An iconic ‘Nerd’ reflects on a very cool career ahead of Charlotte’s Mad Monster Party

Fans know him best as Booger from “Revenge of the Nerds,” “Better Off Dead’s” Charles De Mar, “Risky Business’” Miles Dalby, and Herbert Viola of “Moonlighting” fame — in other words, often as the loony sidekick of leading men.

But character actor Curtis Armstrong’s career extends well beyond ’80s comedy.

Today, he’s recognizable for recurring roles on NBC’s “New Girl,” the CW’s “Supernatural,” and Fox’s animated series “American Dad.” And this weekend, he’ll appear as a guest at Mad Monster Party, a three-day convention geared mainly toward horror-movie fans where he’ll sign autographs and pose for photos alongside “Nerds” co-star Robert Carradine, Donald Gibbs and Brian Tochi.

Armstrong spoke to the Observer earlier this week about his introduction to fan-focused conventions, the evolution of nerd culture, and some of his biggest roles.

Q. Actors once seemed closed off from the public. What’s it been like having that wall come down with the internet and conventions?

I think that’s the way everything evolves. At one time, actors would say no to TV. No to commercials. There was a democratization about pop culture that cons were a huge part of. Actors changed the way they perceived their place in this.

It started happening around the mid-’80s. Comic cons were first. At the same time, movies like “Revenge of the Nerds” were coming out and the internet was in the early stages. Fans of a specific genre — comedy or horror, for instance — could connect. The actors who were coming up during that time were part of that change inevitably. In the ’60s that would have been off limits, making yourself too available to your audience. Doing cons isn’t something that occurred to me as possible or desirable even.

Once you start meeting fans of your work, it can change your whole outlook of what you’ve done to yourself.

Q . What work did it give you a new perspective on?

The biggest one is “Supernatural,” which was a show I wasn’t that familiar with until I started playing Metatron. I did 15 episodes over a period of a couple of years and became aware of a rumbling of that fandom in the distance. Eventually I did a couple of “Supernatural” cons and met that family as they’re known.

It was like a light going on. It was a little more focused than any other fandom I’ve seen. This was unique to me. This was an organized, empathetic group of people. Their love for those characters — not mine, but the others on “Supernatural” — was a real education to me. They’re a lovely warm passionate group of fans, kind of like the Deadheads.

Q. How do you see “Revenge of the Nerds” now?

“Revenge of the Nerds” as a movie is not something I understood what the fuss was about. That movie has some issues with gender and race. It was produced by 20th Century Fox. It was a big movie for what it was. I’m just trying to imagine anyone else doing something with those kind of messages in it now. That kind of dialogue.

It’s a movie that makes me cringe in a lot of places, and I make me cringe. Booger is disgusting. When Lewis finally makes it with the cheerleader (while masked), there’s a strong argument for that being rape. The people who made the movie never considered it that way. In those days, they didn’t consider things like that.

It was never a critical success, not even an economic success. It was something that changed in the culture through cable TV and VHS tapes; the movie became iconic because of that. ... All those nerd kids who had been gathering in small groups in their garages and playing D&D suddenly found an entire world who felt just like them.

I understand the idea of people’s affection for people who are down and out and being persecuted coming out on top.

Q. Are some of your other films more regarded now than they were when they were released?

The most significant flip of a movie — which I never had issues with its content — is “Better Off Dead.” It really disappeared when it came out. It took a long time to get noticed. It was so stylized and sweet, so nice that it has become something that has been passed on in families.

“Better Off Dead” is a Christmas movie. It’s overtaken “Revenge of the Nerds” (in popularity) at the cons. It’s beyond nerds.

Q. That’s one my husband has shown to our kids.

Unlike most of the movies I made, the (writer-director) Savage Steve Holland movies are things you can show your whole family. He never set out to push the envelope or shock people. When my daughter was in high school or middle school, we did a fundraiser — a screening of “Better Off Dead.” I think it’s the only movie of mine she’s ever seen.

Q. The romance between you and Miss Depesto on “Moonlighting” was so sweet. That show was fraught with drama backstage. What was your experience like?

It was rough. The hours were long and there was a lot of tension, but they started writing more for Viola because things were unreliable. Not because of tension. Cybill (Shepherd) was pregnant with twins. Bruce (Willis) was off making a movie. You have to make allowances for that kind of schedule.

(Actress Allyce Beasley who plays Miss Depesto) and I gradually got more material to make up for the fact that they weren’t there. It gave us more to do, and we liked working together. For the writers and the crew, it was great, because we were easy to get along with and not making demands.

As far as the audience was concerned, it was not ideal. As soon as people caught on, the ratings would plummet. We only did one all those years that was totally without Bruce and Cybill. It was the lowest-rated episode.

But that was less-important as far as I was concerned. It was a dream show because the character was so wonderful. It was the first TV I’d done. It felt like a feature film every week. We had really good writers and directors. You can’t beat that experience.

Q. Often, the supporting characters become the audience’s favorites. Like Jack and Karen on “Will & Grace,” or Fez and Kelso on “That ’70s Show.”

It was (that way) with me too growing up in the ’60s and ’70s. I was a big movie buff and would watch old movies from the ’20s and ’30s. It was almost never the stars that entranced me. I was fascinated by the (repertory) company. There were different ones for each studio. Those were my favorite. I liked spotting them.

And I became one of them. ... The person who isn’t the lead, or second lead, but a guy five down in the credits who does something which catches people’s attention.

If you go: Mad Monster Party

“Scream’s” Neve Campbell, Slipknot’s Corey Taylor, “Twin Peaks’” Sherilyn Fenn, and Mark Patton of “Nightmare on Elm Street Part 2” are among the convention’s other featured guests.

When: 6-11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday.

Where: Embassy Suites by Hilton Charlotte/Concord Golf Resort and Spa, 5400 John Q. Hammonds Drive, Concord.

Tickets: $40 Friday or Sunday, $50 Saturday. $90 for a three-day pass. Autographs and photos can be purchased ahead of time online.

Details: www.madmonster.com.