Laurence Lerman

Calling Jim Jefferies

I had an appointment to phone comic Jim Jefferies in an Indianapolis hotel at 6:00est to interview him in conjunction with his new DVD, the HBO comedy special I Swear to God (HBO/Warner), which was released last week. I dialed the number, asked for Geoffrey Nugent and was quickly connected to a room. Jim Jefferies answered with a relaxed “Hello?.”

Geoffrey Nugent? A pretty calm joke for the high-energy Australian comic who mostly known for his in-your-face, politically incorrect humor.

“Yeah, the names are fun,” Jefferies laughed. “I must be getting old…”

Until the premiere of his HBO program last August (making him one of only five non-American comics ever to be given his own HBO Special), Jefferies was perhaps best known Stateside for being attacked on stage by a crazed audience member while performing at the Manchester Comedy Store in April 2007. The event was captured on video and immediately went viral ‘round the world, racking up some 15 million views on video sites across the Internet.

“When it first happened, I didn’t know I was in a fight,” Jefferies remembers of the event that he describes as “sort of a pivotal moment in my career.”

“Once I got his leg, I thought I coulda gotten him down, but then security and everyone ran up and I got off the stage,” he continued. “I had a little bit of a sit-down in the dressing room and I came out of it unscathed. The thing was this guy never heckled or anything--he just came at me.

“I think it’s only a matter of time until it happens again,” he adds.

It isn’t likely, particularly as his popularity is fast increasing around the world. And though Jefferies is currently developing a sitcom for U.S. television and exploring possible film roles, it’s touring both here and abroad that keeps him busy and his comedy on top.

I’ve played India and all of Europe and gigs in Japan,” he recounted to me. “I’ve had some nights out that are fairly crazy, believe me, and I know that funny is funny all across the world. This whole notion that people are different with their humor is bullshit, just a load of crap. Funny is funny.”

Now, here's the clip of Jim being attacked on stage in 2007:

Posted by Laurence Lerman on October 28, 2009 | Comments (0)