From stand-up comedy to ‘The Umbrella Academy’ to Broadway, David Cross – coming to Spokane on Thursday – is having quite the varied career

Comedian and actor David Cross doesn’t need much convincing to take on a project.

When he was offered the role of Sy Grossman, a businessman looking to reconnect with his daughter, in the hit Netflix series “The Umbrella Academy,” for example, Cross hadn’t seen an episode.

He had heard of the show and knew it was a cult favorite, but that was about it. After learning about the character’s arc, which evolves over the course of four episodes in the show’s final season, and speaking with the creators though, Cross was on board.

Filmed around performances on his “Worst Daddy in the World” tour, Cross started watching “The Umbrella Academy” during brief stints at home in Brooklyn, New York. Then he understood what all the fuss was about.

“They worked around my schedule, and then I really, really got into it,” he said. “It’s one of those shows if you’re not into it in the first five minutes then just keep it off because you’re not going to get it.”

The same “Sure, why not?” attitude will take Cross from Netflix to Broadway in February, where he’ll star in Simon Rich’s “All In: Comedy About Love” alongside Lin-Manuel Miranda, Annaleigh Ashford and Tim Meadows.

The show, which features rotating casts of four performers, brings to life short stories from screenwriter and novelist Rich about all things dating, marriage and heartbreak.

Cross was familiar with Rich, having read some of his work in “The New Yorker.” He had also previously met Rich’s father, the writer and television producer Frank Rich. The show’s team reached out to Cross’ agents, wrote Cross a nice note and sent the script his way.

“They sent the materials, and I read it and I was like, ‘Great, I’m all for it,’ ” he said.

It’s only his Broadway debut, after all. Why contemplate any more than that?

Though his focus has always been stand-up, Cross has built an impressive resume on the big and little screens. He starred in “Arrested Development” for five seasons, voiced characters in a number of television shows and movies and has appeared in films like “Ghost World,” “Pitch Perfect 2,” “I’m Not There” and “The Dark Divide.”

Cross sees acting and comedy as “part and parcel.”

“They’re two different forms of creative expression,” he said. “They’re fun, and I don’t have to work in a warehouse.”

His first love brings him to the Spokane Tribe Casino for a show on Thursday.

This tour features Cross’ newest show, “The End of the Beginning of the End.” In the first half, Cross tells a long story about an awkward situation in which he found himself. He then turns his focus to something Donald Trump said during a rally in Michigan, which he has set to music, a trip he took to Machu Picchu with a friend and storage units across America.

In short, Cross said he discusses “all kinds of different stuff” in the show.

Cross estimates the version of “The End of the Beginning of the End” that Spokane audiences will see differs by about 30% from his early performances of the show.

“It’s expanded, I’ve dropped certain bits, I’ve fleshed out other bits,” he said. “It all comes from performing. You’re just riffing things on stage, and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s a good idea. I should follow that line of logic.’ ”

For Cross, writing a show doesn’t happen while sitting with a pencil and a notebook; it’s the result of trial and error via simply getting on stage and seeing what jokes work best.

For about four months, he tries new material at comedy clubs in and around Brooklyn, primarily working on getting the sequencing of the jokes just right. He then takes the act to slightly bigger venues, before performing a few times outside of New York to make sure the material works outside of his neighborhood clubs, too.

Once he feels like he has enough material for a tour and that that material flows, Cross hits the road, allowing the show to evolve from night to night.

“The first show is always different than the 20th show, which is different from the 40th show, which is different from the 60th show,” he said. “Once I’m like ‘OK, I’m ready to go out,’ I just do it.”

Cross doesn’t mind the lengthy creative process, saying one of the unspoken parts of being a performer is that you just have to keep at it until you “make it.” Cross said he wrote for shows like “The Ben Stiller Show” and took on various roles in film and television for years before starting to receive recognition for work like “Mr. Show,” which he co-created with Bob Odenkirk.

But, hey, it beats the warehouse.

“I’ve worked in plenty of warehouses where there’s no heat and your skin is crackling and getting lifted up because it’s super dry and it’s cold out, and you’re handling cardboard boxes all day,” Cross said. “I’d rather do this.”