John Hodgman is at home in Brooklyn battling a fever and taking a break from touring Vacationland, his new comedy monologue, when Westender catches up with him by phone.
“You know the kind of fever where it’s impossible to sleep and you can’t even stand lying with yourself in the dark?” he asks, completely deadpan.
In this rare time off, the compulsive workaholic is catching up on episodes of The Daily Show – where his first appearance to promote his book, The Areas of My Expertise back in 2005, led to recurring appearances and eventually, the title of ‘resident expert’.
It was the infamous advertising campaign Apple ran from 2006 to 2010, though, that really put Hodgman on the map and into people’s living rooms playing the personification of a PC computer, alongside his Mac counterpart, played by actor Justin Long.
“The root of my career has been defined by the fact that I’m a professional hitchhiker,” he explains. “A lot of trucks went by that I didn’t get on, and only one I regret. I was once picked up by a truck driver by the name of John Stewart and then by Apple, and I’ve been thumbing my way from job to job ever since.”
He’s not kidding. A graduate of Yale, Hodgman lists literary agent, writer, radio broadcaster, actor, father, podcaster and comedian on his resume.
“I only understand the kind of work I can really put my hands on,” he offers. “But, I’m not sophisticated. I don’t understand any job that didn’t appear on the pages of a Richard Scarry book.”
Hodgman brings Vacationland to Vancouver, returning to the city for the first time since donning the lab coat of civilian neurosurgeon Dr. Gerard on Battlestar Galactica.
“My favourite podcast, Stop Podcasting Yourself, is out of Vancouver; it’s one of the best, and my favourite” he says. “People in Canada take their comedy very seriously.”
It’s precisely that juxtaposition Hodgman imbues, keeping everyone around him on their toes at all times. On the state of comedy today he says, “people have been empowered by the Internet and suddenly there is comedy in new places, like Huntsville, Alabama, and not just LA or New York or Chicago.”
So, who does John Hodgman think is funny? He pauses and thoroughly considers the question before declaring in all seriousness, “the guy selling bananas on the southbound turnpike in Maine.”
You can catch John Hodgman’s ‘Vacationland’ at The Rio Theatre, Oct. 13 at 7pm. Tickets are $29.50 here.
