Rob Schneider – stand-up comedian

For an actor who has starred in movies where his characters have to dress in a big diaper and baby bonnet (“Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo”) or try to hump a goat (“The Animal”), comedian Rob Schneider can be a pretty serious guy—especially if politics gets into the conversation.

While movie roles and voice work continue to be his go-to gigs (friend Adam Sandler still casts him in his projects), Schneider found a new voice on stage a few years after he returned to stand-up comedy in 2010. Instead of rehashing stories about his time on the set of “The Waterboy,” Schneider, who also stars in his own Netflix series “Real Rob,” started taking on some significant issues and has tried to give them his own humorous spin.

“I talk about what’s going on in the world,” Schneider, 53, told me in a phone interview. “The way I approach politics is very different. Half of the act is me talking about what is happening in America right now and what I think about it.”

Schneider will be performing at the Improv Comedy Club inside Rivercenter Mall from May 26-28, and will also be at the Alamo City Comic Con on those same days.

Away from the stage, Schneider has ventured into some polarizing topics. He is an outspoken critic of childhood vaccinations and during our interview called California governor Jerry Brown a “dipshit” for signing a new law that eliminates personal and religious belief exemptions on vaccinations.

“The Democrats are the party to make fun of right now,” Schneider said. “But I make fun of [Donald] Trump, too. I think you have to hit both sides.”

During his stand-up show, Schneider, who considers himself more of a conservative, promises to talk about everything from the attack on freedom of speech to the minimum wage hike to what’s going on in the White House.

“I don’t want to force my opinion on people, but I think you have to challenge them and get them to laugh at the same time,” Schneider said. “I don’t want to call myself a contrarian, but I like to swim against the tide. Hitting things that are closer to the bone is more interesting than avoiding it.”