Originally posted on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
David Cross has deep ties to his hometown Atlanta, with a soft heart for its more bohemian parts like Little Five Points and East Atlanta.
The "Arrested Development" actor grew up in Roswell, loving the Atlanta Braves. In his younger adult years, he spent many a night drinking at the Star Bar. He visits his family in the area multiple times a year and has biked the Beltline and played putt-putt at Ponce City Market. Last year, he canvassed for Democrat Jon Ossoff, who ultimately lost the Sixth District House seat to Karen Handel.
In interviews in the past with me, he has lamented the corporatization of parts of Atlanta. He was incensed when the Braves moved to Cobb County, even wearing a "F*** Cobb County" shirt.
But he isn't readily identified as a hometown comic like residents Jeff Foxworthy and Chris Tucker.
The reason is simple: Cross left Atlanta after high school in 1982 and moved to New York. He has embraced that more urbane world ever since.
He has only done a handful of stand-up shows in Atlanta over the past decade, most recently in 2016. So he expressed disappointment to me in an interview last week that sales for his current show at Atlanta Symphony Hall August 11 have been slower than expected.
Cross said he's been selling out in the Northeast and Canada, where he presumes his type of comedy resonates better. But he'd like the hall to be fuller so Cross fans in Georgia: he's coming! (Buy tickets here.)
“I’m very happy with this set,” Cross said. “I really enjoy it. It’s been a good, fun show.”
It doesn't help, he noted semi-seriously, that Jon Stewart and Dave Chappelle decided to have a show down the street at the Tabernacle the same night.
Cross said there is a misconception that he's a political comic because he is an outspoken liberal. Besides helping out Ossoff last year, he said he's given Stacey Abrams his maximum contribution in hopes she becomes governor in November.
But his set, he said, is one third silly observations and jokes, one third anecdotes and one third cultural, religious and political commentary. (If you watch his 2016 Netflix special, that is about the typical mix.)
"I try to not to spend too much time on one subject or tone," he said. "I jump around. I'm not Bill Maher or Lewis Black. Doing that for an hour is boring for me."
He prides himself on being fearless. When he was starting out, he knew the headliner would be awful if they told him how ballsy he was as he was getting off the stage.
“I’m only ballsy compared to other people,” Cross said. “I don’t have that thing that some people are born with. I don’t care if I might upset people.”
His acting resume is an eclectic blend of mainstream (”Alvin and the Chipmunks,” “Pitch Perfect 2”) and quirky (”Arrested Development,” “The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret”).
And while he is the voice of Caramel M&M, he is also the "white" voice of Lakeith Stanfield's character in the film "Sorry to Bother You."
Cross said he knew the writer/director Boots Riley for years and around 2010, Riley sent Cross a script for what would become the film for his opinion. "I was a little apprehensive because what if it sucked?" he said. "It was surprisingly awesome. One of the best laugh-out-loud scripts. So inventive and imaginative. Years later, he contacted me and asked me to do the white voice. I couldn't say no!"
He said it took no effort for him to create that chipper “white” voice. “I’m just calling upon my reference of my childhood,” he said. “I grew up in Roswell, about the whitest, most Southern Baptist community you can imagine. I take away the Southern accent and pitch it up. It becomes kind of sparkly, with a little golly gee!”
He will tape his next Netflix special in Asheville, N.C. on August 8. Three days later, he comes to Atlanta.
He and his actress wife Amber Tamblyn ("Joan of Arcadia"), who just authored her debut novel "Any Man," are doing tours together. Wherever he is performing, she is stopping by a book store. In Atlanta, that will be A Capella Books at 2 p.m Saturday, August 11.
Credit: Nicholas Hunt
Credit: Nicholas Hunt
They are also bringing along their daughter Marlow, who is 18 months. He said being a dad to a young child has changed the equation in terms of his schedule. "You can't be as whimsical," he said. "Whereas before I could just say, I'll go to Australia for three days. Now I have other things to factor in."
After his show on Saturday, he and his family will be going to Lake Lanier for a few days to just chill, he said.
Despite the kid, his sister Wendy Cross said as long as their mom Susi can watch Marlow, he could still go out and hit a restaurant late. Last time he was here, Wendy said, they hung out at Golden Eagle in Reynoldstown.
And Cross is not as peeved about the Braves’ move to Cobb County as he was a couple years ago. The team’s success this year has softened the blow: “It was such an awful s****y thing. It soured me. But I’ve been reluctantly following the team this year because they are kind of exciting.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
David Cross
8 p.m., Saturday, August 11
$39.50
Atlanta Symphony Hall
1280 W Peachtree St NE, Atlanta
