Why do you feel the need to keep returning to the stage?

Well, it does teach you a hell of a lot because you do it night after night. But if you land really good theater roles, you get better film roles. Film is my first love. I'm not a theater person, really. I do a hell of a lot of time onstage just performing my stand-up. Because I'm coming from comedy, if you do deliver a good theater role, then hopefully producers and/or directors will go, "Hey, I heard you did good in that." And therefore it could put you on a more believable dramatic track.

Your most mainstream films like "Mystery Men" and "The Avengers" have tanked at the box office. Do you aspire to star in a blockbuster or is that not really a priority for you?

That's not a main priority, but I do. I am a very mainstream, popcorn-eating watcher of films. That's not necessarily a problem because I wasn't the controller of either of those two films. But even if I was in control, it might have happened the same way. [Laughs] It's better for me to come this way [from comedy] because people say, "Plug him into a comedy and try to make that $100 million straight off." I needed to prove that I could hold something dramatic and that's what I've been trying to do. I have to pay my dues and earn my spurs, but I'll get there cause I'm a relentless bastard.

You're obviously very proud that "Dress to Kill" is finally coming out on DVD. Does this particular show hold any more importance for you compared to the other one-man productions you've done?

It does in the fact that in America it won a couple of Emmys. That was very nice, because in Britain I don't get any awards for the stand-up shows. We don't have such an idea of having comedy specials, or any specials for that matter. It was a breakthrough show for me.

While you were performing this show, did you have any idea it would garner so much attention?

Not particularly. Having played in a number of different countries and found that at certain points things break through, it tends not to be a particular show. Rather, it's more like how much time you spent and at which point everyone decides to buy into it; a number of factors come into play. The show I did in New York was somewhat different from the one I did on the West Coast where Robin Williams came in and helped produce the show. Then HBO put it on and opened it wide.

Describe the process of preparing for your one-man shows. Do you start out with a specific theme in mind or do you just go where the jokes take you?

The second one. I have no process. I start a new tour with the old tour. I never write a show; it's always improvised from whatever comes into me that night. Any show is a constant work in progress. I'm constantly chucking out old stuff which is boring me and improvising new stuff. Then I'll develop that and a week later I'll think, Oh, there's another bit I can add to that. It's a constantly moving process. About five to 10 minutes of my show is improvised, but only five to 10 minutes.

This seems very little, but interestingly, when I was playing Lenny Bruce, I managed to get hold of many tapes left to his estate and he said he did the same thing. It's good to know that I'm in the same ballpark.

In the case of "Lenny," was it very daunting to play someone of such iconic proportions?

Lenny was very daunting, but it was a good challenge because it was dramatic and comedic -- one of those crossover roles. No stand-up has ever played Lenny, as far as I know, so that was a great challenge. It was a very arduous experience. It really was draining because you do have to die eight times a week for three months.

How did you prepare to inhabit the role?

Well, with any character, I sort of pull them to me. Knowing a lot about Lenny beforehand, and then just going further on in my research, he started from a more mainstream position than I did. His early television stuff was so broad, it was kind of reminiscent of Jerry Lewis and the childlike characters he used to play. "Lenny" went beyond comedy and into reading out the transcripts of the trial. So, I just put myself in that position. If I had lived that life, how would it be for me? It's actually very difficult to do stand-up in someone else's style. I could do a facsimile of Lenny doing his stuff, but I also found that I had to refine some of his other comedy -- especially his early comedy. It was quite a weird experience. I could never be exactly Lenny, but I had to give the essence of Lenny, like when I was playing Chaplin.

You spent a lot of your early childhood years moving from country to country. What impact do you think that had on the content of your comedy routines?

Being from Yemen, you can't help but be interested in everything that's going on now -- otherwise I'm just getting rid of my birthplace. It does give you a global perspective, but I still just talk about crap.

Religion and politics are two recurring themes in your act. Do you have any thoughts on how President Bush is handling international relations post-9/11?

In a short one-line answer, I don't know quite where he's going. America is the Roman Empire, so I think the Bush administration could do whatever the hell they want and no one can really stop them. So keep your fingers crossed.

How did you develop this voracious love of history?

I've always been fascinated by history. It's a family thing, really. My brother and my father are both history buffs. It could be that we have a history genetic thing going on. [Laughs] Also, I realized that nobody was using it in stand-up, and there was just tons of stuff lying around. It makes you look really intellectual, even though I'm just talking crap.

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