How Comedian Bill Burr Ended Up in Political Drama 'The Front Runner' with Hugh Jackman

The Front Runner, about Senator Gary Hart’s disgraced 1988 presidential campaign, isn’t exactly the comedy Bill Burr’s fans are used to seeing him in. But Burr didn’t find himself solely responsible for keeping things light between takes with costars Vera Farmiga, Hugh Jackman and J.K. Simmons.

“There was a lot of characters on the set so making people laugh didn’t fall just on me,” Burr, 50, tells PEOPLE. “There was a lot of people making me laugh.”

He scored a role as a journalist in the political drama thanks to having a fan in director Jason Reitman.

“He’s just one of those amazing directors that reaches out to you because of your podcast or whatever: ‘Hey I’m a fan, hope we get to work together someday,’ ” the Monday Morning Podcast host says. “He put this amazing script together and there was a little part in there for me. He called me up and asked if I wanted to do it and I was like, ‘Absolutely.’ ”

Before The Front Runner hits theaters on Nov. 21, Burr will premiere season 3 of his Netflix series F is For Family and perform at Madison Square Garden next week as part of the New York Comedy Festival.

“I’ve got my favorite 90 minutes that I’ve ever written I’m going to be performing at MSG,” Burr says of his Wednesday show.

He’s also made big promises for the upcoming installment of his animated family comedy, out Nov. 30. “I think it’s our best season!” the Massachusetts native says. “Sue and Frank get a little too focused on their own issues and careers, and they kind of let the parental duties slip a little bit, which causes some issues within the family.”

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Now a family man himself — Burr and his wife Nia Renee Hill welcomed a daughter in January 2017 — the comedian assures his new title as dad hasn’t changed the way he approaches the raunchy animated series.

“That whole thing where you try to do like, oh I’m a dad now so now I have to pretend like I’m a decent human being; I’m going to start wearing sweaters and I’m going to stop cursing,” he quips. “I think it’s better to be who you are.”

The one way being a dad has changed Burr: “When people cut me off in traffic I don’t get as upset because I’m a dad now. I start to get mad and I’m like, that’s somebody’s son. That’s somebody’s daughter. Somebody thinks they’re nice.”

Burr looks forward to seeing his fellow comedy friends, like Dave Atell, and hitting the after parties when the comedy festival kicks off on Monday. But when his busy month comes to an end, Burr — who enjoys watching music documentaries, most recently one he saw on trumpeter Lee Morgan — just wants to spend time with his family.

“I’m going to read stories to my daughter, continue to help teach her how to swim, maybe play a little bit of drums while she’s taking a nap,” says Burr, who plays drums to an empty theater as a pre-show ritual (he wants to learn Pantera!). “It’s all about her and my lovely wife.”