Dave Rispoli created John Goblikon to be his own person. The green goblin fronts a metal band, sells life insurance by day and performs comedy by night. He has his own podcast, his own fans and, as far as he’s concerned, no reason to still keep the ghostwriter around.
“No one’s gonna be stoked to find out it’s just a generic white guy from Florida,” Rispoli, 41, said.
Goblikon’s origin story begins in the music video “No One Survives” by the goblin metal band Nekrogoblikon. The concept had the goblin going out to a bar, hoping to charm the princess. Instead, she falls for Prince Charming. When Goblikon witnesses a physical altercation between the couple, he kills Charming in front of his crush.
Brandon Dermer, the director of the short, pitched Rispoli the concept and asked him to star in it.
“When Dermer’s super excited, he’s talking fast and ideas are coming at you,” Rispoli said. “He was running me through it, and he got done and I was like, ‘Oh, you want me to play the prince?’”
Before Rispoli let the prospect go to his head, Dermer answered “no” and asked him to play the goblin.
Dermer handpicked Rispoli because of what he had seen him do in sketch comedy — an ability to physically transform into a new character with ease.
“Immediately, I thought of Dave because not only is Dave hysterical and an improv genius, but he’s a great thespian,” Dermer said. “He’s a great actor, and I’ve seen him do dramatic acting.”
Rispoli transforms through makeup into a green-skinned, office-dwelling goblin and the hyper-charismatic frontman and co-lead vocalist of the “goblin metal” band Nekrogoblikon.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Since then, Goblikon has become a fully fleshed-out character and the host of the purportedly No. 1 podcast “Right Now With John Goblikon,” a fact Goblikon encouraged me not to double-check. He has his own personality, with some shared interests with Rispoli.
He’s hosting variety show “Gobliween” Tuesday at Zanies in Nashville. He’s also the star of his own digital series, a four-episode spinoff of the original “No One Survives” video. On Thursday, he’ll bring his “Gobliween” show to the recently opened Starlight Cabaret in Studio City.
Throughout Goblikon’s rise to fame, Rispoli has remained his ghostwriter. Still, Goblikon wishes he would go away.
“Who is Dave to me? He’s a guy,” Goblikon said bluntly, with nothing else to add about the writer.
Goblikon remembers meeting Rispoli differently. He recalls their first encounter as a “huge bummer.”
“I was having him prep the podcast guests, and then he started weaseling his way onto set every now and then,” Goblikon said. “And every now and then, I’d say like one out of every 100,024 people are like, ‘Who’s Dave?’ and I’ll just have to be like, honestly, it’s 5-foot-6 of mediocre talent, that’s what I like to say.”
Originally a cult-favorite web series, “Right Now With John Goblikon” evolved into a popular talk-show podcast, with Dave Rispoli hosting each episode in character and interviewing celebrities and comedians including Andrew Santino, Kumail Nanjiani, Pete Holmes and Fred Durst.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
It’s a tumultuous relationship, Goblikon said, but they each know their role in the collaboration. Rispoli writes Goblikon’s jokes, massages his hump and researches topics for his podcast.
For Rispoli, his alter ego was a major complication in his professional career. While searching for professional representation, he found that no one knew what to do with a comedian who dressed like a goblin. The repeated rejection became a major driving factor in his efforts to keep the two identities separate.
“I had my normal ‘Dave’ acting career jobs that had nothing to do with John Goblikon, and the worlds didn’t cross much,” he said. “For a while, people had no idea what to do with a comedian who also dressed up like a goblin. They literally looked at me like I was crazy.”
Now, Rispoli feels like L.A. is going through a comedy character renaissance. Shows like Zack Zucker’s Stamptown, Adam Ray’s take on Dr. Phil, and the character-driven wrestling open mic of “NAW or Never: Smack Talk Open Mic” are making their way into mainstream culture through Netflix. Rispoli describes the scene as a moment that has helped Goblikon thrive in the comedy world.
“It reminds me of being back in Chicago, way back in the day when I was first doing this character,” he said. “The comedy community was thriving and everyone did everyone’s show. I really do feel like the L.A. scene is like that right now.”
The moment is the result of the hard work that has gone into creating Goblikon’s lore, look and physicality. The aesthetics of the character were developed by creature artist Mark Villalobos. Goblikon’s raspy voice, the way he wobbles and the way he expresses emotions under the mask are a direct result of the ghostwriter’s full commitment to the character.
“Every now and then, I’d say like one out of every 100,024 people are like, ‘Who’s Dave?’ and I’ll just have to be like, honestly, it’s 5-foot-6 of mediocre talent, that’s what I like to say,” Goblikon said.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“John Goblikon is a representation of the everyman with all its good and all its bad, cranked up to 100,” Rispoli said. “He’s all insecurities and anxieties, but he’s also all of the good things, the battles with being a good person, empathetic person who’s trying their absolute best.”
It takes a lot of work to develop the goblin personality, dedication Goblikon doesn’t care for.
“I’m older, wiser, stronger, he ain’t on the road grinding with Nekrogoblikon,” he said. “He ain’t on the road doing all these shows, doing all these podcasts, he just gets to sit in his air-conditioned box that I lock him in and just gets to chill and I’m doing all the stuff.”
But why not fire your lazy ghostwriter?
Actor, writer and comedian Dave Rispoli — Goblikon’s ghostwriter who sounds like he has a bit of job security after all.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
“Now that’s a good question,” he said. “I looked this up on ChatGPT. In order to fire someone, you have to hire someone. There apparently is no process for someone who’s just hanging around you all the time on your coattail for free.”
But the ghostwriter prefers to see it differently.
“I feel 100% creatively fulfilled,” Rispoli said. “I feel like this is the thing, and if this is the thing, then I’m great with it … I get to fully do exactly the kind of comedy I wanna do.”
