The Joke’s on Louis C.K. - NYTimes.com

But something funny seems to have happened to Louis C. K. lately, and not in a ha-ha way. Could it be that he has also found his confidence?

In a little over a year he has released a hit stand-up special, “Live at the Beacon Theater,” which he self-produced and sold on the Internet, and organized a nationwide tour (on which “Oh My God” was recorded) without relying on a major ticketing company. While his alter ego on his FX series, “Louie,” was having awkward dates with Melissa Leo and Parker Posey and vying unsuccessfully to replace David Letterman (with help from a talk-show whisperer played by David Lynch), Louis C. K. won Emmy Awards for “Louie” and “Live at the Beacon Theater.” Currently on a yearlong hiatus from “Louie,” he has filmed a small part in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine” and is shooting a role in a movie by David O. Russell (the director of “Silver Linings Playbook”) about the Abscam sting operation.

“I’ve got maybe 10 years to ladle the butter into a jar for my kids and then die,” he said over a recent breakfast in the West Village. But beyond this reflexive modesty he does not carry himself with the same stooped self-deprecation that comes across in his stand-up routines. Some part of him is highly cognizant of his value and the influence he wields, and knows how to get what he believes he deserves in his work, if not always in his life. And he is supremely aware that there are consequences to having a spotlight shone on him for as long as he has.

In these excerpts from that conversation Louis C. K. speaks about his online innovations, his evolving approach to “Louie” and working with his cinematic heroes like Mr. Lynch and Mr. Allen. While he might still occasionally claim to be bothered by his own success, he has at least learned that the universe won’t take it away from him just for acknowledging it out loud.

Q. You’ve spent the last several months on a tour where you sold tickets only through your Web site. How did that go?

A. Boy, did that work. It was so satisfying to get that done. The special, I didn’t need to do anything. I just made it and offered it. But the tickets were really tricky. The big ticket companies make exclusive arrangements with these rooms. They pay them just to not work with others. So if a company gives you 30 grand a year to stay away from anybody else, you need it. We didn’t attack their territory. We just went to places that they didn’t care about.

Does it matter that what you’ve achieved, with your online special and your tour can’t be replicated by other performers who don’t have the visibility or fan base that you do?

Why do you think those people don’t have the same resources that I have, the same visibility or relationship? What’s different between me and them?

You have the platform. You have the level of recognition.

So why do I have the platform and the recognition?

At this point you’ve put in the time.

There you go. There’s no way around that. There’s people that say: “It’s not fair. You have all that stuff.” I wasn’t born with it. It was a horrible process to get to this. It took me my whole life. If you’re new at this — and by “new at it,” I mean 15 years in, or even 20 — you’re just starting to get traction. Young musicians believe they should be able to throw a band together and be famous, and anything that’s in their way is unfair and evil. What are you, in your 20s, you picked up a guitar? Give it a minute.

Was it satisfying to come back to HBO for your new special? Does FX mind sharing you with others?

One of the reasons I did the last special that way is because nobody wanted it. But this time HBO came to me. And I had this great situation because I didn’t need anybody. So everything that I asked for, they let me have. HBO is the Yankees of stand-up comedy specials, and it’ll be good for FX. What HBO is doing to promote this stuff is beyond anything. They’re going to have a giant billboard on Sunset Boulevard. I’m going to be in Times Square. I’m going to be on buses. It’s making me a little sick.

And HBO will let you do an online release of “Oh My God” later in the year?

Another reason I was willing to do it there was because I had told them I have to be able to sell it on my site. At first HBO was like, “We can’t do that.” And I said, “Well, let’s not do it then.” The power I had was to be able to keep saying: “I’ll do it myself. I do not need you.” They took a while on that one.

When you decided to take a hiatus from “Louie,” did you think about packing up the show entirely?

The show is not anywhere near over for me. I just knew that I would benefit from the time to get the fourth season right. This last season I finished cutting in September, and I know I turned in bad cuts. Three years in a row I did it, but I knew I couldn’t keep doing it.

This past season of “Louie” had a couple of narratives that spanned multiple episodes. What inspired you to try that?