"Smoke Me Out in an Alley": An Interview with Comedian Doug Benson

So, seen any good movies lately?

January and February are terrible months for new releases, so I spend that time catching up on all the Academy Award nominated films. So yes, I saw about ten good movies lately.

What were your Oscar picks?

[I had] been positive that Colin Firth and Natalie Portman would win, and now that they have, I still am.

You’re a SXSW veteran - do you come for film, or a little bit of everything?

I've been for the music, and I'm been for film, but last year i came for both and had the time of my life. So this year I'm doing the same. You've got ten days to run into me and smoke me out in an alley. Thanks in advance.

Are there any premieres that you’re especially excited for this year?

I'm excited to see the movies PAUL and SUPER and lots of films I know little about. It's fun to just pick a movie and go. I must've seen about 20 movies last year, and I enjoyed most of them. Except for the extra-mumbly ones.

You’ve gotten really into podcasting; do you think the accessibility makes it easier for lesser-known comics to make a name for themselves?

Every comic is going to have a podcast eventually. And I'm cool with that. Because just like stand-up, there's no one you have to answer to when you do a podcast other than the audience. You just do your thing and put it out there, uncensored. The public will decide which ones they want to listen to.

Super High Me came out in 2007, and we saw the immediate effects of your experiment [Interestingly: increased sperm count, increased SAT verbal score]. Four years later, has your attitude towards smoking changed long-term?

Now I'm even more convinced that pot isn't as bad for you as many people think it is. And scientists keep discovering new things that marijuana is good for, like they say it might stave off Alzheimer's. To which I say, why forget tomorrow what you can forget today!

Your home state of California recently rejected Prop 19, the bill that would legalize recreational growing. Were you expecting it to get shot down?

I was hoping it would pass, and it came close. I think we got a really good chance of passing it in 2012. But in the meantime I'll just smoke my perfectly legal medicinal weed.

Do you think it’s funny that you’ve been branded as a ‘pot expert’ after making that movie?

It gets awkward at the airport. TSA employees recognize me all the time. They wink at me and say things like, "I loved your documentary." I'm paranoid enough as it is, I don't need anyone bringing up my pot movie while my bag is going through the x-ray machine.

Do you see yourself as an “advocate”?

I'm an advocate in the fact that I smoke weed and talk about it publicly. But I'm just a comedian telling jokes about my life. And I'm probably high. So I talk about it, hoping that I'm doing my part to create more acceptance of marijuana use.

Is there a correlation between how much weed you smoke and the fact that you enjoy conversational show formats, like on the Doug Benson Interruption and Doug Loves Movies?

Yeah, I'm very comfortable in an environment where I don't have to remember any lines.

Check out Doug's performances at Esther's Follies during SXSW Comedy. He'll be recording an episode of the Doug Loves Movies podcast live at 6 pm on Saturday, March 12, and expect special guests and lots of insults at The Benson Interruption, 8 pm on Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19.