Jim Gaffigan on Taking Weight-Loss Meds: It's ‘Life-Changing’

Do you have a bucket list?

There's not a lot of 80-year-olds in my family. My mother died at 53, and my dad died at 62. So it's not like there's tons of time, but then again, they were really heavy smokers, heavy drinkers. I love doing stand-up so much. It doesn’t feel like work. Family and doing stand-up or acting. Creative fulfillment — I should say that's the thing that I want to do, and make sure that my kids are OK. But otherwise, I've been fortunate enough to travel a fair amount.

So you don’t have a get-out-of-work plan?

It's weird; I don't foresee retiring. I just wish I had this mental peace that I have — which I didn't have in my 30s — this perspective of “enjoy the process” rather than these goals that mean nothing or getting caught up in other people's expectations. I see it with my teenagers, and I'm not saying they're suffering from it, but you're just under attack as a teenager, and you're finding your way in your 20s. I like being the age I am. I like the focus and the maturity that I've acquired.

Do you have any dream projects?

I really do love acting. I love submerging myself in a character, particularly a drama. I would love to do a lot more of that, but the entertainment industry is bizarre. That's why I'm so grateful that I have stand-up, which I truly love. And I can achieve some creative fulfillment there. … I would love to be in a Eugene O'Neill play, to play Benjamin Franklin. I would love to do all those things, but I also know from experience that I have to concentrate on what I can control and find my fulfillment in that — and hopefully not be a horrible father.  

Jim Gaffigan's new comedy special for Hulu, "The Skinny," opens with a routine about his recent weight loss.

Seacia Pavao/Disney

Why Benjamin Franklin?

I don't know. In 1976, I was 9 years old, and in the town that we lived in, there was a neighborhood parade for the bicentennial. And my mom — I'm one of six kids — dressed each of us up like an American historical figure. So one of my brothers was Huck Finn. I'm embarrassed that I can't remember some of the other ones, but I think somebody was an astronaut, and I was Ben Franklin. And so she got me this bald-cap thing. And I walked around with a kite. And I love history. And he's a weird guy. And the more interesting a character, the funner to play.

Not being a horrible father —  let's go back to that. Are you worried you’re not doing a good job?

It is an impossible task. It's great fodder for material. And I love my kids, and I would do anything for them. We [Gaffigan is married to writer/actor Jeannie Gaffigan] have five of them [Marre 20, Jack 18, Katie 15, Michael 13, Patrick 12] … My joke is always that it's the most important thing I'll fail at. Because there really is no succeeding as a parent, there's just different windows to it … the struggles [to] not make them you; support them; be their biggest fan but also not being complacent in the responsibility bestowed on you. I’m not the most patient person in the world. It’s very hard, and we all walk around like we know what we’re doing, and we don’t. It is this humbling process.

What would you tell your 20-year-old self?

I wonder if the 20-year-old me would listen. But I would say all the cliches: It's a marathon, it's not a sprint. Don't get caught up in other people's expectations. You have to enjoy the process, and the timing of things is not up to you. I probably had some resistance to being humble — you got to be humble. I’m sure I'll have to learn again. Every generation is like, we figured it out — you've got to put leeches on people and then that sucks the blood out of them and then they get cured.

Jim Gaffigan's new comedy special "The Skinny" arrives just in time for Thanksgiving.

Courtesy Hulu

Do you keep up with the younger comedians? Who do you like?

Everyone knows and loves Nate Bargatze. And there's this guy who I think is really funny, Daniel Simonsen, who is from Norway, and he's very dry and he's very kind of — it's intentionally awkward, but it's authentic. There are so many more comedians now than when I started. It’s exploded,  because when I started, it was not a realistic creative pursuit. Obviously there were people that did it, but you had to really desire it. And now it's like a nice middle-class existence for a lot of people, which is great.

Any regrets?

I am a workaholic — I don't mean that in kind of like an ominous thing. And one of the pieces that my wife and I really bonded over is that we both enjoy working. We enjoy doing what we do. It's not one of those things where I'm spending too much time at the office. It's one of those things where I feel like not even family — it's more like cultivating and being there for friends. I was invited to a 60th birthday party, and I couldn't make it. I would have had to cancel a show. And I think now I probably should have canceled the show. So that's where the regrets are.