Over the past several years, comedian Nick Swardson has slowly made a name for himself in television and movies, with projects ranging from playing the recurring character Terry on “Reno 911!” to a string of writing and acting credits with Adam Sandler’s company Happy Madison Productions. He just had his first hour-long stand-up special air on Comedy Central, and he will continue to be a presence there in upcoming years.

So you’ve come a long way since the role of “Insane Bowie Fan” in Almost Famous. How’s life treating you these days?

[laughs] That I have. But life’s treating me good. Right now, I’m working on my new show “Pretend Time with Nick Swardson,” and it’ll be a sketch show that will air on Comedy Central, I’m assuming next summer.

Your latest stand-up special, “Seriously, Who Farted?,” aired on Comedy Central this weekend and has just hit the shelves. What was it like putting this one together?

Before, I had done other stuff like a solo album, but I’d never done a full-hour special that was part of an album and a DVD, and, you know, it was the only thing I could really do just to take it to another level. The DVD has a lot of extras on it, a lot of bonus features, and it was just such a bigger package, so that was kind of exciting. It was great to do the show in Austin, and, you know, it was a packed crowd. We partied all weekend, and it was just a really fun experience.

Are there any other future projects in store with Comedy Central? I understand that your 2006 pilot “Gay Robot” will be getting picked up as an animated series.

Well, I’m doing the sketch show for them right now, and “Gay Robot” will be featured on the show interstitially, much like how The Simpsons started on The Tracey Ullman Show, so every episode there’ll be a one-minute or so interstitial “Gay Robot” animated short.

How similar is it going to be to the 2006 pilot?

It’ll be pretty different, because it’ll be animated. With animation, we can kind of push the boundaries a little bit more, so hopefully it’ll be a little bit edgier and a little bit weirder.

You began on improv, and since then, you’ve broken into both stand-up and acting. Which of the three would you say you enjoy doing the most?

They’re all really different; it’s really hard to pick. Improv is great because it’s so immediate, and you don’t know what’s going to happen. When I did it, I used to be scared shitless. With stand-up, at least you have an idea of what the fuck you’re getting into, you know what I mean? But I mean, at this point, I did improv for a long time, I’ve done stand-up for a long time, so right now I’m on acting. That’s me right now; that’s my favorite.

What’s it been like working with Adam Sandler and getting involved with his production company, Happy Madison?

It’s been awesome. Sandler’s amazing. I think he’s a great guy and definitely the funniest person I’ve ever met. I’m not even just saying that; he’s really, really funny. He’s great to hang out with, he’s a great writer and he has a great work ethic. We definitely have a blast.

Are there any forthcoming Happy Madison films we can expect to see you in?

Yes. Me and the same people who did Grandma’s Boy have a new movie coming out called Born to Be a Star. It’s my first starring vehicle, and it was Adam’s idea … and it should be out February of next year. It’s kind of Napoleon Dynamite meets Boogie Nights.

It’s become evident that you’ve played a lot of flamboyantly homosexual characters in comedies over the recent years. Has this ever gotten you in trouble with the gay community?

No, not at all. I mean, “Gay Robot” got me in trouble more than anything. [Laughs] Like, ironically, that got me in more trouble than any of the other characters I’ve played. But you know, the Terry character from Reno 911! was meant to be goofy. He wasn’t meant to be lampooning gay people or anything like that. It wasn’t meant to be offensive; it was just meant to be how that guy was. And then, you know, with I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, I told them to make that guy a real character, and, you know, he was pro-gay, so you know, nothing I’ve ever done has been anti-gay. I would never want to do anything like that.

Would you say you’re going to try to distance yourself from these roles from now to avoid typecasting?

Yeah, and I’ve already turned down a couple of those roles, and, you know, I do want to get away from it, and not because they’re gay roles. Even if it were any other kind of character, I’d want to get away from it if I was doing it too much. I want to challenge myself and push myself, and in the upcoming years I’m definitely going to have to change it up.

Obviously your style of humor draws some inevitable comparisons to other big comedians nowadays like Dane Cook. What would you say sets yourself apart?

Yeah, you know, I think we started at the same time. His special was, I think, in ’99, and mine was around 2000. But you know, I think I completely have my own voice. Anybody that would compare me to Dane is just going off the idea of a younger white guy that has brownish hair. I think my material and perspective is way different. I mean, Dane’s never had a drink in his life; I’ve had about forty since noon. So yeah, we definitely have a different take on life, and different realities.

Describe your career right now in five words or less.

Horny. Amazing. Confusing. Who farted?

Reach Weekender editor Ivan Vukovic at weekender@dailyuw.com.