Comedian, actor and author Kirk Fox has spent most of his life playing: sports, unforgettable characters, and to rooms full of comedy fans worldwide. A former tennis instructor, he treats the sport like a detective treats a case. Everything connects, but he is always the common thread.
You’ll know Kirk from “somewhere,” as he’s built a following across generations and genres: From “How to Rock” on Nickelodeon and hosting “The Test” mustache-free, to Sewage Joe on “Parks and Recreation,” Pat McCurdy in “Jury Duty,” Kenny Boy on “Reservation Dogs,” and more recently, Netflix’s “Bad Thoughts.” Fox has a way of making a role memorable, especially the comedically twisted ones.
In June, he added novelist to an already stacked resume with “Palmdale,” his incredibly entertaining dirtbag-noir debut about a PI and his estranged daughter reuniting over a case. On Wednesday, “The Lowdown” returns to Hulu, and Fox is back in Sterlin Harjo’s world as a new character that still sounds a bit like him. Maybe that’s the job. Or maybe, that’s just Kirk Fox.
From Nickelodeon to having Rob Iler on your lap in “Bad Thoughts” performing an alien sex scene, your career truly is a wild ride.
Fox: So let me try to tell you how Nickelodeon came to be. Everything I’ve ever done can be traced back to tennis. I ended up on Nickelodeon because David Israel and Jim O’Doherty went to a screening of a movie that I made with Donal Logue called, “Tennis, Anyone…?” At the time, David was putting together a sitcom on NBC called “Grand Union,” and somehow I ended up in that with them. That show didn’t go, and David ended up at Nickelodeon doing a show called “How to Rock” and he said, why don’t you come in and read for this? I did and I ended up on Nickelodeon. Probably the first guy on Nickelodeon with a mustache. I played Mr. March — I hadn’t even thought about that for a while, but I was on Nickelodeon, and it was pretty exciting.
Imagining you playing a wholesome character sure is an exercise for the mind.
I think my instinct is always to lean into the darkness or edge, so Nickelodeon was actually kind of hard for me to pull off. It felt like it was really a character, and I don’t think at the time I was a good enough actor to say, “I can be a clown, or I can be this or that.” His movement was like a balloon man in front of a car dealership and when I look back at the moves, it’s pretty hard to watch, but I guess it was funny at the time. We did one season, and the show had the greatest actors and musicians. They all went on to work, but it was a sad thing when that one folded. Then, I did a daytime talk show at the stage right next to that. I like to think I got the job on “The Test” just because the wardrobe fit. Jay McGraw was doing “The Doctors” over at Paramount and the suit belonged to one of the doctors. I ended up doing maybe 140 episodes of daytime talk conflict resolution, and people don’t even know it’s me. I was in a suit, I combed my hair, and I lost my mustache. Once I lose my mustache, I lose my power because I look so different. I seem to be happier with my mustache. My dad had a mustache, and I think my mom had one. I’ve just always liked a mustache, it helps me lean into law enforcement.
And also maybe maintenance? You once told me that you’ve worked with a lot of toilets and shovels.
I’ve definitely had a lot of jobs in bathrooms. Sewage Joe and almost every character I play either has a wrench or a shovel. Something I was looking back on recently was “The Postman.” [It] was a movie I did with Kevin Costner a long time ago, and I had one line in that movie. And I didn’t even get the line right. I was asked, “What did you do before you were given this great opportunity?” And the line was, “I had a shovel. I dug holes.” When Will Patton asked me, “What did you do before you were given this great opportunity?” I said, “I had a shovel. I dig it a hole. I dig in holes. I dig in the holes.” It was just the brain having a slight mouthful reaction. Everything I do has shovels in it. When I was in “Reservation Dogs,” Sterlin Harjo even put a shovel in my hand.
Fox as Kenny Boy in FX’s television series “Reservation Dogs.”
(Shane Brown)
Sometimes shows end and you’re like, “OK, bye.” But when “Reservation Dogs” ended, it hurt.
It was my favorite ride so far. The greatest part for me with “Reservation Dogs” was that I think Kenny Boy was supposed to not be an appealing character and I never knew that, so I approached it like I loved the kids and that I was Native. I think in the original draft, maybe I was pretending to be Native to sell more salvage cars, but I never saw him that way. I loved Kenny Boy, and I loved everybody in the show. I took it like I was a big brother to everybody, and the result was, they kept bringing me back. But I never knew I wasn’t Native, and maybe it worked out better that we don’t even know what I was. At the end, Sterlin maybe didn’t know either. I think that’s the beauty of my relationship with him — he doesn’t really know what I am, but he seems to enjoy my company.
You know what Sterlin does know? Great acting. Must be why he’s working with you again on Season 2 of “The Lowdown.” Dare I ask about shovels?
It doesn’t have a shovel in it, but I bet I have one in my trunk. I think every role that I play has a little bit of me in it, and I basically play Kenny Boy if he became a public defender. He might lean toward alcohol and might enjoy the company of women, and he’s doing the best he can with maybe not the skill set needed to be a good public defender. At the end of the day, though, his heart is my heart, and I always want to do the right thing. I don’t think I’ve ever taken on a part where I’m not trying to leave a room better for visiting. Even if they hit me or kick me, even if I kill somebody, I feel I’m doing somebody a favor.
In Season 1 of “Bad Thoughts,” what was the favor? Asking for a friend who’s in therapy.
Maybe the positive could be the beauty of the portal. I was an alien who was trying to help somebody. The way to look at it is, I was bringing joy to myself. That’s true as an alien, and, you know, maybe I was helping the planet. We just don’t know what planet it was. The beauty of “Bad Thoughts” was that it was just something that Tom [Segura] wanted to direct and do some writing on; he didn’t do it for Netflix. We shot a few of those a couple of years before and they saw it and liked it. It was fun because you know, Rob Iler went from “The Sopranos” to that. And then that weighted blanket episode was just something I was talking about on stage one night, and then Tom and I were laughing about it on the van ride back to the hotel. We were laughing so hard, and I said, “This should be an episode somewhere.” So that episode was just me and Tom, and it’s exactly what I think. I think weighted blankets would be a great business venture still.
So many ventures! I just read Dress Up Gang won awards at SXSW—you really have some big things happening.
There are some good things brewing. I have a line where I say, I’ve worked hard to get where I’m not. And you know, I’ve certainly avoided a work-related death my whole life by avoiding work, so these are all things that are real. The truth is, it’s all kind of coming to a head now where I’m starting to work more and have things coming out. We did a movie with the Dress Up Gang called “Plantman & Blondie” that won the Audience Award at SXSW, I have a movie coming out next year that I star in called “The Far Way,” and Tom and I are writing a movie that we’d like to try and shoot next year, so I’m starting to lean in a little. I think writing the book kind of showed me that I can actually finish something.
Cover of “Palmdale” by Kirk Fox
“Palmdale” is amazing and it reads like you too. Rather, it reads with the cadence of a PI.
Joe Soperton in Palmdale is Kirk Fox, so I guess you already know who I am. It’s nice that you’re saying exactly what I feel when I’m writing it, so I’m glad it comes across. I’ve always known this story was brewing in me. I taught a lot of tennis in Bel Air and Beverly Hills, and it feels like I always was doing a little PI work. A lot of people ask their tennis pro questions, and I’m not saying I did any investigating, but I may have. I may have helped some students with some things. I chose Joe because I’m a PI at heart, and there’s a tennis background. We’re also turning “Palmdale” into a movie, so that’s gonna be a lot of fun. I’m going to keep it going so we might find out there’s a reason that Joe is in Palmdale, and we might find out there’s a reason that he even took this case. You know, just hitting some tennis balls and having a taco occasionally, just floating through life.
Not to add to your plate, but any chance you’ll fit in a new special soon?
Yeah, I’m putting it together, but I don’t have the exact date. Stand-up is a big deal for me because before I started, I was just playing tennis and chasing girls. I had little parts in movies, but stand-up really helped my world. You can be a con for a long time and then you realize, oh, this is just a character. At some point I realized that I’d just been winging it through life, and I think stand-up gave me a little more weight to my essence. It allowed me to take deeper breaths, value my time, and have moments of silence. I think up until then I couldn’t really have moments of silence. There was always something going whether it was smooth talking or trying to be funny, but I think stand-up taught me how to be quiet.
Would you say stand-up is your weighted blanket?
Oh, I would definitely say stand-up is my weighted blanket for sure. I seem to be most comfy on stage and I know a lot of people that dance in that lane. Every minute is important, not just on stage, but in life, so I like to hug them with my words. I also like to say I’m like sandpaper. It’s a little rough at first, but if I hold you and you fight and struggle and try to break free and get to safety, you will be smoother for having gone through the battle.
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