Jim Gaffigan on ‘Comedy Monster’ and SXSW Movie ‘Linoleum’: ‘The Only Measuring Stick That Matters Is Funny’

variety.com:

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaJim Gaffigan has had a very busy pandemic. The fruits of his COVID-era labors are on display recently in two distinctive projects that illustrate the size and scope of his ambitions.First, there’s his recently released special “Comedy Monster,” a filmed version of his stand-up act that quickly became a ratings juggernaut for Netflix (more on that later).Then there’s “Linoleum,” an off-beat dramedy that premieres March 12 at SXSW and showcases a much more understated Gaffigan doing double duty, playing both a children’s TV host named Cameron and a charming NASA scientist called Kent.

Both projects were conceived and shot as the world was grappling with its new masked reality. It’s proof that Gaffigan isn’t just a master of “guy-next-door humor;” he’s got some impressive range as an actor, too.

Mastering the roles required Gaffigan to bone up on his physics and chemistry. Cameron’s program is a much lower-budgeted version of the kind of show that turned Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson into small-screen staples. “I had to acquire an enthusiasm for science,” says Gaffigan. “It’s not that I found it boring, just overwhelming.

I’m dumb is essentially what I’m saying.”To distinguish between the two roles, Gaffigan drew on a personal source of inspiration. “I didn’t want to do an imitation of Bill Nye or anything,” Gaffigan says. “I felt like Cameron was from a different era, so I adopted a little bit of the machismo my dad might have had.