David Koechner is funnier than you. Sorry, but it’s true. Why else would his real-life pals (and superstars) Will Ferrell and Steve Carell consider him comedy’s go-to guy? The towering funnyman has appeared in over 130 films and TV shows—and is currently lighting up a screen near you in the horror-comedy hit Krampus. Everybody has a favorite Koechner role: from Packer defecating under desks in The Office to Champ kind dropping the “Whammy!” in Anchorman. We caught up with Koechner for a backyard barbecue and grilled this every-dad on binge-drinking with Bill Brasky, the blossoming of Miley Cyrus and drawing inspiration from hometown drifters.
HUSTLER: You came up in iO and Second City out in Chicago before you went to SNL, right?
DAVID KOECHNER: I started taking classes in ’87, but I got up onstage and was on a team within two months. So it really is about stage time. It’s basically the 10,000-hours theory. If you get enough stage time, you’re going to get better and better and better. Sometimes I would have classes four times a week and then shows on the weekend. It was a marvelous time to be in Chicago.
You came up with Steve Carell?
Everybody. Carell, Colbert, Colbert’s head writer Tom Purcell. I was there with Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, all the writers from Conan, plus Andy Richter. John Glaser…
Adam McKay…
