For a certain generation of modern comedy stars, Mike Judge's Beavis and Butt-Head hold a certain regard. The series -- with over a hundred episodes in its original run and a hit feature-length film -- was a major influence on plenty of performers, writers, and other creatives across the film and television industry. One of the actors who openly recalls his love for the original series is Nat Faxon, who's become a consistent player in some of the recent years' best comedies and is among the impressive supporting cast helping bring Beavis and Butt-Head to 2022.
During an interview with CBR during the red carpet premiere for Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe ahead of the film's debut on June 23 on the Paramount+ streaming service, Nat Faxon spoke about his old love for the title characters, why the best comedy is the most obvious, and the difference between his work in animated projects like this and his live-action work on shows like Our Flags Mean Death.
CBR: What was your response when you realized you were going to be in Beavis and Butt-Head?
Nat Faxon: I was honored. Yeah, I mean, this is a show that I grew up watching. It's these two iconic characters, and I feel like I'm 13 when I watch it all over again. I'm like, giggling, looking around, can't believe I'm still laughing [at them]. And how can I not? It's really funny.
What is it about these two pure doofuses that make them so enduring?
I think... it's why we laugh at certain things in life, why when somebody wipes out in front of you, you start giggling a little. Hopefully, they're totally okay. Or when somebody puts a pie in somebody's face -- it's like the very core, the very basic core of people, those surefire jokes that always seem to work. I feel like Mike Judge is sort of a master of that, getting right to the core of what makes people without having to dress it up in any way. It's just funny. I love what [Judge] brought up earlier... We need to get back to dumb stuff because why not? You can't really get offended by just very dumb fun.
Now, this isn't your first animated project recently -- you're one of the stars of Disenchantment, but you're also doing live-action comedy throughout with stuff like Our Flags Mean Death. How do you compare performing comedy in one versus the other?
It's sort of a matter of who I'm working with and what their style is. So there is a bit of a feeling-out period... I will say, sometimes, in animation, you can kind of push yourself a little bit further. You can kind of go past 11 and see what happens and always be pulled back. Not that you can't in live-action, but I feel like there's always the worry that you might be overdoing it or pushing it too hard.
Whereas in animation, sometimes that is a good thing. It always depends... For instance, [in Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe], there were some really funny moments, but I was doing my more normal voice. It was just sort of great writing that I was reciting, so I didn't feel the need to do some big wacky character. It just worked better when I was playing sort of against other fun characters.
Catch Nat Faxon in Paramount+'s Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, streaming June 23.