Hannibal Buress pranks “Spider-Man” red carpet with lookalike
LOS ANGELES -- Comedian Hannibal Buress says his prank of sending a lookalike to Wednesday night's "Spider-Man: Homecoming" premiere was more effective than if he'd actually attended.
"If I went to the carpet and did 20-plus interviews, you wouldn't have reached out to my publicist. So it worked," he said Thursday.
"It worked way better and I didn't have to fly or anything and I was able to still do the job I was scheduled to do and still promote the movie in a way more effective way than if I dressed up and went to the carpet," he added. "So it's a win for me, it's a win for the studio and the movie and it's a win for Joe that did it."
An actor named Joe Carroll -- whom Buress said he met during production of last month's MTV Movie and TV Awards -- went to the premiere in his place. "He had a great time," Buress said.
He said he would have attended the event had he been available, but he's been in Atlanta working on a film called "Tag" that's set for release next summer. It co-stars Rashida Jones, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner, Isla Fisher, Ed Helms and Jake Johnson.
The studio behind "Spider-Man" knew he wasn't available to attend the premiere, he said, but did not realize he'd be sending a stand-in. Still, Buress isn't worried about negative repercussions.
"It's gone great," he said. "It's gone better than if I went to the red carpet."
The comic, who famously riffed on Bill Cosby's alleged sexual indiscretions in a standup routine three years ago, ended the interview when asked about the embattled entertainer.
