Of course, Izzard is most known for his stream-of-consciousness comedic monologues laced with historical references. It seems, Izzard agreed, more than in many years, people turn to comedy in these tougher times. “Well, I think that’s just it,” he said. “I think generally when times are tough, people just want to have a laugh and actually forget the ills and the old situation of financial situations. If you can articulate what [people] are actually feeling, then I think they quite like it. Particularly in the UK,” Izzard added, “we’ve all tried to develop into comic-philosophers that do standup. Where you can go out there and go, ‘this is my view on life and this is what I think might happen in the future,’ people seem to be very up for that. They want to know about your personality and your take on life, which is intriguing. But I think mainly in these times people just want to laugh and not worry about the social situation, the financial situation.”
This fall, Izzard will on American small screens again, starring in NBC’s new series Mockingbird Lane. The re-imagining of the ’60 situation comedy The Munsters, it was developed by Pushing Daisies creator Bryan Fuller. Cast as Grandpa, the 50-year-old Izzard does not quite seem they type (or old enough) to play the iconic Al Lewis role. Originally, the actor didn’t really see himself in the part. “What happened was I was told of the idea and went, ‘No, it’s just not going to happen. That’s not my next move.’ But then [Fuller] put it to me and he told me what he was trying to do with it, and I thought, “Well, this could be intriguing.” This could be an interesting role to play, so I was persuaded by Bryan Fuller to do it, and-and that’s why I’m there.”
Izzard explained that the remake is not quite what many might expect of a Munsters remake. It will be, he noted as far from the ‘60s series as Tim Burton’s Batman was from the ‘60s television Batman.
In the meantime, you can catch Izzard this week on IFC as a cold-blooded, but deeply neurotic villain. Bullet in the Face premieres on IFC Thursday and Friday nights at 10 PM ET.
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Article comments
1 - Richard Sparks
The action transvestite strikes gold again! Really looking to this.
2 - Joey Williams
I am really sceptical of Izzard's ability to play a serious villain. The clip you got above could easily be taken from the introductory videos in one of his stand ups.
3 - barbara barnett
Joey,
The show is a comedy, and Tannhauser is completely over the top, so serious? Not so much. It's comedy--at least this role.
4 - Peter
Eddie Izzard is one of the best comedians of recent times and anything he is involved is guaranteed to be better for it!