By Peter Lindblad
Don’t confuse David Koechner with the hilariously memorable characters he’s played.
In real life, he’s nothing like the boorish Todd Packer, from TV’s “The Office,” or the equally chauvinistic Champ Kind, from “Anchorman” and “Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.”
Koechner wants everyone to know he’s not that kind of guy. He really sank his teeth into those roles, though, and loved bringing them to life. There’s a good reason why.
“You never get to say those things to people in real life,” said Koechner, with a laugh. “You never get to act like that in real life without consequences.”
What is it like to play such despicable creatures? Koechner paints quite a picture.
“My God, I liken it to walking into a stranger’s house, where a beautiful, warm-temperatured, perfectly temperatured bath has been drawn for someone else,” said Koechner. “And then you get into it, splash all the water out, and then leave that place naked while a party is in progress – again, without consequences. That’s what it’s like. You get to do whatever you want. And you leave the house with owner’s best, most plush robe and slippers and then drive their car away.”
After getting all that out, Koechner let out a hearty guffaw. At the same time, he understands them on a deeper level. He hopes others do, too.
“What my intention is in playing those characters is to bring to light the pain and suffering that they have inside themselves and/or cause others so that we might all see them as a delightful cautionary tale, or a sympathetic tragedy walking among us,” said Koechner.
Known best for his acting onscreen, Koechner has also been doing standup for the last 10 years. He’s bringing his gregarious nature, sly intelligence, and undeniably funny comedic insights to the Skyline Comedy Club in Appleton Jan. 4-6. Get ready for his unique perspective.
“I think you develop your own style in comedy in your first couple of years of doing it, whether you’re in improv or standup, or onstage or in TV or movies,” said Koechner. “That’s going to be the way it is. One would hope that you then endeavor to be even more bold or interesting, or loud, as is my particular proclivity.”
Naturally boisterous, the affable Koechner was born in Tipton, Missouri and raised Catholic, with his Irish, English, and German ancestry. He went to Benedictine College and the University of Missouri to study Political Science, but comedy was his calling. And Chicago was where he got a real education.
“I was a huge fan of ‘Saturday Night Live,’” said Koechner. “And when I was growing up, there wasn’t the internet. We didn’t have access to all information at all times, or all lies at all times. And so, you’d read books, and I read several books on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ And I found out that many of those players had come from Second City. So, then I visited Chicago, and saw a show, saw that they taught classes and decided to move to Chicago and start taking classes, which I did. And as you know, those are improv-based theatres – Second City and the old ImprovOlympic.”
Initially, Koechner was tutored by the venerable improvisation instructor Del Close at Chicago’s ImprovOlympic, before he moved on to Second City. After graduating in 1994, he was brought aboard “Saturday Night Live” in 1995. His time on the show was tumultuous.
“I enjoyed it. I finally got my break. That was the biggest part,” said Koechner. “It was, ‘Holy sh*t, you got your ticket stamped.’ Right? I was making money, doing the thing that you love and it’s the thing I always dreamed of doing, so it was fantastic. I wasn’t very good at the politics of show business, so I only did one year on the show. I pissed off just the right people.”
That was enough for Koechner, who’s always followed his own path.
“I never learned to be a good negotiator of my own show business journey,” said Koechner. “I still have this assumption that talent prevails and that you’ll constantly be employed, but you know what? It’s fine. I’ve had 205 different shows that I’ve done. That’s not bad. I’m pretty happy. And I still get to do it, and I’ll do it until the day I die. The lesson to be learned is you either compromise or you don’t. And when you don’t compromise, you get what you get, and you don’t get upset.”
Despite it all, Koechner appeared in some memorable sketches, including the running bit about “Bill Brasky,” where the drunken Brasky Buddies share exaggerated stories of Brasky’s exploits. Some of the relationships he established at SNL endured, as well, including those with Will Farrell and Adam McKay.
It was McKay who created the uproarious “Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy.” In 2004, Koechner won the audition for the role of sports reporter Champ Kind. It was another big break for Koechner.
“I’ve known Adam McKay for a long time, and I knew him before he’d written that movie, but he didn’t write the part for me,” said Koechner. “I auditioned for it, and I got it. I would say that because I know his proclivities and instincts, and his writing and his point of view, that certainly helped me understand what the author was intending. So, my familiarity with him as a person and as an artist possibly helped me win that role.”
There was another turn in the smash hit comedy “40 Year Old Virgin,” working alongside Steve Carell, which led to an offer to play Todd Packer on “The Office.” It was based on the obnoxious character of Chris Finch, from the British version of “The Office.”
“I was a huge fan of the British ‘Office,’ so I certainly knew who Todd Packer was, and I’ve met people like that in life, so that probably helped me maybe considered for that part,” said Koechner.
In both cases, Koechner came to fully embody those characters – so much so, in fact, that it’s hard for some to separate Koechner the person from those roles.
“It’s nice when you look back and you think that anybody might think, ‘Who else, if it wasn’t him, what would they do?’” asked Koechner. “I’m not giving myself more importance, but all those roles and iconic characters we know throughout history, you can’t think of anybody else … like Al Pacino in ‘The Godfather.’ All those types of little things, the casting just works out the way it should.”
So has Koechner’s career, as he’s parlayed his improv training into a laundry list of great acting credits, including his performance as a gun lobbyist in the brilliantly satirical “Thank You for Smoking.”
“When you have great source material like that, it provides for a fantastic screen play, which Jason (Reitman) certainly provided,” said Koechner. “And he did such a great job of directing, so I was very fortunate to be in what I consider one of his finest films.”
“Extract,” a 2009 comedy from Mike Judge, of “Beavis and Butt-Head” fame, is another ensemble movie that featured Koechner, and there were others.
“God that was fun,” said Koechner. “And then there’s little gem of a movie that people don’t know called ‘Cheap Thrills.’ It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. It’s not for kids, but that’s a delightful one. ‘Krampus’ … I got to be in a Christmas movie, I never thought that would happen. I absolutely loved the TV projects – ‘Superior Donuts’ … what a marvelous cast, and the same goes for ‘Bless This Mess.’ I thought, Christ, this is going to run for 10 years, and then when it doesn’t, you’re surprised and hurt, and all that stuff, but Covid got us on that one.”
Other highlights include his turn as a manager in “Waiting …” and parts in “Snakes on a Plane,” “Talledega Nights” The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Balls of Fury” and “Semi Pro,” among others. The list goes on and on, and he gets famous lines thrown back at him all the time.
“You don’t know what thing you do that touches people,” said Koechner. “I was in three episodes of ‘Hannah Montana,’ and now I’ve got kids in their 20s going, ‘Oh my god, you’re Uncle Earl.’ Just a f**king knee slapper.”
Fully aware that an acting career can run hot and cold, Koechner decided a while ago to give standup a try.
“I have five children, and when I had the fifth one, I thought, ‘Well, David, you’d better have an independent authority of income and decide when you want to get hired, rather than hoping someone else decides to hire you,’” said Koechner. “So, about 10 years ago, I started doing standup locally, and then I built that into a show. That way, it could be supplemental income, or if I choose it to be, a larger project, as it is this year. I have 35 dates this year. It’s the first time I’m doing a real tour. They like to call it a tour in standup, but I’m doing 35 dates this year.”
Admittedly, early on, the standup show created by Koechner, who’s been doing live comedy since the late ‘80s, was unusual. It was … well, complicated.
“I put together an hour-long show that was basically just a string of characters, and it was like watching a one-man show that had no cohesion,” said Koechner. “It was almost like, here’s this bucket of fish I have. I’ll just pull one out and describe it to you … and so, I have to give it to the audience. It wasn’t a narrative that they were familiar with. Stand-up has a very specific type – either you’re a commentator on current events or you’re just one joke after another. There are several different kinds. I didn’t fit any of those categories. So, here I am. I actually had five changes. I had a rack of clothes onstage that I traveled with. I had five wig and costume changes in my show.”
The audience didn’t always get it.
“So, sometimes the audience just sat there gobsmacked (laughs), thinking what the f**k is this?” said Koechner. “Oh, my lord. It worked, because I am an entertainer, but it was very different than what most people had seen. I remember some comic once told me … I was in Vegas doing a show, and one night, it didn’t work at all. So, I rewrote the entire show the next day because I realized in Vegas, they’re not necessarily there to see you. They’re there to give their wallet a break for an hour. It was different if they were buying tickets to see your show at the bigger house. I was there in the smaller room. It’s like, ‘Oh, there’s a show. Let’s stop f**king spending money for at least an hour.’ So, it’s different when they’re coming to see you by choice. It’s different when (laughing) you’re just basically the guy next to the cafeteria. Anyway, so yeah, the comic said to me, ‘Holy sh*t, that’s quite a highwire act.’ I’m like in my head I was thinking, ‘What are you talking about?’”
Changes would be made, and Koechner has gradually developed into more of a conventional stand-up comic, with some entertaining eccentricities.
“Eventually, I had this show that was less costume changes, but then it was a mixed bag of traditional standup and these costumed characters, but also songs (laughs),” said Koechner. “I had traveled for a while with this two-piece band – my opener played drums, and I brought along a guitar player. I mean, it was quite different. So, yeah, it’s evolved since then for sure, but the guy says (laughs), ‘That’s a highwire act,’ (laughing) And I’m like, ‘No, that’s just what I want to do.’ I don’t know, but I can only constantly evolve, I think as most people do.”