CONSIDERING all the projects he’s working on, David Cross generally doesn’t take to the stand-up stage unless it’s for a good cause. Well, that time has finally come. On Tuesday, Cross, along with John Oliver, Zack Galifianakis, Janeane Garofalo and others, will perform at Carolines in a benefit for the Brooklyn Autism Center. The Emmy-winning comedian, actor and writer, best known for his work on “Mr. Show” and “Arrested Development,” is currently preparing to film a series for Britain’s Channel 4, in which he will co-star with Will Arnett. He’s also putting the finishing touches on a book set to come out in August called “I Drink for a Reason.”

There’s been talk about a possible “Arrested Development” movie. Is it a go?

I’ll tell you what I know, which is, I don’t know. But that’s better than what it was prior to the last four months, which was, It’s not gonna happen. [Series creator] Mitch [Hurwitz] called everybody to sound out whether people were interested, and if they thought it was a good idea. I was like, “Yeah. That’ll be fun. That’ll be great. Of course.” I’m not trying to be flip or anything, but I really do get my “Arrested Development” information from whoever posts something on Defamer or wherever.

What would be the next step for Tobias Funke?

One would hope for – and I’m saying this as myself – a lot of comfortable silk pajamas and lounging and soft round beds, and being fed various cheeses by really hot women while getting a massage. But that’s probably not gonna happen. I’m probably gonna end up in some embarrassing situation with most of my clothes off, covered in some sort of goo.

“Mr. Show” fans were very excited to hear that you and Bob Odenkirk were doing a new show, and now it’s not happening. Why?

Bob and I wrote some stuff, had a great time writing and shooting it and everybody was psyched. Then we spent the next 10 days with the editors trying to cut it together, and unfortunately, no matter how we cut it – we did five completely different versions – we could never capture that feeling we had in the studio.

Do you do as much stand-up as you’d like?

I do exactly as much stand-up as I’d like. [Fresh material] wasn’t coming naturally, so I tapered off from the hectic, consistent schedule of doing stand-up. I’m quite happy with doing it every once in a while, just getting up for a half-hour and f – – – ing around.

Now that Bush is out of office, what’s there to talk about onstage?

Some of it is, for lack of a better word, just sillier and lighter. There’s still plenty of stuff that will get a reaction, a gasp or something, but I’m not doing a lot of politics. I still do plenty of religious stuff, but I was never a political comic. I was a comic who talked about stuff that was happening.

What’s next for you?

Thanks to a little something called contractual obligation, I’m heading to Los Angeles to do the sequel . . . I’m sorry, did I say sequel? I meant squeak-quel . . . to “Alvin and the Chipmunks,” which I was not interested in at all until I heard they were calling it a “squeak-quel.” Then I said, “f – – – ing sign me up.” But yeah, that is a contractual obligation that I can’t get out of, so I will be doing that.

PICKING HIS BRAIN

* “I’m very excited about the finale of ‘Battlestar Galactica'” “I went into that show kicking and screaming. I absolutely refused to believe it was any good – I’ve never been a science fiction guy – and it’s easily one of the top five shows in the last 10 years.”

* “After many, many years, Topps Baseball Cards is reintroducing their Stadium Club line, and I really like the new cards. I think the photography’s beautiful. The emphasis is on interesting photography, not posed shots. I miss the old Stadium Club cards, and I’m glad to have them back.”

* “I got, as a present, a cookbook for The Grit, a relatively well-known vegetarian restaurant in Athens (Ga.), and I’ve been making a lot of recipes from that. I want to cook everything in that book. It’s pretty amazing.”

* ” ‘The Best of Bootie’ put together the best mash-ups of the year, and there’s some amazing, amazing stuff on there. Really cool and clever.”

* “I’m way into ‘Synecdoche, New York.’ I love that movie, I was disappointed to see how many people didn’t quite care for it, but I thought it was great. Completely unique. I’ve never seen a movie like that, and that’s always a plus.”

* “For a housewarming present, my sister bought me a slow cooker, which I never used before. That thing is f—ing amazing. It’s so ridiculously good. It’s the first time I’ve ever cooked anything – and ‘cooking’ is a bit grand for what I do, I just dump a bunch of meat and vegetables into a thing and turn a switch on and leave – but it’s literally the first stuff I’ve ever been able to make where I go, ‘I would pay $17 for bowl of this in a restaurant.'”