Not just the doped-up goofball we remember from Half Baked and Saturday Night Live, Jim Breuer is on the road right now--with his kids, no less--on a stand-up comedy tour of the nation. Thanks to the On-Stage Committee of the Duke University Union, he'll be rolling into Page Auditorium Monday at 8 p.m., and Editor Greg Veis got the opportunity to toke a few with him a bit beforehand.
So where are you tonight?
I'm in Nashville, my kids are in the hallway, I got a wet shower-head, and I'm getting ready to do a show.
What's your pre-show ritual?
Well, I meditate first--I just sit there and lay down and almost pass out for 20 minutes. Then, I grab a cup of coffee, really think about what I'm gonna say, and then I just blast System of a Down.
I know after Half Baked there was a lot of Oscar buzz about you getting a Best Supporting Actor nomination. How did you take it when it didn't come?
I got relaxed. Baked it off.
Honestly, what've you been up to the last couple years?
Started a family, went on tour, made a record and two DVDs, and now I'm going to go back into TV.
What're you doing for TV?
I'm doing a pilot for a sketch show on Comedy Central, and we start filming in January. It's kind of going to be like The Jim Breuer Show that used to be on MTV, except with a little more of a theatrical setting. But definitely that raw still. Until then though, I'm happy doing stand-up.
When we check out your routine Monday, what should we expect?
Some of the old stuff--your Goat Boy, your Joe Pesci, your Half Baked stuff. But most of the sh--t is brand new-characters, storytelling, some behind-the-scenes s--t from SNL.
There seems to be this tell-all mentality about SNL since the new expose book on the show came out.
Yeah, I don't get that kooky. I never bring up dirt, but stuff that people would want to hear.
Is Will Ferrel a bitch?
Lots of people ask me that. You mean "bitch" as in he takes it?
No man, I mean is he an a--hole?
He's the furthest thing from it. Man, he's the best.
If you could estimate, what percentage of your lifetime would you say you've been high?
You know, I didn't start smoking pot until I was 18. And I did it a whole lot after that, but I just couldn't afford it. Overall, I'd have to say a smaller amount than you would imagine.
So, it's just for show?
No! I do it, but I don't f--king wake up, get high, eat some eggs, get high, philosophize by a tree, get high. I've got too much to do.
Have you changed your comedic style at all since you've had kids?
Not my style, man--just my material. At different times of my life, I talk about different childhood stories, different things on my mind--war, life, country, pot, my kids.
Ok, let's try something else. I give you a word or a phrase and you give me the first thing that pops into your head. U.N. Resolutions.
Chicken.
Cheeba.
Chicken.
Woody Harrelson.
CHICKEN.
Stand-up comedy.
Love.
Before we go, is there anything you'd like to tell Duke?
Yeah, man. Keep your hammers dry.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.