Hannibal Buress on Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Durant’s Celtics Snub, and Pokémon Go
Hannibal Buress has won a lot of fans as laid-back dentist Lincoln Rice on Broad City and as a regular on Adult Swim’s utterly ridiculous The Eric Andre Show. He’s also been making a splash in Hollywood recently thanks to roles in high-profile projects like Neighbors and The Secret Life of Pets, as well as upcoming blockbusters like Marvel’s Spider-Man: Homecoming. Somehow, Buress still finds the time to work as a stand-up comic, with his latest tour set to make a few stops in New England this month. Ahead, the comic reveals his thoughts on working with Mark Wahlberg, Kevin Durant choosing the Warriors over the Celtics, plus what happened when he bought stock in Nintendo after the initial Pokémon Go craze.
You performed at MIT a few months back. Did that crowd respond to your work any differently than your typical college show?
It was more dudes, but that’s pretty much it man. I don’t want to sound snobby, but when I’ve done the smarter colleges it feels more like one of my regular shows. At some college shows, it will feel like a college show, where it will be fun and it still works and everything, but something feels a little bit off about it. When I do MIT, Brown, the University of Chicago, those type of spots have felt the most like a regular show. So MIT was great, and they have a lot of money, man.
After working with Mark Wahlberg on Daddy’s Home, what did you think of his comedy skills?
He just knows how to hit that gear and knows how to deliver a joke. He’s a Boston dude, right? And off camera, he’s Mark Wahlberg, so he’s got stories, man. He told me some funny stories from his early acting days. He’s just a funny, good dude.
Since you’re a huge NBA fan, what did you think of Kevin Durant’s decision to go to the Warriors instead of the Celtics?
Maybe Boston would’ve been cool for him. I didn’t expect him to do that. Like when they were talking about how he might go to the Warriors, I didn’t even consider it really just because he was one game away from eliminating them… But the Celtics are looking solid, man. A nice young nucleus with some excellent GMing from years ago with all of those Brooklyn Nets picks coming up. It’s a promising look for that team. I think they’ll probably go try to make a big move this season before the trade deadline or something. It’s a good-looking squad.
From Spider-Man to Baywatch, you’ve got a lot of awesome upcoming roles. Should we expect a shirtless Hannibal Buress next to the Rock on the big screen?
Nope. Nope. Not me. Not on this one. Maybe in the sequel.
I have to ask—have you been playing Pokémon Go?
I haven’t played it because I already waste enough time on my phone and the Internet. Not that I think I’m above it, but I’m already in it too much to add something else that’s distracting and s–t. But when it first got hot a couple weeks ago, I bought stock in Nintendo. The stock already jumped incredibly and then I bought stock, and it went up some more. It went up like 40 percent and I should’ve sold it because that s–t bottomed out. Not bottomed out, it’s back right at what I bought it at. It’s even, so that was disappointing.
Hannibal Buress performs at Foxwoods on Friday, August 5, the Wilbur Theatre on Wednesday and Thursday, August 10 and 11, and the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Saturday, August 13.