Hot Pockets, hotter comic

Jim Gaffigan plays six shows in Boston this week and six more in New York next month.

Comedian Jim Gaffigan is at a loss when trying to explain his recent popularity. The modest 42-year-old Indiana native struggled in anonymity for years, trying to land a spot on late-night TV, before people finally took notice. And have they ever. This week, Gaffigan plays six shows in Boston, and he'll finish the year with another six-show run in New York. Next up in 2009: three movies, a DVD collection of the "Pale Force" cartoons he does with Conan O'Brien, and taping a third season of the TBS sitcom "My Boys." Gaffigan likes to riff on what he calls "hard-hitting issues" like Hot Pockets ("Hey, I've got an idea; why don't we fill a Pop Tart with nasty meat?"), bacon, and Dunkin' Donuts. We recently talked to him about his unusual calling.

Q. What do you attribute the career boost to?

A. It's weird because I kind of feel like I'm just kind of like this guy who does eccentric, observational comedy, and I don't know. My material has a very universal appeal, so it kind of appeals to a lot of different groups of people, not just college students, not just folks in their 30s. It's always fun to see a college student with their parents at a show. Neither of them have to be embarrassed, I suppose, by what I'm saying. That probably helps.

Q. Do you have any favorite bits or routines that you're currently doing?

A. You know, the favorite one is always the most recent one. I'm doing some Dunkin' Donuts, but I can work on stuff for a while, and then I'm just like, it's just not going to work. I spent a couple of weeks trying to make "the ham chair" funny, and it just didn't work.

Q. Is it harder to get the audience's attention with your more laid-back persona?

A. Stylistically, I'm not high energy. But I am kind of like . . . an unrelenting source of punch lines. It may not be loud or aggressive but it is consistent. What's amazing about my act is, when I hear myself describing it, it's really very boring. I'm pretty confident that it's not boring, and I'm pretty confident that it's funny and accessible to everyone. But when I sit there and describe, "I talk about bowling and then I talk about bacon." It's just like, really? "And he's a clean comic!" It's like, wow, it makes me want to run away. NICK A. ZAINO III