Brett Gelman was known for years as an alt-comic who has stacked up dozens of notable acting roles including more recent breakout moments on Amazon’s “Fleabag” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”
As a proud Jewish man, he has always been pro-Israel and his comments on social media have generated both plaudits and critics. Now he’s facing blowback in the form of canceled book tour dates from bookstores in three cities to promote his new book of short stories, “The Terrifying Realm of the Possible.”
But his appearance at Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20, is on with tickets available at showclix.com. Member tickets are $13, public tickets are $18 and adding a book will cost $38. He will take questions, read excerpts and talk about life.
Credit: HARE
Credit: HARE
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, he expressed dismay and surprise at the cancellations. He said some have cited security fears over pro-Palestinian protests. “I even offered security,” he said, “and they still backed out.”
But Gelman also wondered if they were worried about a negative response from some of their customers since the Hamas attack in October that sparked the conflict.
“All the hate being thrown at me right now is completely mindboggling,” Gelman said. “It’s upsetting because I’ve not said anything that should be construed as controversial in my opinion. ... It feels like we’re getting it from both sides in a really violent, scary way.”
He said he will have security in Atlanta during the event but he refuses to hide. “I can’t not live my life,” he said.
Gelman’s book, which came out Tuesday, has nothing to do with Israel or politics. Rather, it’s a series of short stories from the minds of five fictional characters: a child, a teenager, an adult, an older woman and a person in the afterlife.
“They are all neurotic Jews,” he said. “They are all plagued mostly by their own personalities and neuroses and emotional and psychological shortcomings. They’re nightmares of who I was and who I might be and who I could possibly become.”
The child is the most autobiographical aspect of the book because Gelman said he himself had obsessive-compulsive disorder from an early age: “It felt like my brain was getting pummeled by thoughts and fears constantly. I characterized that as demons. My childhood imagination developed these characters with my brain whispering ― sometimes screaming ― these thoughts that drove me crazy all day.”
Ultimately, he said “this book is certainly a purge of the worst-case scenario. I want to make people laugh and myself laugh. I want people to relate to it. That makes all the neuroses worth it.”
On the bright side, Gelman added, “I feel I’m the healthiest I’ve been mentally in my whole life.”
He is currently shooting the fifth and final season of “Stranger Things” in metro Atlanta as conspiracy-minded Murray Bauman.
He relates to the character’s own neuroses. “I can feel like an outsider like Murray,” he said. “I can become very frustrated with people some days like Murray. Murray is also very good at being right in the wrong way. That’s me, too.”
Gelman said he was a huge fan of the show even before he was cast and is thrilled his character is still around. “It’s mind-blowing to be on a show so massively popular worldwide,’ he said. “I feel like I’m a cast member on the equivalent of ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Indiana Jones’ growing up.”
Credit: AMAZON PIME
Credit: AMAZON PIME
IF YOU GO
Brett Gelman
Book talk and signing. 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 20. $13-$38, Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta, 5342 Tilly Mill Road, Atlanta. atlantajcc.org.
About the Author
