Original-Cin Q&A: Jim Gaffigan on playing Rob Ford, performing drive-in stand-up and his two-part concert special on Prime

On the heels of the comic’s recent worldwide stand-up tour, the new two-part special Jim Gaffigan: The Pale Tourist will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, July 24. 

The special was filmed on location in Kitchener, Ontario and Barcelona, Spain and features the Grammy-nominated, Emmy Award-winning and New York Times best-selling author, actor and comedian Jim Gaffigan as he embarks on a seemingly impossible quest. 

His mission: land in a country with no material, experience the culture and food, and then write and perform all-new material, all in one visit.

Our Bonnie Laufer spoke with Gaffigan about the special, coping with the pandemic and his upcoming role when he will be playing Toronto’s former controversial Mayor, Rob Ford. 

Jim Gaffigan riffs as he travels in The Pale Tourist

ORIGINAL-CIN: Jim, I want to thank you for keeping me entertained during this pandemic.  Your social media updates have been stellar, but I have to say I really look forward to your weekly segments on CBS Sunday Morning. We know you have five kids, a wife who survived  a brain tumor, so you have much to deal with.

How has doing these segments and everything that you have been doing creatively kept you sane during this lockdown? 

JIM GAFFIGAN: “Those segments are a creative outlet obviously. But it's also the fact that this quarantine update changes week-to-week, right? Plus there was all the  racial unrest in the middle, so there has just been so much going on to deal with.  

“Truthfully, it's been a nice way for me to organize how I'm feeling and hopefully articulate the humor surrounding it.  Every week I think, ‘Well that's the last one, because I don't think I have any more ideas,’ and then it'll be, you know, Tuesday night, and I'll suddenly come up with an idea and so it varies. 

“Everyone's experience during the pandemic has changed the way they live and how they do things.  It started off as, ‘It's going to be a couple weeks,’ and then you're like, ‘This is never going to end!’ And then you're like, ‘You know this isn’t so bad,’ and then you're like, ‘I'm gonna kill myself.’”  

OC:  For somebody like you who spends most of his time on tour doing stand-up, I am sure it was a huge adjustment. However,  you recently just got up on stage and you did it at a drive-in show front of hundreds of cars (in New Jersey)!  What was that like when you walked out  on that stage? 

GAFFIGAN: “It was surreal  to be honest.  I've done it now twice and it was not perfect but it was safe and we made it work. I didn't have to worry about endangering anyone or myself and my family.  

“It was pretty interesting. In talking to other comedians, they're like, ‘Well, I have to get some reps (practice gigs) in before I can do a show,’ and I'm like, ‘You don't get it. You don't get reps. You just get to do the show and that's it.’ Yeah, it was weird, but we all needed some laughs, And it was a very nice audience all honking their horns and flashing their lights at me. “ 

OC: Your new stand up special, The Pale Tourist is coming to Amazon Prime. It’s in 2 parts,  with one special shot in Spain and the other in Kitchener, Ontario.  

GAFFIGAN: “I've done shows in so many different parts of Canada. I had performed in Kitchener before and had a great time. So I was like, all right., let’s do Kitchener. In the winter. What was I thinking? (Laughs)  

“I knew that I could get two shows, I knew that I could get a great audience, so it turned out great.” 

“There're so many stereotypes that Canadians get tired of. But the stereotype that you guys never complain about is that you're an amazing comedy audience. There’s an endless love of comedy in Canada.” 

OC:  Your special had me laughing so much, mainly because I could relate to most of it!  Honestly, the stuff that you zone in on about our country was bang on! You might even get a lifetime supply of Tim Hortons gift cards once this airs! 

GAFFIGAN: “I've been visiting Canada off and on for years and one things that is constant has been Tim Hortons!  Those Tim Horton’s jokes may have been told before, but that Canadian Tire store, my material about that place is really new.” 

OC:  What are the major differences between a Canadian audience and a Spanish one?

GAFFIGAN: “There are just things generally about different cultures or  topics that are  sensitive. The Spaniards… and that's not to say that you don't talk about certain things like for example, The Spanish Inquisition. But it's just being mindful of that. It is a tender topic, right?  

“The Spaniards are very tender and sensitive about, and understandably, the Spanish Civil War. They're very sensitive about that. 

“I'm also not presenting myself as an expert on Canada or Spain. But I would say, there's this rugged independence about Canada and an exhaustion of being compared to America. So you have to be mindful of that. 

“You have to be mindful that the stereotype of Canadians being known as nice also kind of makes Canadians bristle. I think and I'm generalizing here, but Canadians are very protective of hockey. You can make fun of Tim Hortons, but if you're talking about hockey, you better be respectful. 

“The only time you'll see nationalism out of a Canadian is during the Winter Olympics when they are watching  hockey. That's where I've seen my Canadian friends and they are genuinely stressed.”

OC: Talking about Canada, I think you're en route to becoming one of our hottest movie stars.  You are in a film that just came out that was shot here called, Target Number One alongside Josh Hartnett. How did that all come about?

GAFFIGAN: “I was sent the script and really liked it. It's an amazing story about how this guy was framed by the RCMP, and I play kind of a dirt-bag who disappeared off the face of the Earth. I loved the story but I also was thrilled at the opportunity to play someone who is not a great guy, right? You know as an actor you want to play these complex guys.”

OC: Which leads me right into my next question.  You can’t get much more complex than the former Mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford!  You will be playing him (in an upcoming limited series). And as far as I’m concerned, that's a big deal, especially to Torontonians. Are you nervous about it?

GAFFIGAN: “It's interesting because I have received more direct messages or tweets or Facebook comments about the Rob Ford role than anything I have ever done. 

“There are a lot of strong feelings surrounding Rob Ford especially among people from Toronto. There are people that are like, ‘How dare you glorify him?’ And then, there are the people that are like, ‘Be respectful.’

“This is a guy who has a family, who has children. And then he got cancer and passed away, so there is obviously a very human element.  I find the whole Ford Nation thing so fascinating, especially that this populism is a precursor to Trump. 

“So, it's really interesting on a lot of levels. But I'm not nervous. First of all, who knows when we'll be able to start shooting, but there are people who are offering to be my dialect coach because you have to say Etobicoke just right.”

“There are moments where I'm going, ‘Will I really be able to do this?’ But I'm also confident that I have plenty of time to prepare. And when the time comes, I think and I hope that I will do Toronto proud.”