Perpetually angry comedian Lewis Black gets typecast in Pixars new gem.
Den Of Geek: I saw you at the press conference earlier.
Little bit of a dead room there.
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Lewis Black: It wasnt bad.
All things considered, not bad.
So somebody asks you to play the part of Anger in a movie.
Is your first thought, Well, that sounds about right?
My first thought is Perfect.
This is absolutely spot on.
And I would have been upset if theyd picked anybody else.
How did director Pete Docter sell you the premise of the movie?
How did he pitch it to you?
They didnt really have it pitch it to me because I just went, Yes.
Then they started talking about it.
I was doing a show and then I visited them.
They just showed me preliminary stuff.
And I went, Fine.
I thought, Wow.
This is not easy.
So Ive always had a sense of it.
So no self-analysis or anything like that going on.
Bill Hader needs self-analysis.
[laughs] No, I didnt.
But I found the other emotions fascinating.
Pete Docter described anger as being all about fairness.
Anger wants things to be fair for Riley.
Does that emotion come for you from the same place?
Is it all about fairness and justice?
I think a lot of it does.
When he did say that for the first time, I went, Ah.
So Ive always responded when Ive seen stuff that I dont think is right with anger.
I think its an important one.
I think a lot of people sit on it.
I dont, and I think its why my blood pressure is so good.
Did you get to see the character beforehand?
In part, yes.
And, in part it made me really comfortable because it was like me all squished up.
I could see myself in it.
When you get angry, do you actually visualize flames coming off the top of your head?
[laughs] But I do see myself getting taller and taller.
But if they can get the flames to work on my head, Id start using them next week.
Both Bill Hader and Amy Poehler touched on the fact that Pete Docter is very collaborative.
He let them come in and go through the scripts and improvise material a little bit.
Did you have that same kind of experience or did you go with what was written?
I went a lot with what was written because it was all based on me.
My character kind of had its place.
I was not as integral to plotting, in a sense.
So I think that a lot of it was already solid for me.
But they would say, What would you say here?
So there was stuff like that.
But most of the time I dont screw around with other peoples writing.
You obviously have a history as a playwright as well.
Does being a playwright give you sort of an insight when you read a script?
Absolutely, because thats the way I learned how to act, through playwriting.
And you go, Wow.
This is not going to turn around on Page 30.
You are on record as an unabashed fan of Pixar.
You love all the movies.
First of all, is that the soft hidden part of Lewis Black that we dont see?
I think it is part of the soft part of me.
One of the things that Ive heard.
So Pixar certainly hits that spot.
I think that what Pixar has is that they know their audience.
I think they have an equal hand in both worlds.
Whats coming up in Lewis Blacks world once the movie is out?
Are you going on tour again?
I do four shows in Portland, in Hyannis, and in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.
And then in September I go back on the road again.
Its a whole variety of bad mentors.
Inside Outis out in theaters now.
