‘I Felt Like This Was The Funniest Season’: Brett Gelman On Netflix’s ‘Stranger Things’ & ‘Fleabag’

(CBS Local)– Brett Gelman admits that he was a weird kid growing up.

He was obsessed with comedy at age six and tried to talk with kids about the Marx Brothers and Steven Spielberg movies. While Gelman spent a majority of his career going after mainstream roles, he’s finally found a niche in “Stranger Things” and “Fleabag.”

“It’s like a childhood dream come true,” said Brett Gelman in an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith. “When I was a kid, I really wanted to be the comedic relief in a [Steven] Spielberg movie. This is the closest thing you can get to it. It has that energy to it and the Duffer Brothers are influenced by the maestro. It feels like we are in an Indiana Jones movie when we are going after the Russians. I felt like this was the funniest season.”

The Duffer’s told Gelman they wanted Gelman’s character Murray Bauman to be like Richard Dreyfuss’s character in “Jaws.” Gelman has been making audiences laugh his entire career and certainly did just that in “The Other Guys” with Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg.

“Two of the best days of my life,” said Gelman. “We turned a half page scene into a four page scene, or something like that. I have a lot of fans from that movie and from that four minute scene. It was crazy to work in a free way with Will and Mark, who I idolize. Adam McKay is one of the greatest comedic masters ever.”

In addition to the buzz around “Stranger Things,” Gelman has also been getting love for his role on the British comedy “Fleabag.” The Illinois native is proud of the work being done on that show.

“I think it’s amazing. I think it’s that good and a real singular vision from Phoebe Waller-Bridge,” said Gelman. “She manages to do something that a lot of people have tried to do and succeeded at, but not on the level that she has. It’s a very feminist show, but part of that feminism is really taking in the flaws of the female characters. Women are allowed to be flawed and not be ostracized. I think it really speaks to a certain type of person who can heavily relate to the show, just feeling like your life is out of control.”

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