"I'm a glass-half-full son of a bitch," says Bert Kreischer. I can almost hear him smiling over the phone as he discusses his upcoming Netflix special, "Lucky," an aptly titled hour in which the famous party animal turned family man gives thanks for what he has.
Mere moments after expressing his admiration and appreciation for his fans, the comedian, on a walk in Los Angeles, interrupts the interview to take a selfie with a stranger. ("Thanks so much, bro," Kreischer tells the fan, whose shaky "This is crazy!" is heard over the phone line.)
Director: Jeff Tomsic
Star: Bert Kreischer
The special, Kreischer's fourth for Netflix, premieres March 18. It features stories about his wife and daughters that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes vulgar, and often both at once.
But Kreischer is thankful for more than just his family. "I feel very fortunate to be alive and working right now," he tells Variety when asked about the state of the industry. "Television and film are about to explode in Hollywood, in a really fun and crazy way."
Optimism about the entertainment world is rare these days, but Kreischer believes comedians are entering an era of financial independence and creative freedom. He spends nearly five minutes praising his fellow comedians, like Tom Segura and Shane Gillis, and promoting their projects, which he says are gloriously free from studio influence.
"We're in the middle of a gold rush," Kreischer says of comedy. "I look at Hollywood and see huge opportunities right around the corner for all of us."
In an exclusive, extensive Q&A, Kreischer discusses political comedy, why he never does corporate work, and the comment his wife gave him about making sex jokes.
It started happening when I was in clubs. Guys would rip off their shirts and watch the whole show shirtless. When I did Red Rocks for the third time, we had a top-off camera that filmed men as if they were women ripping off their shirts, or a kiss cam. We did that for the entire stadium tour: just targeting burly guys who then ripped off their shirts. Not one camera had ever filmed a woman.
I idolized Jimmy Buffett. We went to his shows, and it's so cool to get lost in a group of fans, watching them dressed up like crazy. I never thought what I was going to do would be this big, obviously, but it's pretty cool to see a bunch of overweight, body-positive guys ripping off their shirts.
I wish I knew my brand better. It's hard to see from inside the woods. I think I give them permission to party. That's a good name for a tour: "Permission to Party." It's a really good name for a tour. I think I just named my next tour. I've always been one of those people who, at kids' birthday parties, have the dads come up to me and say, "If you crack open a beer, we can all have a beer." I'm also madly in love with my wife. Not cheating on her is great. These guys [my fans] feel lucky to have the girl they're with, lucky to have the life they have, lucky to have the kids they have. And that night is the night to let loose.
One time, I was walking through Savannah, Georgia, before playing at Enmarket Arena, and I saw my fans partying before the show by the river. I was jealous! I thought, "Man, I want to be with them." And I think they know it. I love getting into trouble and being a fan of something. I love discovering something and then obsessing over it and buying tickets for myself and ten friends like, "Hey, have you heard of the Red Clay Strays? They're coming to town and they're about to become your new favorite band. I'm bringing all the comedians: [Shane] Gillis, Mark Normand, Big Jay Oakerson, my wife, my whole crew, and six friends. I get tickets. We saw Jimmy Buffett, Goose, and Wilco. So I'm lucky to have fans like me.
I noticed you chose a Red Clay Strays song to close the special.
It's also the intro song. I'm really good friends with them. I met them early on, before they were even a thing, they came to my house, we had fun, and they played music. I got a big group to go see them at the Troubadour. They're great guys. I fell in love with that band.
There's a cliché: actors want to be rock stars, and rock stars want to be actors. Do you feel that way when Do you see live music?
Oh yeah, I'd love to have a playlist that I know is going to be a hit, instead of going to the comedy store trying to figure it out. You can play your hits for years. Look at Creed, they're playing stadiums now. I think all comedians wish they were rock stars. We all wish we were taken seriously and were sexy. We're all fools. Ironically, the sexiest thing about us is that we're not sexy at all.
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