Moment of Truth: Eddie Izzard Now Available In Convenient Doc Form

The film does feel like it finds its true purpose once Eddie expresses his "Believe" mantra: "If you want to be a comic, you have to believe you're going to be a comic." Did you sense the same?

Well, the thing about Eddie is that he's such a consummate performer, and he's always on point and will always deliver. That's great for the work he does. The problem is that when you're trying to make a documentary, it isn't enough. It actually took us four years to get that final interview, which was really the only occasion when he revealed himself. When I met him, he was just trundling on until this guy told Eddie something he didn't even remember he'd said. He didn't realize he'd been a catalyst for Eddie. That was a precious little moment. Inadvertently, people sometimes do say these life-changing things.

Believe offers an unusually close look at the metaphysics of comedy as well. Eddie's like a scientist with this stuff.

Oh, yeah. Having spent those years in the early '90s running those clubs and being around all those comedians, it was like the birth of rock and roll. It was an incredible period. The system is different in the States; here it was the reaction to a very right-wing government. People were motivated, they were polarized. It gave the comedians something to rail against. And that's the irony: Eddie wasn't doing that. Even though he is very politicized, he doesn't want to use that side of himself for comedy. At the time, that was very rare. But he's such an analyst. People who watch him onstage think he's so freeform and that all this stuff spews out. But it's based on a framework that is so technical that his analysis of comedy is fundamental to how he creates. It's a weird balance between saying anything -- coming up with rubbish -- and also having a rigid structure underneath. I was trying to show what I knew to be the truth, even if I couldn't get him to say it. There's an extreme analytical side to him, which is surprising given his style. I think people do find that surprising.

It's also surprising to see him so tightly wound; one shot shows Eddie digging his nails into his palms until the nail polish rubs off. Even as someone who's known him so long, did you discover a different guy the way the viewer does?

It's funny you mention that shot. That's exactly what we thought when we saw it. Usually he won't show that stuff. We had to go through tons of stuff to find those moments where he showed -- inadvertently -- the real tension that's there. In a normal interview he'll just talk: "Everything's fine!" He's very good at hiding that stuff.

What did you think of Eddie's performance as host at the Independent Spirit Awards?

I think it's very difficult to host awards shows. That's why Eddie, up to this point, has always said, "I won't do them": The situation is almost completely non-conducive to doing stand-up. And he doesn't see himself as a presenter, which is another entirely different skill. So I think it was good under the circumstances, but it's a stressful situation. And definitely not one where you can easily do comedy.

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