David Carl discusses Gary Busey, squirrel puppets and befriending hecklers.

Tell us about your Fringe show

I play Gary Busey doing Hamlet by himself with the use of homemade puppets, multimedia, and songs.  He wants to prove to the world that he still has "the chops".

How does it feel to be playing the Fringe for the first time?

This is one of the most exciting experiences of my life. I love this play and I love my production team. The positive spirit of the festival is palpable. I was trying to put up a poster on a chair I borrowed from a bar, and I couldn't reach the top of my poster. A nice man from Nebraska saw me struggling and helped because he was taller and then he came to the show. Something like that happens many times a day here.

Best live act seen at Fringe?

I would have to pick Norris and Parker, who I saw last night. They are a sketch comedy duo and their show is called "All Our Friends Are Dead".  The characters and sketches were all very funny. The writing was very smart and it's clear that these two should be working together.

Best thing about the Fringe?

I really love seeing all the ways that people promote their shows. My favorite are the people with the squirrel puppets. They're actually really funny and the puppets are horrifyingly real in a way that's funny.

Worst thing about the Fringe?

There isn't enough time to see everything!

If you were not a performer/comedian what would you be doing?

I would work for the National Park Service at the Grand Canyon.

What do your family think of your show?

They are very supportive. My parents have seen it twice. My brother's family has seen it. I sell paintings made by "Gary" and t-shirts and almost everyone in my extended family has purchased one or the other or both.  It's not easy to be an artist. It's easy to do anything really and having support from family is incredible.  They've always been supportive of everything (even the shows that have been less than par), but they seem to really love this show regardless of the fact that I'm a part of it! So that's nice!

How do you combat pre-gig nerves?

I get nerves on some level before every show. I don't try to fight them. I let them turn into something else, or I let them exist and drive them into the first moment of the show.  If I'm feeling nervous and anxious, then my emotions are working which is obviously a good thing. Emotions are fluid.  When it's time to feel the emotions of the first moment of the play, those emotions are there. If I try to suppress my nerves I'm shutting myself down, and making it harder to play emotionally. I also like to quietly dedicate the show to a few early mentors who are no longer with us right before I go on.  That calms me down and helps me realise that I am a vessel for something bigger than myself.

Worst on stage experience?

When I was playing Jerry in Zoo Story at the University of Evansville in Indiana during my senior final, my blood pack started to leak two minutes into the show and at least 30 minutes before I stabbed myself. I was 22 and I freaked out. I was a mess inside. I kept doing the play...a little crazier than normal and certainly less funny.  As I powered through I kept thinking "I'm a hack! I'm no good! They all hate me! I'm not ready to call myself a professional! I wasted over 100,000 dollars coming here! I'm a failure!" But when it came time to kill myself there was a huge gasp. I asked people after the show and they said the blood wasn't visible.  Only I could see want turns out to have been a tiny little speck. My worst stage experience, believe or not, was my own mind!

How do you recover from a hefty heckle? Do you have a set of stock replies?

When playing Busey, hefty heckles are much easier to handle. In general I try to shut it down swiftly so the show doesn't become about the heckler. I always find it amusing that hecklers somehow think they are helping the show. And they always apologise afterwards and want to be your pal. It's a strange way to make friends. I have to say if I'm going to be heckled, I prefer to receive it as Busey.  There is an unwritten license there from the audience to really let the person have it. It has never happened during Hamlet, but it happens almost every show in Point Break LIVE! where I also play Busey and we do the entire movie Point Break with someone from the audience as Keanu. It's a high-octane show where many people show up already drunk. One night a very drunk young man just wouldn't shut up after Busey screamed several colorful and funny threats describing this idiots death, so my fellow FBI agents joined in and four of us eviscerated this drunk together. It was a thing of beauty. The audience cheered and he left. It was time for him to go home.

What do you love about Scotland?

The keg beer tastes better here than New York City: on the whole. There, I said it! I haven't had one bad beer on tap since I've been here. New York has some great bars with good and consistent standards, but too many just taste like somebody isn't keep things clean and fresh.  I'm not a self-hating American Anglophile: just an observation.  It's also heavenly to be out of New York in August finally! I love this weather!

What do you like about Edinburgh?

The hills. More please.

What’s the most Scottish thing you’ve done?

I watched a housing auction on the Telly.

Who’s your favourite Scottish comedian?

Janey Godley

Favourite joke?

She has one about the cake shows being stupid. That one always gets me.

David Carl will perform Gary Busey's one-man Hamlet at Underbelly, Cowgate on August 20-30.