The Police Academy movies brought Bobcat Goldthwait fame, but also a stereotyped image that overlooks the breadth of his talent.

He spent several years directing Jimmy Kimmel Live, and an indie film he wrote and directed, World's Greatest Dad (starring Robin Williams), was shown recently at the Sundance Film Festival. But Goldthwait knows when he does stand-up, as he will this weekend at the Comedy Works in Larimer Square, much of the crowd is there for Police Academy nostalgia.

And the insults go beyond that. His daughter and a friend nominated him to be the keynote speaker at their college graduation. "Apparently there's some sort of flap," he said, and his name never ended up on the ballot. "I don't think the school sees me as keynote material." Rocky staff writer Mark Brown recently spoke with Goldthwait.

How has the economy affected your comedy? You took a movie to Sundance and it didn't sell.

When I was there before, three companies would purchase movies like this, and they just don't exist anymore . . . I'm here in L.A., driving around, just looking at all these people selling their homes. You gotta be hurting to be selling your home now in the worst time to sell. It has changed things, but I'm not going to bellyache too much. There are a lot of people who have it worse: "Boo hoo, it's harder to sell your movie? I just had cereal for three square meals."

Why are you doing stand-up?

You mean: "Do I need the money?"

You've just said in the past that it's the one thing you're not so proud of, that it makes you cringe.

I do stand-up when I need the bread. I'm not gonna lie. A majority of the crowd coming to see me came to see a nostalgia act. That's one of my favorite reasons for playing Denver, because the Comedy Works is a great place. People who come there are just expecting a good show.

So do you really dislike your stand-up? You've put out few CDs or DVDs.

I don't make an effort to perpetuate it. I don't try to make product. I don't try to get on talk shows. It's just my dirty little secret, the thing I do to pay bills . . . Often when I'm on the road I might as well be Molly Hatchet.

You write, direct, act, do stand-up. Is that you just being flexible for the work that's available, or are you trying to expand your horizons?

I never really was one of those guys that had five-year goals. When Jimmy asked me to direct the talk show, I'd never done that and it's really difficult . . . But it was actually the most fun I ever had. That opened me up to have time to spend writing and try to make my own things. I don't really have a plan, but I do try to do what I'm enjoying the most at the time.

What was difficult about it?

It really is like Broadcast News. I'm wearing a headset. There are 20 or 30 people listening to me, six, seven cameras. I counted one day and there were 42 monitors in front of me.

I think subconsciously I'm telling you this is difficult because when I'm ego-surfing the Net to see what people think about me there are people who really think I'm just a baboon (laughs). They're just snarky little jerks who grew up watching movies that I was in that I would never go see.

I saw the tour where you opened for Nirvana. Was Kurt Cobain a fan?

I was in Ann Arbor and the woman putting on the show (said), "There's this band I'm booking and they're fans of yours." So Kurt interviewed me on the college radio station and gave me a CD of Bleach. Three years later I opened for them, getting hit with bibles and teenagers and whatever people would throw at me.

How did that tour happen?

He had heard that I did a show with Cheap Trick and he said, "I want Bobcat to open for us, too."

What was Cheap Trick like?

I opened and at the end they said, "Hey, you wanna come up for the encore?" They did Surrender and they put a guitar on me and I go, "What key is it in?" and Rick (Neilsen) goes, "You're not plugged in, man." (laughs). So I'm doing these Townsend windmills and stuff. It's everyone who ever played a tennis racquet in their living room's dream.

I see that you're in Police Academy 8 for 2010.

I've never talked with anyone about Police Academy. I've always said I'd do a reunion because I hate it when you watch a reunion show and somebody from the cast is not in it. You go, "Eve Plumb must be a real (expletive)," or whoever doesn't show up.

brownm@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2674

Bobcat Goldthwait

* When and where: 8 and 10 p.m. today, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Comedy Works, Larimer Square

* Cost: $28

* Information: ComedyWorks.com

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