'Breaking Bad' star to take stage in Raleigh

While Lavell Crawford, a St. Louis native, has been a mainstay on the stand-up comedy scene for decades, a different audience may know him through his portrayal of Huell Babineaux, Saul Goodman's bodyguard in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul.

Posted 5:13 p.m. Oct 25, 2018 — Updated 5:13 p.m. Oct 25, 2018

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DURHAM, N.C. — Even though there is physically less of Lavell Crawford to love these days due to all the weight he has lost, there is arguably much more of him to appreciate.

Crawford, who headlines Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh this week, has been making crowds howl with laughter for years and likely would have continued doing so even if he hadn’t changed his diet and dropped 120 pounds.

Getting healthier almost certainly means Crawford will be with us longer though, and that is great news for fans of his comedy.

While Crawford, a St. Louis native, has been a mainstay on the stand-up comedy scene for decades, a different audience may know him through his portrayal of Huell Babineaux, Saul Goodman’s bodyguard in "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul."

During a Wednesday afternoon phone interview, Crawford and I discussed his work on those iconic shows, how he keeps the weight off, selling out shows weeks in advance and more.

Enjoy the interview, follow Crawford on Twitter and don’t forget The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes at the end.

Tony Castleberry: We talked about your weight loss when we spoke in September of last year. Are you still doing OK with keeping the weight off? Does it get easier or tougher?

Lavell Crawford: Well, my whole family pretty much started eating healthy when I did, so that’s made it a little easier. My son’s a vegetarian so everybody’s made healthy choices.

You just do your best with it, man. I’ve seen and felt the benefits of changing my diet and that’s reason enough to keep doing it.

TC: Do you think you’ll go vegetarian like your son?

LC: I don’t think so, at least not yet. I still like my protein, but I like the idea of maybe doing a few vegetarian days a week. I think that’s sustainable for me.

TC: That’s what I do and I like it a lot. How would you compare your experiences working on "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul?" Was one more enjoyable than the other?

LC: They were both incredible experiences. The thing that’s great about those shows is they both take you on such a ride. You root for Saul (Goodman) and Walter White most of the time even though they both do horrible things. I think that’s because they both try to play by the rules, but they keep getting kicked in the (balls) by the powers that be to the point where they say, “I’m willing to risk everything.”

In Saul’s case, his own brother wouldn’t give him any respect and the legal practice he wanted to be a part of punished him.

Walter White was doing his best for his family and only wanted money to provide for his wife and kids and pay for his cancer treatments. Once he got a taste of the dark side, he felt like he had no choice but to keep going and he found out with great money comes great responsibility.

Both shows humanize what you’d call bad people and that’s part of what makes the shows great.

TC: I saw on the Goodnights website last Friday that you had already sold out two shows this Saturday. That’s remarkable to me. Do you pay attention to whether or not rooms are sold out?

LC: Whenever a room is sold out, it’s always a plus. A sold-out crowd brings a different kind of energy. If the tickets are moving that long before the shows, it’s really cool.

It makes you feel like a rock star or something. I imagine it’s what the Rolling Stones or Beyonce feel, only they’re doing that for stadiums. I’m not saying I’m the Rolling Stones or Beyonce, but on even a much smaller scale, it’s a great feeling knowing that even after I’ve been in the game for as long as I have, people still want to come see me.

A lot of the people at my shows are the same age as me, but there a lot of younger folks too, which makes me happy. Some of them say stuff like, “I watched you on Comic View or Def Jam way before I should have been allowed to” and they’ve stuck with me. Hopefully they can create a new crop of fans who will continue to enjoy what I do.

Here it is, The Best Tweet I Can Find in Five Minutes:

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