Comedy - ‘The Daily Show’s’ Rob Riggle reports for Punchline duty

“When you think of Captain America, you think of Rob Riggle in a spandex suit,” “The Daily Show’s” John Oliver once said of his former office mate, a U.S. Marine reservist. Riggle, 41, began amusing America as the most beefy and swaggering of [http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=184184&title=exclusive-profile-rob-riggle|”The Daily Show’s” fake news reporters] from 2006-2008. Lately, he steals scenes with punchy catchphrases in comedies like The Hangover (“IN THE FACE!”) or Step Brothers (“POW!”), and has roles in such upcoming films as The Lorax and 21 Jump Street. Chatty and amiable over the phone, Riggle brings his stand-up comedy show to the Punchline from July 21-23, and talks about the difference between military and comedy tours.

Can you tell me a little about your military service?

I joined the Marines as an undergrad at the University of Kansas. I was a theater major and wasn’t looking forward to working as a waiter after graduation. But I had my pilot’s license, and was offered a government flight contract with the Marines, so I thought being a pilot would be pretty cool. After college, I had my infantry training and went to flight school, but eventually I realized that once I got my wings, I’d be contractually obligated to be a pilot for eight years. At that time of my life, it seemed like forever, and I wanted to try comedy and acting, too. So I left flight school, which wasn’t easy to do, and went to the ground side of the Marines and fulfilled my contract there.

I know you had tours in Liberia, Kosovo and Afghanistan. Where did you get your Combat Action Ribbon?

I received my Combat Action Ribbon when I was in Kosovo. We’d be out on various patrols and get shot at regularly. I went to Afghanistan in November 2001 through February 2002 in the Northern part of the country. Kosovo and Afghanistan had a lot of danger — they’re all combat zones.

After being shot at in combat zones, does that make stage fright seem like no big deal?

They’re different types of fear, and they’re both strong. With the Marines Corp stuff, you’re very well-trained, so you know exactly what you’re supposed to do. I think the most scared I’ve been has been on stage, because it’s completely subjective. The audience might like you, or they might not like you. You don’t always know what to do, so it’s a very scary place.

Are you still a reservist?

Yes, I’m still currently in the Marine Reserves as a Lt. Colonel. I’m always subject to call, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I was called up before, so that put me back at the bottom of the pile.

What was it like when you performed for the troops in Iraq in 2007?

When I was deployed, I never got to see any entertainers, so I always thought that if I got to go back and entertain the troops, I would. And I did! I went with friends from “Human Giant” — Horatio Sanz, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel. We only went to forward operating bases, since we made sure we performed for the guys at the pointy end of the spear. A few years later, I ran into a guy at an airport baggage carousel, and he said, “I was with the 25th Infantry Division and saw you perform on a basketball court in Iraq. It really picked our spirits up.” Hearing that was an amazing experience.

Do you use any of your loud, macho persona in your stand-up?

There’s moments of that, I can’t deny that. I’m just a big guy. When I grew up, one of the funniest things I saw as a kid — which I probably shouldn’t have seen as a kid — was Eddie Murphy’s Delirious. Not long after that, I saw Bill Cosby Himself. I loved the storytelling of those shows, so my sets have more storytelling. They’re not just three jokes a minute, set-up, punchline.

Why did you leave “The Daily Show” in 2006?

It was a family decision. The Reader’s Digest version is that I had just moved my family to Los Angeles in June 2006, and then I got “The Daily Show” in July. When you get picked up for “The Daily Show,” you do it on a probationary period for the first six months. If they like you, you get another six months, and if it’s still working out, you get another year, and so on. I was on the show for two and a half years, and for the first year it didn’t make sense to move my family back to New York, especially because basic cable doesn’t pay a lot. So I had a studio apartment in New York and did long-distance commuting.

It sounds like another deployment.

I’m not kidding. It was exactly that kind of family separation.

Can you tell me a little about “The Navy SEAL Who Killed Osama bin Laden?” I think that’s some of your funniest work, and it seemed to be on the Internet within two weeks of the announcement.

I think the announcement that they killed bin Laden came on a Sunday night, and we were talking ideas about it on Monday morning with the Funny or Die people. The first part, when I was getting the medal, was pretty scripted, but most of the rest was improvised. Lines like “Yankin’ and bankin’!” were right out of flight school.

Do fans ever quote your loud catchphrases to you in the early morning, or times when you don’t want to hear them?

When it happens, it always seems to happen at the airport and always scares the hell out of me. I’ll be in line and someone behind me will go “POW!” And I’ll have to decide whether I should turn and acknowledge it, or keep looking forward. But if I ignore it, they’ll just do it again.

Since you have a loud, macho screen persona, do you have any habits or interests that people wouldn’t expect?

You mean like knitting or something? I wish I did do something delicate. I will say that if an Air Supply song comes on the radio, I’m not going to turn it off.