From the premiere episode of “The Comedians” on FX Thursday, it would seem that Larry Charles, the extravagantly bearded director, had been fired from the show. But not from the actual “Comedians,” where he continues as executive producer and, yes, director, but in the show within a show, “The Billy & Josh Show.”
Renown for his work on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and some other intriguing projects over the years — from “Borat” to Bob Dylan’s sublimely weird 2003 feature “Masked and Anonymous” — Charles is probably not as well known for his acting.
“My whole life is acting,” he said, under his cowboy hat. “It’s all a performance.”
He was easy to spot at a network party helping launch the new comedy during the Winter Press Tour in January.
Charles said he enjoyed doing “The Comedians.” “The chance to work with Billy, I felt, was very appealing. Especially since he was so willing to expose a dark side of himself and let us see something that hasn’t been seen before.
“Then pairing him up with Josh as a comedy team, I thought that as great as well. I love comedy teams. You don’t see comedy teams any more. I thought that would be a great thing if we could pull that off.
“Then to see behind the scenes – imagine being behind the scenes of Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy — that’s a great idea.”
Plus it allowed him to stretch a bit with the “Billy & Josh Show” comedy sketches that pepper the episodes. “I’ve never shot sketches before, so we had a lot of fun doing that,” Charles said. “So on a lot of levels, it was great.”
There’s more of an organizing structure to the script than there is on, say, “Curb,” which is famously shot in the moment from just a sketch of where things should move, he said. But he says, “we can go off cript and play and make stuff up.”
“On ‘Curb,’ the show is really done in editing to a large degree. Here, there is a script so it gives you some structure.”
Each episode of “The Comedians” was in four days, he said. “We move very, very quickly in the shooting, and the editing takes at least as long as the shooting.”
As custom made as the show may be for Crystal and Gad, the whole show is adapted from a Swedish program. “Funnily enough, the Swedes have some funny shows.”
Asked for a “Curb” update, Charles said Larry David was on Broadway currently and isn’t bound to any particular schedule for a new season – if there is one.
“If he thinks of an idea he likes, something will happen,” he said.
As for that odd Dylan movie, “We sat and wrote it together. I channeled Bob to a large degree. It was very scripted but we improvised a lot together too. “
Was that how he wanted to present himself into the world?
“That’s why all the masks,” Charles said. “It’s all about the masks.”
The thinly veiled story of a troubadour may not be the way he wanted to be portrayed today. But, Charles said, “He did at that moment. But he may change again. He’s constantly changing.”
“The Comedians” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. on FX.