FanFest EXCLUSIVE: Hannibal Buress talks ‘Spiderman: Homecoming’, Pets and Comedy

After recently being cast in Marvel’s upcoming Spiderman: Homecoming film, I had the amazing opportunity to discuss this among a few other topics with none other than Hannibal himself. Hannibal, is a well known stand-up comedian, actor and writer. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, comedy has always been a huge part of Hannibal’s life. He first embarked on a comedy career in 2009,  releasing his first comedy album, My Name is Hannibal, in 2010. Recently, Hannibal is well known for his role in Broad City and the upcoming Secret Life of Pets. Just last week, Hannibal was also added to the growing cast of Spiderman: Homecoming.

Jules: Your film, Secret Life of Pets, is set to come out in theaters this week. Are you really excited?

Hannibal: Very Excited. I went to the premiere it was cool; it was fun I brought my niece and nephew to the premiere. It’s a funny movie! Looks good, so I’m excited for people to see it.

Jules: Awesome! The art of animation itself is absolutely amazing! When actors are on screen in realistic movies and television shows, its easy for them to really channel that character and get the facial expressions. With animation, you really have to put your full heart in it to capture your character. Did you do any special research or did you study the traits of the breed of your dog, Buddy, before filming?

Hannibal: Nah, I just kind of went in (laughs).

Jules: Based on the trailer and clips we have seen, it looks like you did an awesome job. He looks great!

Hannibal: It went well. Physically with animation you can really work on it, get in the mood and you’ve got the time right then just trying to get up and say the line like this or try it over and over. You have the benefit of not having the camera like you said or the lighting or anything like that, you just say it again. You can kind of just work on it in there and figure it out and that makes it a lot of fun. You can kind of work on it. Learn as you go.

Jules: Did you have any pets growing up or do you have any?

Hannibal: No, I had a dog once and he ran away but no I don’t have any pets right now.

Jules: You guys have an amazing cast lined up for this movie. What was it like working with Kevin Hart and Louis C.K? You guys have a great line-up and it is going to be a great movie.

Hannibal: It’s cool. I know both of those guys. I have done shows with both of them and live performances and stuff like that but, we don’t actually work together on the movie. Because of the scheduling, we try to set up voice over sessions. Everybody kind of sets up theirs individually. You work on your own and they edit it and put it on schedule. I respect both of those guys a lot and they’re a great comedian and actor but our next project will be getting on the road together.

Jules: Let’s talk about your stand-up comedy tour. Every comedian has a unique story or special person or moment that inspired them to do what they do. Who was your inspiration or what inspired you to enter the world of comedy?

Hannibal: I saw it in college. I went to an open mic with a friend and I wanted to try it out after watching that. You know? It looked fun and I saw these people that were classmates of mine trying it out there and trying it on stage and making people laugh. It felt like something I could do so I tried it out and I fell in love with it and I had a good time.

Jules: You have a very strong and focused comic voice, and you have this perfect way of landing your lines. How do you come up with your material? It’s always highly enjoyable!

Hannibal: Thank you! A lot of it is stories that happened in my real genuine point of view on stuff. So it’s just stuff that really happened and I try to make it like I’m talking to a friend. I’m just trying to be honest and figure out the wording and get my point of view across as best as I can.

Jules: I see for your upcoming tour dates you have locations such as the Borgata in Atlantic City, and that’s incredible! I know for me coming from Philadelphia we always love going to the Borgata and seeing everybody. Are you excited to be touring in all of these areas for your national tour?

Hannibal: Yeah! I’ve played at the Borgata before, I’ve played a couple times, you know? A casino… an exciting weekend out with people. I like playing Crepes and Blackjack also.

Jules: So it’s a win-win!

Hannibal: (laughs) Yeah, a fun time! I’m excited to tour wherever. The Borgata is a legendary venue so it should be a lot of fun.

Jules: With Performances like Animal Furnace, Comedy Camisado and Hannibal takes Edinburgh, you have really made a remarkable impact on the world of comedy! What do you feel has been your favorite project to work on so far? Especially out of your Netflix series or stand-ups?

Hannibal: Well having the Edinburgh project is the most focused and different because it’s part documentary/part stand-up. Getting that out took a while with the editing and production of it. Seeing how people responded to that was real cool. Animal Furnace was my first special so that was extremely exciting for me, live in Chicago. Doing it at home was really dope. All those are special to me in a different way and mark a different point of my life. I think the Edinburgh has been the most different out of all of them.

Jules: I’m going to turn on the inner-nerd side of me here. It was announced last week that you are going to be in Spiderman: Homecoming. That is absolutely amazing! Can you divulge anything about what you know and who you will be in the film?

Hannibal: No, I can’t actually. (laughs)

Jules: Totally understand! But I’m sure that it is still incredibly exciting news! Entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) it is incredibly exciting and amazing for your career.

Hannibal: Yeah! I’m excited to see the whole thing. But yeah, very secretive, I haven’t seen the whole script or anything like that. I’m excited just to see it, to be in a huge movie and had it come out of nowhere. I’m really excited and I just finished up my work on that and it will be out next year.

Jules: I’m very excited to see it! Have you always been a fan of the Marvel comics and if so, who was your favorite growing up?

Hannibal: Not that heavy into comic books. I like the X-men! Gambit was my favorite x-man. I enjoy it. I just like that he was cool and his power is throwing stuff around and messing stuff up. That’s kind of entertaining for me!

Jules: Team Captain or Team Iron Man?

Hannibal: Team Iron Man. Iron Man is funnier, I think!

 

Be sure to check out some of Hannibal’s upcoming tour dates for his National Stand-up tour here! You can also find some of Hannibal’s works such as Animal Furnace, Comedy Camisado and Live from Chicago on Netflix.