Bobby Lee is learning to be patient.

He's already a known quantity in comedy circles. Lee was a popular cast member for eight seasons on “;MADtv”; and has made some memorable, albeit brief impressions on other TV and movie projects through the years.

But after Fox canceled “;MADtv”; last year and his work on the pilot episode of a potential NBC series fell through, Lee has been reworking and honing his onstage chops. Honolulu audiences will get a dose of his energetic and free-wheeling comedy during two weekend shows at Pipeline Cafe.

“;I've been on the road nonstop,”; he said by phone from Los Angeles. “;Every week I'm gone. I could never have done that when I was doing 'MADtv,' and I think it's a good time to go out on tour.

“;I admit I'm really surprised with the response. I've been selling out most of my shows, and it's been fun hanging out with the people. For so many years, I felt sometimes like a loser, having to stay in L.A. because of the TV work, so I'm glad I'm touring.”;

Lee said this is the first year in his career that he's a free agent, so to speak, so while in L.A., he said, he's been auditioning for a bunch of projects.

“;In between the stand-up, I did a cameo in Simon Pegg's upcoming movie 'Paul,' and tomorrow I'm doing a voice role for 'Family Guy.'”;

Lee's previous appearances include “;Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle,”; a particularly funny turn as Larry David's bookie in an episode of “;Curb Your Enthusiasm,”; a couple of comedic bits for his friend Carlos Mencia's “;Mind of Mencia”; sketch show and playing opposite comedy favorite Ken Jeong in “;Kickin' It Old Skool”; and “;Pineapple Express.”;

Lee said he was disappointed that audiences weren't able to see all his scenes that were filmed for “;Pineapple.”;

“;As an actor you basically have no editorial control, so it's tough to create your own thing, especially if it ends up on the cutting room floor, which kind of sucks,”; he said. “;I can't seem to get a decent break. After the complete failure of 'Kickin' It Old Skool,' I'm refraining from doing crappy movies.

“;But I'm hoping for the best from the 'Paul' movie. The director of 'Superbad' (Greg Mottola) worked on that, and I had, like, seven lines. So in the meantime I'm waiting on that, plus I'm developing a couple of things for myself.”;

Lee is hoping his ongoing stand-up work will help lengthen his career.

“;Listen, man, I know a lot of people ripped on 'MADtv,' like it was the bastard stepchild of 'SNL.' Personally, I miss working with the cast members. I did this for eight years, and while we did do some very good work, some of it was awful. Nowadays, as I'm concentrating on my stand-up, it's not like I'm waking up and telling myself I need to detach myself from what I did on 'MADtv.' At least that basically helped pay my mortgage.

“;Right now I think I'm in a good place, because I've always had respect in the comedy community. I've really paid some deep dues while I've been in L.A., and I know a lot of comics and sketch people who know they can depend on me, in comparison to guys who come here, blow up in a month but get no support in the long run.”;

Lee has been in show biz for 14 years now but still remembers working at Mitzi Shore's Comedy Store in the mid-'90s with other budding comic stars like Chelsea Handler and Nick Swardsen.

“;I admit I feel like my career has gone on a slow and sometimes awkward pace. I'm always under the radar. I've had previous TV deals that didn't work out, but that's fine because I don't want to be in anything that may end up being bad,”; he said. “;Funny enough, when I did a couple of comedy dates last year, I almost did as financially well when I was working on 'MADtv.' I'm glad I'm back doing stuff onstage because I neglected it for so long.

“;What I like about stand-up is it's its own animal. It's not like acting or sketch work. It's the one craft I have complete control of, plus it has an element of danger because the audience is its own animal as well. Sometimes you have to tame that animal just to survive onstage.

“;And even though I make fun of myself during my act, I keep it pro-Asian. I remember when I first started and I met Tamayo Otsuki, who's this old-school comic who used to date Sam Kinison in the '80s. She said that my stuff was making fun of Asians and that 'you make us look bad.' At first I was offended by her remark, but then I realized that she was right.

“;For so many years we had so little voice in comedy. Now, with comics like Jo Koy, and Steve Byrne and Kevin Shea, who I did 'The Kims of Comedy' tour with, I feel a sense of pride. They look sexy onstage—and I mean sexy in the sense that not only girls are attracted to them, but guys want to be them, too. So it's a really exciting time to be an Asian-American in the business.”;