Few people have the ability to literally make you smile without saying a word, to somewhat instantly put you in a good mood, even if only for a brief moment. It’s not that stand-up comedian/actor Matt Braunger looks like a cute puppy or anything, he just has that unique, umm, ability? Way? I don’t know what the word is. Even reading his tweets, regardless of knowing what they are about, and often times making no sense, you still find yourself smiling. He is the kind of guy you want to go on a weekend bender with, but also call after a bad breakup because his ability and way are not forced, but sincere. Does it sound like I have a comedian man-crush? Maybe. Will you after reading this interview? Yes.

Serial Optimist: Hey Matt! How are you? Where are you doing right now as you respond to this interview? Set the scene for us. I’m hoping it’s something very dramatic. Go!

Matt Braunger: I’m in my apartment writing answers to your questions as a weird alarm I’ve never heard goes off from what seems like two blocks away. Either the robot apocalypse is happening or the zombie one. Crap.

SO: You seem to be on the road pretty much non-stop, and you have so much going on right now, yet I get the sense you are the kind of person who doesn’t ever really get tired. Where does all this natural energy come from?

Matt: Wow, you’ve never seen me hungover. I go on the road around twice a month or so, on average. It’s how I make my living. On the whole, I’m just happy to be able to do what I love for a job. Especially in these tough times. I’m very grateful. Also, I haven’t had a cigarette in almost two years. It helps.

SO: I’m asking this question in all seriousness. Every time I see you – if it’s your stand-up, or on the Chelsea Lately roundtable, reading your tweets, etc, you always seem to be happy. I admire that, truly. You are the kind of person that has that highly contagious smile. Have you been like that your whole life? Do you have any kind of motto that you live by, like you just don’t let anything bother you?

Matt: Thanks. I have two amazing parents and incredible friends. That’s why. Also, I will never stop being a fan of comedy, entertainment, art, etc. It’s what keeps me going. In this biz it’s incredibly easy to fall into the trap of “Oh, that person is doing better than me” rather than “Man, that person’s really funny and/or good.” Also, I was once beaten at gunpoint and didn’t get shot and I had a beautiful lesbian friend once tell me I sometimes made her wish she was straight. You can’t beat that.

SO: Let’s go back to when you were in your early twenties. What were your plans/dreams/goals at that point? Where did you see yourself being in your thirties, or did you ever look that far ahead?

Matt: I’ve never had specific goals other than to make a living performing or one based on my sense of humor. My twenties were spent drunk in Chicago having a blast but near the end, wondering if I would always be a fun-loving hamster on a wheel. Moving to LA was the first real adult step in trying to have a career and a future. I didn’t look ahead too far, but I wanted to at least give it a shot. One of my biggest fears has always been the thought of dying wondering “What if…?”

SO: What do the first 30 minutes of Matt Braunger’s morning look like each morning? Do you have a routine? Are you normally rushed?

Matt: I get up around 9, eat some cereal, and then go to the gym for around an hour. Then I have lunch, get coffee, and try to write. That’s a day without meetings, auditions, etc. Pretty boring, but it beats waiting tables or working at a greeting card store. The latter is the worst job I’ve ever had. More boredom than a tree could stand.

SO: What was the last movie you saw in a theater and was it good?

Matt: The Other Guys. Yeah, I liked it. It was all over the place, but it took chances a lot. I like that in a comedy. There were things that I might not die laughing at, but that someone else would…and vice versa. Parts of it absolutely destroyed me too.

SO: Who is the most annoying person to be on the Chelsea Lately roundtable with? There has to be at least one that you think, “Oh man, they are gonna be on with me tonight?”

Matt: There’s honestly no one I go, “Ugh–that guy?” over, but Jo Koy and Chelsea have a love-hate thing that overshadows everybody else on the panel sometimes. You just deal with it and hope they someday bone it out. Or have coffee and talk about it. It never gets too bad, though. The producers put really good people up there. I’d also like to say that it’s the only show putting comics up consistently to talk about issues (albeit tabloid ones sometimes) in their own voices. Chelsea and her crew deserve a ton of credit for that. I’m not someone who talks about celebrity stuff in my act, so it’s good exercise. I like to hit it from a different angle than, “Oh, look at this dummy” and they let me do it. It’s so much fun.

SO: I ask this question to each comedian I interview, and it always seems to be the hardest one. You were featured in Variety’s 10 Comics to Watch 2009. If you had to make that list today, and I don’t need 10 names, but who makes you laugh? Who are your current favorite comedians?

Matt: Wow, this is always tough. The lucky thing is, some of the people I’d give you were on the 2010 list, like Kyle Kinane, who is my brother from another mother. Okay, here we go INPO:

Matt Dwyer — One of my best friends and a killer joke writer schooled in the Second City tradition. Super dark.

John Roy — Great delivery and a ton of passion and vigor. Very clear, sharp perspective.

Hari Kondabalu — Super smart and quietly angry. My Mom’s also in love with him.

Alex Koll — A weirdo everyman with amazing jokes and a love of the absurd. He’s actually really normal, but the beard throws you off.

Aparna Nancherla — A girl! Finally! We met and performed together in DC. Super funny and gets you when you least expect it.

Mike Burns — Knows how dumb men are and why we do dumb things, and not from the perspective of someone who likes “According to Jim” or “Two and a Half Men.” From someone who likes Big Daddy Kane and Bob Seger. Equally.

Dwayne Kennedy — Basically was a god to all of us starting out in Chicago. Amazing, amazing jokes and just plain belongs telling them onstage with a glass of red wine in his hand. He remarked how he didn’t like following me one night and my life was just plain made.

Pete Holmes — A hell of a guy and smiling murderer. We started out together in Chicago and will one day probably have to fight to the death. I love him.

Joselyn Hughes — Hilarious and getting slowly furious as she goes. Chicago and New York trained. Great bits.

CJ Sullivan — The funniest guy who never left Chicago. Listen to him on Visitor’s Locker Room and realize why I love his show even though I hardly watch sports. Calls out the bullshit.

SO: What current projects are you working on, and where can we see you over the next couple of months?

Matt: I’m working on building material for a new album and developing a show idea I’ll be pitching for the TV in a couple of weeks. You can see me in clubs for the next few months and on upcoming episodes of Blue Mountain State and The League.

SO: What does your core group of friends look like? I don’t mean what do they actually “look” like, but what is your group? Do you have a solid best bud or a tight group of friends you hang out with, and how far do you go back? Touring as much as you do, do you end up becoming good friends with the people that are in your same industry?

Matt: Kyle Kinane, Matt Dwyer, Mike Burns, Kevin McGeehan, and the rest of the relocated-to-LA Chicago yahoos make up the core of my friends in town. We all go back from six years to ten or more. I’m also great friends with my manager Kara Baker who is responsible for where I am now. You can’t help but become close with the people who do what you do, because you relate on a ton of levels. I also like having made friends on the road, onstage and off.

SO: What is your favorite podcast?

Matt: MATTs Radio, of course, but I’m biased. I also love Death Ray and Never Not Funny. It’s hard for me to listen to a ton of them because I would waste my life away and go back to smoking a ton of pot, but it’s great that they’re out there.

SO: What’s the first word that comes to mind when you want to cuss super badly, like a stubbed toe or something, and then right as you’re about to scream out FUUUCK you realize there is a little kid in the room. What is your favorite non-cuss word cuss word?

Matt: Just a loud exclamation or a super intense “Aaaaoookay.”

SO: Leave us with a little Matt Braunger made up on the spot haiku about your overall thoughts of this interview.

Matt: This took me one hour/It was illuminating/I would hope so please

SO: Beautiful.

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SO Note: Get touring info, and more at Matt’s website www.mattbraunger.com, also follow him on Twitter @Braunger.