TV.com Q&A: My Boys' Jim Gaffigan

Jim Gaffigan may not be the biggest household name in show business, but he's cut his teeth in the industry for a lot longer than most people. A comic-turned-actor (but still comic at heart), Gaffigan has been doing stand-up comedy since the early 1990s. Anyone who has watched television over the last decade will also recognize his face from numerous commercials, including a hilarious campaign for the soft drink Sierra Mist.

Gaffigan now plays Andy on the TBS comedy My Boys, a "real" show (Gaffigan's words) that follows a female sportswriter and her guy friends in Chicago. TV.com caught up with the actor to discuss the program, working on a new show for a network that doesn't do too much original programming, and drinking on the job.

TV.com: [After a few calls were met by a busy signal, Jim finally picks up.] You don't have call waiting yet?

Jim Gaffigan: You know, I don't know what happened. When I shoot My Boys, we go out to L.A., and I think that my wife had got rid of a lot of the stuff that's not basic stuff. And also if I'm doing a radio call, I think it could mess it up. But it is one of those things where it's sometimes hard to get off a phone call with someone that's interviewing you because they're doing you a favor. You're like, "Ah, I got to go. Bye." And they're like, "But I'm helping you."

TV.com: Correct me if I'm wrong, you guys are in the second half of the first season, or is this actually considered the second season?

Jim Gaffigan: This is considered the second half of the first season.

TV.com: Okay. It was a kind of a, "Let's see how it does and then give you another 12 episodes on the backend"?

Jim Gaffigan: I think that and also contractually they didn't have to give everyone a raise, I don't know. [Laughing.] I think that if you try and figure out how networks think, you'll end up hanging yourself. That being said, I do think that TBS people are pretty cool.

TV.com: We're going to get to that in a second. How did you get involved in the show?

Jim Gaffigan: I was sent the script and I was offered a part and, you know I auditioned--as an actor, auditioning can me one of the more stupid painful things you can ever do. I'm from the Midwest. I'm from outside of Chicago. And what I kind of liked about it was that it seemed kind of like an honest show, it just wasn't a bunch of just gags tied together. And I also liked the fact that my character was someone that was a little bit closer to who I am, meaning sarcastic and sardonic.

On That '70s Show and Ed, which I reoccurred on, or even other shows I've been on, I usually play a really dumb guy, which is fun, but it's nice to mix it up. So that was the appeal.

TV.com: A little smarter guy, a little closer to yourself. In My Boys, you've got baseball analogies, you've got poker, you're drinking at bars--all very testosterone-geared stuff. Then there's a bunch of relationship stuff with Jordana [Spiro]. I'm trying to figure out if this show is aimed at women or men. I mean, you have all the guy stuff but you have all the girl stuff.

Jim Gaffigan: You know, I'm sure anyone who comes up with a show wants everyone to watch. Whether men or women are liking the show more, I would guess women are, probably because it is a female point of view and there are the cute guys on there, you know what I mean.

TV.com: I'll take your word for it.

Jim Gaffigan: And I don't include myself in that. I'm sure that the people who came up with it wanted to just come up with a good show. But there's definitely a female point of view, and I know a lot of women who love sports.

It's like you go to Wisconsin and everybody's watching the Packers game on Sunday. And you go to Indiana and everyone's watching IU play basketball. And it's like you go to Philadelphia, everyone's watching those Eagles games.

TV.com: The idea of the show is you have PJ (Jordana Spiro), a female sportswriter, but she hangs out with a bunch of guys, you being one of the guys and her brother. How does your character distinguish himself from "the rest of the guys"?

Jim Gaffigan: The fact that my guy, Andy, is married and has a kid is unique--hugely unique--to somebody who is single. But I think Andy's eccentricities are such that it doesn't stop him from being the guy who's a little bit wiser and older than the rest of them, if that makes sense. And also I'm just sexier. Yeah, I'm just a sexier guy and I've got better dance moves.

TV.com: [Awkward silence.]

Jim Gaffigan: Yeah, you know, I'm all about the sex appeal. That's what I sell, you know. I bring in a lot of the babes that want to see me. I wear a lot of tank tops and tube tops on the show, and I don't think that's by accident. No.

TV.com: Speaking of drinking heavily. So it seems almost every scene is, you guys are either going to a bar, coming from a bar, in a bar, or playing poker. Are you guys just having a blast on the set? Is there any real drinking going on, real poker?

Jim Gaffigan: It is definitely a drinking bunch of people. And it's a party group, you know what I mean. The atmosphere is definitely playful and fun. It's not all serious like working on a drama--it's like when you shoot something there's seven people in the scene. That means they're going to be doing that same scene for coverage purposes for 12 hours and sometimes two days.

And so you've got to entertain yourself. People are playing shuffleboard, and I'm over at craft services eating. But there is a lot of stuff going on and there's definitely really a good relationship between the writers and the actors. There's a pretty good bond.

TV.com: The show's obviously a comedy, but you still seem to be the comic relief. Do you use your experience as a stand-up comic to write any story lines for Andy, or do you just read what's on the paper?

Jim Gaffigan: Betsy Thomas, who is the show runner and the creator, is very open to ideas, which I'm sure you've talked to millions of people and on some sets and that's a big no-no. So there's definitely some flexibility there. It's definitely her show, but it's one thing to suggest a line when you're at the poker table, or we might improvise something, but it's another thing to go over a boundary.

TV.com: But you get to every once in a while say, "I want to say this," or just try to--

Jim Gaffigan: Yeah. And I'm sure that seven characters are approaching [the writers] saying, "I'd like to say this instead of this," so you kind of pick your battles. But the real fun, the challenge of acting, is taking a line that you've got and finding how your point of view can make it really pop. Does that make sense?

TV.com: Absolutely. TBS doesn't have a lot of original programming going on right now. When you found out you were going to be on the show, did you have any reservations? Was it like, "Oh, it's just TBS. I don't know?" And how has the network gained your confidence?

Jim Gaffigan: I am this guy who goes on stage and tries to make strangers laugh. So I'm not going to say that I'm not crazy.

But the thing that I like about TBS is that I had done a pilot for TNT and they're all part of the same family, but I knew that if they did pick it up that they were going to get behind it. I also knew that comedies on regular networks were really kind of going through a strange kind of phase of mediocrity.

And so whether TBS is the fanciest network, I really don't care, you know what I mean? We could be having a conversation in two years where you might be saying, "Did you think that TBS was going to be the next hot network?" I'm not saying it's going to have the status of HBO, but I think TNT is kind of on their way.

I was not worried about the fact that it was on a cable network. I was interested in the character. I was interested in single-camera, which I think is much better than four-camera. And I liked the fact that it was an offer and I'm a [journeyman] guy. It's like, this is not my first job and this is not going to be my last job.

TV.com: That's a good way to look at it.

Jim Gaffigan: Yeah. I mean, that might sound really negative. I don't want to sound negative. But I like TBS. I think they have made some really smart decisions and I think their marketing machine is incredible.

TV.com: TNT kind of has the reputation for having kind of edgier stuff. And USA has "Characters Welcome," that kind of stuff. What do you see as TBS's angle?

Jim Gaffigan: TBS is comedy and TNT is drama. And I don't think that TBS is sitting there desiring to reinvent the wheel so they go, "All right. Everybody Loves Raymond, we've got reruns of that. What should we pair with that?" They're like, well, "All right we've got Sex in the City reruns, what should pair with that? All right, My Boys."

And so I think that there is something to be said for not reinventing the wheel when you don't necessarily have to. But it's also one of those things where it fulfills a need particularly with the absence of tons of comedies on networks. They need that stuff.

TV.com: The comedies certainly are lacking right now. So to wrap things up, what other projects does Jim Gaffigan have coming up and what else can we expect to see?

Jim Gaffigan: Well, you know, Pale Force starts September 24th, which I've honestly never seen an episode [of] but it's on nbc.com/paleforce. And I usually go on the show and introduce an episode and then the second half of the episode is online. Then I did a web series for TBS called Our Massive Planet. And I think I have a script deal with Comico, which is Conan's company, and then possibly Comedy Central, then touring doing stand-up, and then trying to be a dad, you know.

TV.com: That's a pretty full slate, but you still love to do stand-up, obviously.

Jim Gaffigan: Oh, yeah. Well, I think stand-up is never going away. It's just the immediacy of the artistic reward. You come up with a new joke and you do it on stage and immediately you get feedback. Now I'm doing theaters and people are coming. They know my comedic point of view and it's just really a blast.

TV.com: Thanks for talking to us, Jim.