ARTS

Director Judd Apatow: Canton's Bill Burr is 'riotously funny' in 'King of Staten Island'

Dana Barbuto
dbarbuto@patriotledger.com
Pete Davidson and Canton's Bill Burr in "The King of Staten Island," directed by Judd Apatow.

The New York-Boston rivalry runs deep, but Canton actor-comedian Bill Burr’s Hub upbringing and Red Sox fandom have found a home in his new Big Apple-set movie, “The King of Staten Island.”

“Bill is from Boston, and it was either that or try to make him get a Staten Island accent. And sometimes the easiest thing to do is say, ‘He’s a guy from Boston that moved to Staten Island,’ said director Judd Apatow during an interview via Zoom, the video conferencing app.

Directed by Apatow and co-written by Apatow and Pete Davidson, “The King of Staten Island” stars the “SNL” player as Scott, a 24-year-old aspiring tattoo artist still coping with the death of his firefighter father 17 years earlier. The grief resurfaces when his mom (Marisa Tomei) starts dating Ray (Burr, sporting a dynamite ginger moustache), also a firefighter. The story is loosely based on Davidson losing his fire-fighting father, Scott Davidson, on 9/11 when Pete was 7 years old.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, “The King of Staten Island” will bypass theaters and debut on digital platforms Friday. Maude Apatow, Bel Powley, Steve Buscemi, Pamela Adlon and Moises Arias round out the cast.

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Playing the part of Ray Bishop is Burr’s biggest role to date. The emotional core of the movie is the question of whether or not Scott (Davidson) will accept a new father figure in Ray.

Burr was cast long before he even realized he was up for the part. “Bill was a comedian who Pete loved,” said Apatow. “He went to see him in Atlantic City with his mom when he was 14 or 15, right before he started doing stand up. They bumped into him near an elevator, and Pete’s mom said he was about to start doing stand up and ‘do you have any advice?’ And I believe Bill said, ‘Don’t sign anything!’ He met Pete again a few years later, when Pete was doing stand up. Bill remembered that moment at the elevator in Atlantic City, so they have a long history.”

Apatow explained that Burr’s character needed to be filled by an actor with whom Davidson shared a palpable chemistry. “Bill’s always been a bit of a mentor to Pete,” Apatow said “That’s one of the reasons why we knew that it would work well. They would care for each other, and I felt that even though they hate each other for a lot of the movie, that you would feel that warmth, anyway. And Bill is so riotously funny. We haven’t seen him in a big, juicy part like this before, and he just had so much to offer.”

Burr’s biggest contribution, however, might have been that impressive 'stache.

“Firefighters are not allowed to have beards, because they are often wearing (airtight) face masks,” Apatow said. “But they can have mustaches. So a fair amount of firefighters have big mustaches. I told him to grow a beard . . . and when you come to New York, we’ll start chipping away at it and we’ll figure out the best version of it. I have to say, it’s bigger than what I imagined.”

Burr, 51, is a 1987 graduate of Canton High School and loves all things Boston. He often rants and rambles about the Celtics, Sox, Pats and Bruins on his popular Monday Morning Podcast.

In the movie, there’s a moment where Burr’s character mentions he has season tickets to, gasp, the Yankees. But it’s the Staten Island minor league affiliate, not the Evil Empire. Ray quickly follows with: “I’m a Red Sox fan.”

That’s not the only Boston moment. “There were some really hilarious improvs on … why Boston was better than New York. He said, ‘You know, people don’t really talk about it, but ... the pizza’s better in Boston!’ Bill could improvise about that for hours. He talked about the Big Dig. He covered all of it.”

In addition to doing stand-up and popular podcasts, Burr’s sixth comedy special, “Paper Tiger,” was released on Netflix last September. The one-hour show was filmed at Royal Albert Hall in London. Another comedy special, “I’m Sorry You Feel That Way,” and the animated comedy series, “F is for Family,” are also available on Netflix. Burr’s other credits include “The Mandalorian” on Disney Plus, “Breaking Bad,” “New Girl,” “Stand Up Guys,” “Date Night,” “The Front Runner” and “The Heat.”

Dana Barbuto may be reached at dbarbuto@patriotledger.com or follow her on Twitter @dbarbuto_Ledger.

Canton comedian Bill Burr in a scene from his comedy special "Paper Tiger."

(Photo from Netflix)