and his steady work in commercials, Gaffigan has been an actor in a variety of roles, including his own sitcom in 2000-01, called "Welcome to New York," and his current show, "My Boys," on TBS. Despite having a degree in finance from Georgetown, he often plays the less-than-average Joe. "Playing a dumb guy who thinks he's smart, like I did on 'Ed,' is one of the funnest things in the world. Playing someone sardonic and cynical like I do on 'My Boys' is also a blast. I'm a character actor, which is a nice way of saying 'not good-looking.' I'm not in a position to pick and choose, really. If you're a doughy Midwestern guy, you've gotta be the crazy lunatic born-again Christian, you know what I mean? You can't be the liberal guy."

3. He thinks he's good for the Hot Pocket

"I think indirectly I'm a huge friend of the Hot Pocket people. I think the Hot Pocket has replaced the chicken pot pie, it's replaced the 7-Eleven burrito. It is the go-to food for anyone that's in college, or single, or trying to feed a teenager with no time, or the alcoholic looking for something to eat at 4 a.m. Awareness is all they need. It's not like anyone's eating a Hot Pocket saying, 'I'm gonna eat this Hot Pocket and then go for a jog.' No one's thinking that ... They know it's not caviar, you know what I mean?"

4. His act is clean, by design

"I got clean because of an artistic choice. It wasn't like 'I could sell twice as many CDs.' When I would curse occasionally, I realized it was kind of a creative crutch. Any comedian would admit if you throw in a curse word you're going to get a reaction from an audience. I just lucked into the whole clean thing."

5. He still hangs with his fans

Gaffigan is always working, often responding to fans on social networking Web sites such as MySpace or Facebook, or hanging out after shows to have photos taken or sign autographs with his admirers, but doesn't see why he wouldn't. "Compared to stirring cement in a steel mill when I was 18 during the summer, it's not hard." He pointed out there are others in the entertainment business who give face time to fans. At least he thinks so. "There's a big tradition in country music doing something like that," he says. "And by the way, I know nothing about country music."

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