Whammy!

He's not exactly a movie star, but nine times out of 10 David Koechner steals the scene he's in.

From Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy—where he became a household name by playing sports anchor Champ Kind and coining the phrase "Whammy!"—to Comedy Central hits like Another Period and Drunk History, Koechner kills it playing hyper-macho buffoons who make audiences laugh and cringe at the same time.

Before headlining Helium Comedy Club this weekend, he told WW about improvising with Will Ferrell and getting recognized for being in Hannah Montana.

WW: So what brings you to Portland? Are you on a promotional tour or just out doing some comedy?

David Koechner: I book 12 standup shows a year, so you can call it a tour or you can call it a revolution. The world keeps revolving as comics keep evolving, it's just part of the continuum. Let's call it a continuum.

Do you mostly get recognition for the characters you play in movies?

There's always going to be somebody who hopes for a "Whammy!" but that's certainly not what my act is. I'm a husband and father of five kids. I grew up in a small town in the Midwest, and I lived in Los Angeles for the last 19 years. That all informs my act and who I am. It's like anybody else. You're on a journey and you just fill it out onstage. Standup has come later, but I've performed live for the last 30 years. It's all part of the same practicum. The only difference is you have a relationship with the people onstage or with the audience. One is solo and the other is with someone else onstage, but you're still just doing comedy.

Is there a lot of improvising when you're acting in movies?

In the Anchorman movies, for instance, you have to know the scene and your lines and all that stuff. We'll capture that three or four times, and then you have all these people who have a background in improvisation, and it's very easy for us to all add something new to the scene. You're not improvising the whole movie, but I believe that spirit informs the whole process.

With nearly a decade between the Anchorman movies, was it hard for you to get back into character?

It was pretty natural; I'd say enjoyable. You look forward to it and hope you can measure up to your prior performance. To perform with those guys is like playing on an elite team.

Do you have a favorite project that you've worked on?

The one that's probably least known, a movie called Cheap Thrills—it's a thriller. It does have some dark comedic undertones, but it is by no means a comedy, and it was a kick in the pants to do. It was an independent that we shot in 14 days, what they call a micro-budget picture. You're just doing it for the love of it at that point, and I had a blast.

Have you ever been surprised by a project becoming a big deal?

The first time I did Hannah Montana! My kids were fans of it—my girls—but I had no idea what it was. After I did it, I was like, "Oh my, this thing is huge!" It's strange when 25-year-old girls recognize me from watching it eight years ago.

You have had a long career working with famous people. Does any one project stand out?

The first movie I ever did was Wag the Dog, a Barry Levinson-directed film with a script by David Mamet that starred Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman. I was fucking blown away! For me, that was intimidating, like, "Holy shit, these are the big boys."

see it: David Koechner is at Helium Comedy Club, 1510 SE 9th Ave., 888-643-8669. 8 pm Thursday, 7:30 and 10 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 1-3. $20-$33. 21+.

Willamette Week