Take away the bowtie and the ravishing moustache and Paul F. Tompkins could be almost anyone.

In the last year, he's played a slew of characters on podcasts and television, running the gamut from the time machine-wielding H.G Wells to documentarian Werner Herzog to pastry maestro Buddy Valastro (a.k.a. the Cake Boss), while also appearing under his own name as the host of Fusion's No, You Shut Up! and in Crying and Driving, his recent Comedy Central stand-up special. To top it off, he also found time to write for and act on With Bob and David, the Mr. Show continuation that premiered on Netflix in November. Whoever Tompkins may be on any given night, there's one thing that all his personas seem to have in common: They are always having a damn good time.

"It's got to be fun for you, or you've got to stop doing it," he says, acknowledging that the audience can sense a performer's discomfort on stage. Projecting the joy one hopes to elicit from the crowd is a fundamental of performance for Tompkins, who is often unable to contain the laughter his fellow performers' antics bring about.

In the case of Comedy Bang Bang, the long-running podcast hosted by Scott Aukerman — on which Tompkins has appeared more than any other guest — it is fellow improviser Lauren Lapkus who most causes Tompkins to break out in giggles.

"She always surprises me," says Tompkins of recording with Lapkus. "She's very mischievous."

Tompkins and Lapkus have an undeniable natural rapport on the show, having appeared together in various incarnations across a number of episodes. Listening to their interactions, the importance of casting with regards to podcasts becomes readily apparent.

Picking the right folks to appear on a show is something Tompkins is very familiar with. He'll be taping a live episode of his show, Spontaneanation, on Jan. 8 at the Brava Theater. While he was thrilled to nab his friend and former Mad Men star Jon Hamm to top the bill, he confesses that his primary concern when booking the show was to get the improvisers in place.

"I'm a bad producer in that sense," he says, "because, of course, I think about who's a great name that will get people in here, but my first thought is always who would be the best person to have on the show."

It's an especially important piece of business for Tompkins when casting live episodes of the show. The pressure is higher then, in part due to the intimacy lost in the move from a studio setting to a live stage.

Spontaneanation is but one of the seven shows Tompkins is slated to take part in during this year's Sketchfest. He's scheduled to participate in a panel focused on Netflix's BoJack Horseman, a show where he voices canine foil Mr. Peanutbutter, and to bring his character work to the pseudo-doctors of Superego for a live episode of their popular podcast, among other commitments.

While Tompkins' schedule for Sketchfest might seem hectic, it's just more of the same for one of the hardest working names in comedy. As for how he manages to helm podcasts, host variety shows, tape televised specials, and do a thousand other things while still making time to travel and perform at festivals like Sketchfest, Tompkins says it all comes back to a belief that one must love what they do.

"That's the number one perk of having this job," he says. "It's not about money. It's not about fame. It's the idea that you get to do a thing. Whatever your job is, if you love that job, that's the number one perk."