The naked guy from Observe & Report is now a successful comedy writer
“This is the meat and potatoes of the whole thing…” says Randy Gambill — and his words could hardly be more appropriate. The North Carolina native is talking about his unforgettable appearance in 2009’s Observe and Report. The comedy stars Seth Rogen as a shopping mall security guard obsessed with capturing a flasher, played by Gambill, whose character is called simply “Pervert” in the film’s credits. Toward the end of the movie, Rogen chases Gambill in a slow-motion sequence which would alone justify the film’s R-rating for the way the camera showcases the latter’s genitalia. “We shot for two days, just me running,” continues Gambill. “That is such a stunning visual, you don’t have to worry about your motivation, or whether you’re believable or not. In a weird way, it was one of the least self-conscious acting experiences I’ve ever had.”
Gambill recalls some Internet commenters certainly seemed more interested in his physical attributes than his thespian abilities. “There was a lot of discussion about the size of my penis,” he says. “The heading of one [message] was like, ‘Tiniest penis in existence.’ Then, one guy wrote that he thought it was one of the funniest things he’d ever seen and ‘thanks for the laughter.’ So, it felt less like an exploitative stunt and more like, ‘Well, maybe I contributed something to this movie that made it funny, you know.”
Over the years, Gambill has contributed to a variety of projects in a number of different ways, both in front and behind the camera, cumulatively compiling a resume of unique weirdness. Now, the man who is most famous for being a visual joke is penning gags for others as a writers’ assistant — essentially a trainee writer — on sitcoms like HBO’s Vice Principals, whose second season premieres on HBO, Sept. 17, and Tracy Morgan’s new TBS show The Last O.G., which debuts, Oct. 24. “In the last four years, I’ve put lines in the mouth of Tracy Morgan, Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, Walton Goggins,” says Gambill. “I’m dropping names, I’m sorry!”
After school, Gambill relocated to Los Angeles to pursue his dreams of becoming a director and moved into a West Hollywood apartment which became a magnet for other UNCSA graduates. “It was a big, weird frathouse,” he says. “At one point I think seven of us all lived there. Danny came out and lived there for a while. It was a dive, it was a dump. I mean, you did not want to go into the bathrooms. We just hung out and made short films all the time.”
In the summer of 2005, Hill directed the low budget comedy The Foot Fist Way, in which McBride played an egocentric Taekwondo instructor. Gambill had a small part in the film as another martial arts teacher, “The Gentle Warrior,” and also served as the film’s production designer. The Foot Fist Way premiered at the 2006 Sundance Festival and proved a spectacularly successful calling card for Hill and, in particular, McBride. “Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Judd Apatow, all those guys loved it, and they loved Danny,” says Gambill. Ferrell and McKay’s company Gary Sanchez Productions picked up the film’s distribution rights and, although the film was not a box office hit, McBride quickly scored roles in a clutch of comedies, including Hot Rod and Tropic Thunder. “Danny was being put up in a nice apartment in Hollywood and we were all still struggling wannabe filmmakers,” says Gambill. “He would have us all together once a week for dinner. It made us feel like, ‘Okay, we’re not bums in Hollywood.'” It was at one of these dinners that Gambill volunteered to play the part of the flasher in Observe and Report. “Jody had sold the film to Warner Bros. and he was explaining that there’s going to be a naked guy, a pervert, being chased by Seth Rogen,” says Gambill. “I was like, ‘That’s a part for me!’ He was like, ‘Yeah, you should play that!’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, cool!’ and kind of forgot about it.”
Hill did not forget. Around six months later, Gambill found himself in a mall in Albuquerque, New Mexico, preparing to reveal all and considering whether to — how to put this politely? — enhance his assets before the cameras rolled. “I mentioned that to Seth Rogen,” says Gambill. “He was like, ‘No, Randy, no. The little d— is the funny d—.”
In April 2009, Gambill attended the premiere of Observe and Report at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in Los Angeles and then the ensuing after-party, where he was congratulated by Ray Liotta, who plays a cop in the film. “Ray Liotta races up to me, breaks through the crowd, and gives me a firm handshake, like ‘Great job!'” says Gambill. “So that made it worth it.” Gambill also recalls being approached at the party by agents from a big-time company interested in representing him. That interest cooled when the film’s opening weekend box office take proved disappointing. “I think it’s great,” Gambill says of the movie. “It was just a timing thing. We came out three months after Paul Blart: Mall Cop. People weren’t going to see two of them. We opened at number four. I called the agency and I get the most disinterested assistant I’ve ever talked to.”
This disappointment could have been the final blow to the Hollywood dreams of Gambill who, by the time of his appearance in Observe and Report, had moved back to Winston-Salem. “I went through a period where I hit rock bottom,” he says. “Things were so bad that my cell phone was getting cut off.” Instead of giving up, Gambill swallowed his pride and got in touch with McBride to ask for a writing job on Eastbound & Down, the HBO comedy in which McBride starred and whose cocreators included both the actor and Hill. “I knew Danny and all those guys, but I was a little nervous — it’s a tricky thing,” he says. “I just brought it up to Danny, and then he called me, and I became their assistant.” McBride regards hiring Gambill as part of the keep-it-in-the-family approach which has served him well. “We try to employ our friends and keep that kind of thing going,” he says. “He just has always been around and he’s a great guy.”
After the end of Eastbound & Down in 2013, Gambill got another writers’ assistant gig on the McBride-starring Vice Principals. He has spent much of this year fulfilling the same role in New York on The Last O.G., which is created by Vice Principals head writer John Carcieri and Get Out writer-director Jordan Peele. “Tracy Morgan plays a character who is released from prison, and is trying to deal with a world of cell phones and technology he doesn’t understand,” says Gambill. “Jordan was in the [writers’] room with us right when Get Out blew up, so that was interesting. But he’s the most focused, intelligent, roll-up-your-sleeves-and-get-the-job-done-guy that I’ve ever been around.” Gambill believes he has finally found his calling. “It turns out I’m kind of good at on-set writing,” he says. “If certain lines aren’t working, or certain jokes aren’t punchy enough, you come up with alternate bits of dialog. So, that’s been fun.”
Gambill has continued to appear in front of the camera, thanks in large part to prolific New York-based writer-director Onur Tukel. The filmmaker cast him as a crack-addicted priest in his micro-budgeted 2010 comedy Richard’s Wedding and then asked him to play the role of “Fart Machine,” the near-naked sidekick of Craig Bierko’s chat show host, in this year’s political satire, Catfight. Although the latter film also features Sandra Oh, Anne Heche, Alicia Silverstone, and Tituss Burgess, Gambill admits he thought twice about accepting the part. “I get an email, like, ‘I have this great part for you in my new movie,'” he says. “I knew Onur was making a movie with Anne Heche and Sandra Oh, so I was like, ‘Whoah, this is going to be a step up for me.’ Then, I open up the script: ‘Fart Machine’ It’s like, Oh, great, another non-speaking role where I expose my flesh for comedic effect. But I’m glad I did it. I love working with Onur and, you know, who gets to have a resume where you play both the ‘Pervert’ and the ‘Fart Machine’? Maybe I’ve carved out a weird little niche for myself.”
So, if Gambill was approached again about exposing himself for a role, he would be happy to do so? “I think from now on in, I might be keeping my clothes on,” he laughs. “I think clothes are a requirement.”