by Tami Katzoff
The English comic/actor Steve Coogan -- star of the upcoming flick "Hamlet 2" -- is not nearly as well known here in the U.S. as he is in the U.K. (yet), but he certainly appreciates, and has been influenced by, American comedy. MTV News spoke with Coogan on Monday about the legacy of George Carlin, who passed away the day before.
"The kind of maverick, sort of anti-establishment comedy that's come out of America is very well-recognized in Britain, and his comedy was in the great tradition of that, of not towing the line, sometimes saying controversial things, but ultimately being sort of life-affirming," Coogan said. "In some ways comics like that are almost like inspirational teachers. I think that's why there's so much adulation now in his passing."
Carlin's willingness to go one step further than everyone else is what made him famous. He was crude, he was offensive, but according to Coogan this was not a comic who ever went for the easy laugh. "There's people who make you laugh because they do a gag, and there's people who make you laugh because they reveal something that's truthful about what it is to be a human being, and he was one of those guys."
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