'The Office,' Packer style

May 23—ASHLAND — Veteran actor, writer and producer David Koechner, with more than 200 film and television credits, will appear at the Huntington Comic and Toy Convention on June 4 at the Mountain Health Arena in Huntington.

In addition to his appearance at the convention complete with photo ops, Koechner will host "The Office Trivia with Todd Packer" at 7:30 p.m. June 4 at the Ro-Na Theatre in Ironton.

Koechner is known for his over-the-top and pleasantly offensive humor, especially as his character from the television series "The Office," Todd Packer.

Koechner is much more pleasant out of character, and is a popular draw to many conventions such as The Lexington Comic and Toy Convention.

Koechner graduated from high school in Tipton, Missouri, and was a political science major in college, but he realized that wasn't what he wanted to do, so he quit college and go to Second City in Chicago to study improv. "I was very lucky to work with this amazing amalgamation of talent," he said. Many of his fellow students there, like Koechner, went on to enjoy amazing careers. "Back then you didn't know you were meeting future stars," he said. "You just knew everyone around you was really good."

Koechner followed up Second City with a stint on "Saturday Night Live," and eventually moved to Los Angeles, which has been his home base for 30 years. "I have been very fortunate, and have over 200 IMDB credits and five kids," Koechner said. "I work, so it's good," he said, grateful for a career that allows him to always look forward to the next project and stay busy. "I have a couple of things in the works I can't talk about right now, but I always have something going on.

"I'm touring the country doing stand up, going to comic conventions and The Office Trivia with the Real Todd Packer. I'll be doing the comic con at Mountain Health Arena in Huntington, West Virginia and the trivia at the Ro-Na in Ironton Ohio."

Currently Koechner said he has one show for The Office Trivia, but if the response is really good he said he looks forward to adding more shows.

"People love 'The Office,'" Koechner said. "And the trivia show we do is not just strait trivia. It's kind of a mix of trivia and stand up, because I tell 'behind the scenes' stories. I talk about my career, and I do a photo with everyone. There is a meet and greet, and there will be merchandise for sale. We also do a Q&A too," he said. "So it's a really packed night of fun."

Koechner said he originally began by adding the trivia to his standup shows, but people enjoyed it so much he decided to add it to his convention appearances as well. Advance tickets can be purchased for "The Office Trivia with Todd Packer" at eventbrite.com/e/the-office-trivia-with-the-real-todd-packer-tickets-339237858567.

With a career as robust as Koechner's, fans of "The Office" (not to mention the "Anchorman films" and "Talladega Nights") there's always time to hear behind-the-scenes stories from comedies to horror films such as "Krampus" and "Final Destination 5." Plus, there is always Koechner's own signature brand of stand up, which he says hearkens back to influences from legendary comedy troupes such as Monty Python and the Original Saturday Night Live. "I think anything that is really smart and absurd, and random, is funny," Koechner said. "That's the stuff I love. Comedy is crazy and beautiful."

For a list of everything Koechner is doing at The Huntington Comic and Toy Convention, visit huntingtoncomiccon.com.