Jim Gaffigan often gets pegged as the dumb guy in Hollywood.
Just look at his TV roles for proof. The dude who couldn’t get a clue on NBC’s now-defunct “Ed,” where he desperately pursued not-so-interested fellow teacher Carol.

He had a recurring role on Fox’s “That ’70s Show,” playing Kelso, Hyde and Eric’s dense boss from 2003 to ’04.

And he played Miranda’s fancy-free boyfriend on “Sex and the City.”

“I had the glamorous position of being a guy who went to the bathroom with the door open,” he says of the HBO show. “I always kind of play a dumb guy. I think they’re really fun characters to play, and I guess I come across as a dumb guy.... That’s something I still get recognized for.

That show really touched a lot of people.” Gaffigan, who will appear as a pool boy in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming thriller “Lady in the Water” and has appeared in other films such as “13 Going on 30,” “Igby Goes Down” and “Three Kings,” says he gets recognized a lot for one of his bit parts.

“It’s crazy how many people bring their ‘Super Troopers’ DVD to my show to have me sign it and I was in one scene,” he says, laughing. “And when you talk to them, you get a sense that they’ve watched the movie 20 times at least ... it’s pretty wild.”

The comedian, who will tape a one-hour “Comedy Central Presents” special on Oct. 8 in Chicago for broadcast in January, will perform stand-up this weekend at the Tempe Improv. Gaffigan says he’ll discuss a variety of subjects.

“I get on a topic and I kind of obsess on it — like I’ll talk about Hot Pockets for a good 10 minutes,” he says. “I might talk about sleep or being Catholic and things like that.”

Jim Gaffigan
When: 8 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, 8 and 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: Tempe Improv 930 E. University Drive
Cost: $20
Information: or www.tempeimprov.com