Louis C.K. is used to making people laugh. The 40-year-old Newton native has been performing stand-up comedy since he was 17, and his resumé is littered with high-profile credits. He is an Emmy-nominated writer for "The Chris Rock Show" and "Late Night With Conan O'Brien," he wrote and directed the film "Pootie Tang," and he had his own HBO series, "Lucky Louie," which began and ended its brief run last year.
But something is different now. After 20-plus years, C.K. believes he is finally hitting his stride. He's not only making people laugh, he says, but he's making them laugh until they hurt, which is infinitely more satisfying.
"Somebody will hold their belly and say, 'I can't feel this right now,' " he says. "Some lady holding the side of her face and saying, 'I'm numb and my jaw hurts right now.' That's the greatest thing, to have people come up and say that you physically [messed] them up."
C.K. will tape tomorrow's sold-out shows at the Berklee Performance Center for his new special, which he will then market to HBO and Showtime. There were still tickets for tonight's show earlier this week, but, according to C.K., those were also selling well. It has been the same throughout the country. C.K. has been selling out theaters, which has allowed him to pursue stand-up full time. But he also notes it has put pressure on him to live up to audience expectations, especially in his hometown.
"That's one reason that Boston is a double-edged sword, in a good way," he says with a laugh. "I like being cut by both sides of it."
Early last year, C.K. was in a holding pattern, waiting to see if HBO would pick up "Lucky Louie" for a second season. He had exhausted his material in an earlier half-hour special and started preparing new material partly to get his mind off of the wait.
"I thought, I'm going to go out and build a special from nothing and then shoot it," he says, figuring it would give him something to build on if the show didn't get picked up. "So it's probably the smartest thing I ever did in my life."
He hasn't completely abandoned acting or writing; it's just not his focus right now. And C.K. has enough admirers to land plum roles like playing Ricky Gervais's best friend in "This Side of the Truth," which begins shooting in Boston in April. He's not used to playing such a big role - he compares it to being asked to play third base for the Red Sox. "I hope whoever's playing left field is playing really shallow," he says. "[Gervais is] putting me front and center right next to him in his next movie, and I'm not qualified to play the part."
There is nothing solid on C.K.'s schedule after that, other than his goal to keep producing new specials.
"I'm really excited to do the best version of this material I've ever done [tomorrow] and then start with nothing and have no idea what I'm going to do - stand-up, TV, film, or anything," he says. "I'll have no idea. And that's an exciting place to be at 40."
Around town
George Carlin's 14th HBO special, "It's Bad for Ya," airs live on HBO tomorrow at 10 p.m. Dom Irrera is at the Comedy Connection tonight and tomorrow. Bill Cosby plays two shows at the Opera House tomorrow. "Warming Up the Crowd: A Comedy Benefit for Heating Assistance" is at the Brattle Sunday, with Shane Mauss, Kelly MacFarland, Erin Judge, Tim McIntire, and Corey Manning, among others. "All in for Knoxie," a Texas Hold 'Em tournament to help local comic Kevin Knox pay for cancer treatment, is at the Billerica Elks at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. There is a $100 buy-in, with all proceeds to benefit Knox's treatment. Check stevescarfo.com/knoxie_week.htm for details.
