Just Do It

J.B. Smoove

by Mark Maurer

Thu., June 19, 8 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., June 20-21, 8 and 10:30 p.m.; $15-$30, Helium Comedy Club, 2031 Sansom St., 215-496-9001, heliumcomedy.com

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A veteran of the standup stage for nearly 20 years and a former SNL writer, J.B. Smoove, 44, has been working his way up for quite some time. But it was his scene-stealing performance last fall as Leon, Larry David's houseguest and sidekick on Curb Your Enthusiasm, that triggered his recent success. FOX then promoted him to a series regular on ratings-challenged 'Til Death after a few guest appearances in an effort to revive the show. Smoove, who is currently shooting a film with Forest Whitaker in New Orleans, will be stopping by Philly to perform his heavily improvised routine at Helium. He took some time to chat with us about food, filming and felony.

City Paper: On 'Til Death, you play Brad Garrett's little brother in the Big Brother program. If you volunteered to be a big brother, what wisdom would you impart?

J.B. Smoove: I would try to teach them street knowledge. There's book smarts and then there's street knowledge that actually saves your life. I'd teach the kid common sense, like how to hold your liquor and how to get over. How to eat at a restaurant and not pay for the meal. You gotta know when to hold and when to fold.

CP: If you were invited back to Curb Your Enthusiasm, what direction would you like to see Leon go in?

JS: I'd like to follow him as he gets a job, blames someone for not waking him up on time and does some womanizing. Maybe he could go to culinary school. There's something cool about burning up Larry's pots and pans.

CP: What's up next for you?

JS: My résumé has all different kinds of projects and there's this big pot simmering with all the ingredients. It could either turn into goulash or some culinary delight. Let's see if it can make a great meal.