Classically trained actor uses gift of gab to bring the laughs

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This article was published 09/05/2024 (874 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Audiences probably recognize Baron Vaughn as Bud, the slightly neurotic lawyer and adopted son of Frankie on Netflix’s Grace & Frankie. But aside from a mutual admiration for rituals and routines, that’s where the similarities end.

The classically trained actor, who has numerous film and TV credits to his name (Law & Order, Ghostbusters Return, Arrested Development, Superstore and Star Trek: Lower Decks), has spent more than 20 years building a successful career in comedy. He brings his act to Winnipeg for the first time for five shows at Rumor’s Comedy Club (May 9-11) – it’s the only Canadian stop on his current comedy tour.

“I can point to Manitoba on a map, which is better than the average American,” he jokes. “When I was in Vancouver a while back, I asked the audience what province they use when they count, like in the U.S., we say ‘One, Mississippi. Two, Mississippi.’ I thought you’d say ‘One, Manitoba. Two, Manitoba.’

“It’s a missed opportunity, but I think we can advocate for it.”

The “multi-hyphenate” actor-comedian-writer-director who has had a reputation as a high-energy comic says he’s mellowed a bit since he entered his 40s and “became an adult.”

Having been on stage for almost half his life has afforded him an interesting perspective and snapshots of the various stages of his life.

“It’s always growing, always evolving. I had a couple of albums, and when I listened to those I see indeed how much I’ve grown. So, I love that now, not just as the performer, but as a person, I can see what I was struggling with or what was important to me at that particular time. It’s sort of a living document,” he says.

What’s important to him these days is being a husband and parent — whether that’s fine-tuning his negotiation skills over bedtime snacks or competing with YouTubers for the attention of his four- and six-year-olds who take his sense of humour for granted.

“It brings your own childhood into focus,” he says. “I had a childhood that I’ll say it wasn’t the best. My parents were going through a bunch of different things. My father actually wasn’t there, he left when I was born, and my mother had her own demons to deal with. I was a witness to it. My mother did a lot of lot of work on herself and is a very different person than she was when I was a child. We have a great relationship today.”

He’s philosophical and observant with a side of pop culture-loving whimsy — witness The Great Debate, a TV show he hosts that is described as “a rotating group of nerd-tastic, nostalgia-loving celebrities going head-to-head each week to hash out fandom’s burning questions.”

But Vaughn isn’t afraid to tackle some weightier topics and is candid talking about dealing with depression.

“Being able to laugh about things is a way to process it, and sometimes, it’s a way that can help you get past it or help you feel less isolated. I’m trying to offer a release from some of the darker things happening. If I don’t feel good about things, I like being able to voice that in some way that helps people release that, it’s cathartic,” he says.

In addition to the comedy tour, Vaughn is auditioning and working on a couple of other projects, which he likens to a game of roulette – never knowing where the marble is going to land first on the spinning wheel.

“I think young Baron would be quite impressed to see where I am today,” he says.

“I think the six-year-old me would be like, ‘Wait a minute, your job is playing, coming up and making people laugh? That’s amazing!’”

fparts@freepress.mb.ca

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