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 Craig Robinson plays Darryl on NBC's "The Office" and is part of Judd Apatow's stable of comedic actors. |
There are three schools of thought when it comes to making people laugh - and they're all equally funny.
Craig Robinson, best known as Darryl from "The Office," understands this all too well.
"Sometimes we don't know something's funny till it airs," he says from his cell on an afternoon stroll through Manhattan. "Other times, they yell, 'Cut!' and there's a big burst of laughter. And then every so often, you just feel it.
"We're an amazing motley crew of people that work together and when that happens, when you just know something's funny, it's like fate."
His deadpan delivery the perfect foil for Dunder-Mifflin's Michael Scott (played by Steve Carell), Robinson - who is in Toronto for appearances at the Just For Laughs festival - thinks his spot on the show is the role of a lifetime.
"I love going to work," he says. "I can't even think about 'The Office' ending."
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But with a few weeks of downtime between filming episodes for the Emmy-winning comedy, Robinson has been making the rounds on the stand-up circuit performing alongside Seth Rogen in Montreal last weekend, and SNL's Jimmy Fallon at Massey Hall Saturday night.
And if it's his dry delivery that has made him an "Office" cult favourite, then it's his campy sing-along that shows live audiences there's a different side to him.
"I don't do politics or religion," he says. "It's me, talking about me, with some music. People that come to the shows can expect to sing and clap their hands and laugh like their crazy drunk uncle is onstage."
So with a role on a show that has burrowed itself firmly into the sinews of popular culture, why hasn't he incorporated any one-liners aimed at the U.S. commander-in-chief?
"I don't do politics, because that would require work and thought," he laughs. "You go into a comedy club, there could be 10 comics saying something about George Bush. My biggest goal is to stay away from what everyone else is doing unless I'm coming with something different on the same subject."
With plans for the show to include a spin-off next year, Robinson is mum on what fans can expect when the fifth season of "The Office" starts in September.
"Your guess is probably better than mine," he says. "They just tell me when to show up and I do…early."
That said, while Robinson is having the time of his life on the show, the role of Darryl is allowing him to branch out into films, with appearances in Kevin Smith's "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," the upcoming "Night at the Museum" sequel and a spot in the Judd Apatow comedy machine with roles in "Knocked Up," "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and "Superbad."
"The DVD extras of 'Superbad,'" he clarifies. "You didn't watch the extras? YouTube it then; I'm in there."
He also has a role in Apatow's latest stoner-comedy, "Pineapple Express."
"People can expect to have their minds blown," Robinson says, referring to the highly-anticipated film that stars Rogen and James Franco and opens next month.
"It is a comedy-action-stoner flick. When was the last time you heard those three words put together? You might get comedy-stoner or comedy-action, but comedy-stoner-action?"
Robinson will be a special guest star at the Just For Laughs gala on Saturday, July 26, at Massey Hall, with host Jimmy Fallon.
Tickets are available through Ticketmaster, at Massey Hall or at www.hahaha.com/toronto.