If you’ve watched TV in the past decade, it’s likely you’ve seen or heard comedian Josh Fadem in action. His IMDb is a veritable who’s-who of comedy juggernauts and deep cuts — 30 Rock, Comedy Bang! Bang!, Superstore, The Powerpuff Girls, American Dad!, Twin Peaks, Better Call Saul, the 2018 TV adaptation of Heathers, the short-lived Showtime dark comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida, Reservation Dogs and Loki, to name a handful.
“I have a nice character actor career going,” he said in a phone interview with Little Village.
Fadem is used to television sets, recording studios (though, he noted, voice acting is increasingly done from a closet in the actor’s own home) and the stand-up comedy scene in Los Angeles. But when he comes to Des Moines on Monday, Aug. 5 for a Green Gravel Comedy show, he’ll be in relatively new waters.
“When I go to L.A., there are a lot of talented people there — I feel like, ‘Ooh, I better up my game, my friend and so-and-so is here. I don’t want to bomb in front of them,’ or ‘I want them to think what I’ve been working on is funny.’ So it does bring out, like, you could call it competitiveness, but you can also call it inspiration.”
Lately, after moving back to his home state of Oklahoma and performing in smaller regions and venues, the 44-year-old comedian is in a more carefree mode.
“You know what I like? I like being able to be free and sloppy,” he said. “That’s kind of like what I want to be able to be. I like no pressure. I like no expectations. That’s when I feel like I can have most fun — when it’s like, you know what? This is not the Ritz, OK; I’m a character actor who pops up [and] plays silly roles.”
One of his longest-running and most high-profile gigs was as the cameraman on Better Call Saul, the highly acclaimed dramedy spin-off series to the highly acclaimed AMC drama Breaking Bad. Saul ran for six seasons from 2015 to 2022, and Fadem appeared in every one as Marshall Dixon, a film student and Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman’s (Bob Odenkirk) go-to camera guy whenever the two-bit lawyer needed to stage a publicity stunt for local news, film a cheesy (but highly effective) commercial for Saul’s legal services or help Saul frame a rival lawyer for crimes he didn’t commit.
“I’ve heard fans debate whether, like, Camera Guy, the character I play, has a bit more knowledge about some of the stuff that’s going on. I think that that’s probably accurate,” Fadem mused.
“The staff production kept things so secret on that show, we didn’t really know that it [Saul’s last scheme with the camera crew] was one of the major plot points. We just had our own scenes, and we weren’t sure how it was going to play into the bigger season … We had no idea it was going to lead to something that was so dark.”
“Camera Guy” often served as comic relief during some of the more tense arcs of the show, bantering with Saul about the best camera angles, the crappiness of his car or how they’re splitting the money from their latest shoot/scam.
“Saul tolerates Camera Guy’s attitude,” Fadem said. But watching a middle-aged conman with a comb-over get flustered over deadpan remarks from his 20-something protégé makes for scenes so borderline absurd, they could be mistaken for improv.
“When there’s good actors like Bob, you just get it. You just get a natural chemistry with them. And with such good directors and writing, that kind of rhythm comes out of it really easily,” Fadem explained. “When everyone’s kind of on the same page, the sensibility comes together. So it’s probably a good thing if it feels like, ‘was this improvised?'”
After roughly 20 years in the industry, Fadem recently wrapped up a project in which he plays the starring role. “I just finished working on this indie movie yesterday, shot here in Oklahoma, where I am from. That really was the first lead role that I’ve ever done.”
The film, Every Heavy Thing, will hopefully have a “festival life” in the near future, Fadem said. The synopsis reads, “Average Joe [Fadem] forms a secret alliance with a serial murderer but his loyalty is tested when the killer finds a way into Joe’s mind. Dreams are molded into nightmares in this psychological thriller from director Mickey Reece.”
Asked if he was following in Odenkirk’s footsteps, since the comedy legend starred in the crime-action flick Nobody after finishing Better Call Saul, Fadem said his role may be a little more “strange.”
“I won’t be kicking butt or anything like Bob,” he admitted. “Maybe I’ll be a real dashing lead after that.”
Fadem’s “loose and silly” Des Moines performance will take place at Dugan’s Hideaway at The Station on Ingersoll on Monday. Tickets can be purchased at the door — which opens at 7 p.m. — for $10, cash or Venmo. Local comedians Travis Bails and Megan Ellis will join, with Tim Overton on host duties.
