On social media, Bobcat Goldthwait lists his bio as “Director, Comedian, and Bigfoot Enthusiast.” His interest for the legendary creature led to Willow Creek, the 2013 horror film he wrote and directed.
“Yeah, I think Willow Creek was a chance for me to go to the Patterson-Gimlin site where the famous footage of Bigfoot was shot,” he says. “I put that on social media for a couple reasons — one, I am into Bigfoot, and two, so I don't take myself too serious now that I'm a serious auteur.”
He laughs, but there is no denying that, 30 years into his career, he's one of the more provocative directors working today. His 1991 directorial debut, Shakes The Clown, set the tone for his movies: dark, over-the-top, sometimes uncomfortable, and thought provoking. Goldthwait says his work making people squirm isn't intentional, but those are the subjects that draw his interest.
Call Me Lucky, his latest film, is his best yet. A documentary about comedian Barry Crimmins, you start to watch it and think “Why have a not of heard of this guy? He's hilarious!” Then the darkness hits; halfway into the film Crimmins reveals he was the victim of childhood abuse and his career path went from comedy to advocacy.
“It was hard [to work on], but you know, as Barry says, 'If I lived this, you can at least hear it.' And that was kind of what kept me going to make it. It's a very hard movie to make because of the nature of a guy exploring and reopening his childhood rape. And then to be really close to the subject as a personal friend, so it was much harder than doing a Bigfoot movie,” Goldthwait says.
“If I lived this, you can at least hear it,” is Goldthwait's approach to comedy as well. Never one to shy away from controversial topics, his act is a bit more tempered, but just as sharp.
“I think for all these years it's kinda been my approach. I have never been chasing mass appeal, so the times I stumbled into it kinda bit me in the ass later on,” he laughs. “Barry was always telling me, even as a young guy, to pick my targets carefully. Early on I was just mad and everything in my way would just get attacked, so I think he kinda guided me to be a little more responsible with my anger.”
It's hard enough for a comedian to find his voice, but Goldthwait defied odds and found it twice. Now, he's fortunate enough to be able to go on stage as himself, and feels it's helped him come into his own.
“For me to jettison the persona that people knew me as and be able to go up as myself is freeing, because I definitely found myself trapped by people's perception of me,” he says. “The stories and the things I talk about are always changing. I realize now early on I was attacking everything, now the more honest I can be about my own life, the funnier that is.”
His last comedy special was 2012's You Don’t Look the Same Either, but there are no concrete plans for a follow-up — yet.
“I think I should do another special,” Goldthwait says, ”but right now I do stand-up in between directing gigs. This tour isn't an actual tour — I just wrapped Maron last week, so now I get to go out and do some stand-up before I start this other show. Then I have to make a decision if I should record something new, but I kinda feel like I should, so that way if I had a specific show I was aiming towards recording, it would keep me focused more on new material.”
Lack of focus isn't a problem. Besides his break for stand-up, Goldthwait is trying to get another movie together, plus he has other directing gigs in the pipeline.
“There's a show called Those Who Can't on truTV and [in] about a month you'll see some of the episodes I directed, and I really enjoyed working on that show. I like working on things with people I respect, be it the Grawlix, or people like [Marc] Maron or Patton [Oswalt],” he says.
With a schedule that keeps him on the move so often, Goldthwait still finds time to relax.
“I love directing and writing. It sounds super boring, but I like to go to movies, and like to go out in the woods and look for Bigfoot. But if you go and don't see Bigfoot, you just went camping, and that's fun.” he laughs. “I didn't realize that until 10 years ago. My wife at the time, people would say 'He's going out in the woods?' and she was like, 'Yeah man, he's a misanthrope. Of course he likes it.'”
Call Me Lucky is currently available on Netflix.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2016.