This Stand-Up Bobcat Feeds on Activity : Comedy: He says he’ll do anything--like performing nude and dressing as Jesus. His next stop is the Coach House.

So what’s to make of this Bobcat Goldthwait? Here’s a fellow who:

* Dressed as Christ to do magic tricks for a Comic Relief benefit, taking great pains to make sure his moves were smooth and professional.

* Rappelled onto an Oakland stage on New Year’s Eve wearing nothing but angel wings, sneakers and a fur hat. (“That was painful.”)

* Made a movie (“Shakes the Clown”) in 1992 that was roundly denounced by clowns’ organizations around the country.

But whether you tag him a stand-up comic who writes and directs movies, or as an actor who does crazed stand-up is probably not that important to him, considering his attitude toward his field and niche in it.

“I’ll do whatever I’m asked to do,” Goldthwait said in an early-morning interview earlier this week from his Omaha hotel before heading to St. Louis. “Nothing is precious about what I do. Everyone forgets that show business is not reality. The products are fictitious, not valuable.”

That the Hollywood Hills resident was calling from Nebraska is no surprise. It could just as easily have been Lake Havasu City, Ariz., or Bangor, Me. Earlier this year, he wrapped up a nine-city tour with Nirvana, which included the nude rappelling. (“I learned that if you’re naked at midnight, you don’t get any kisses.”)

His itinerary is impressive: The all-too-frequent flyer has played every state except North Dakota.

“I don’t like those people,” he explained in a scratchy voice but without his trademark whiny screech.

Goldthwait, who appears tonight at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano, generally performs in clubs, theaters and rock venues. In April, he’ll be touring Australia before heading to New York to tape a public-service message for MTV.

Sometimes, all the travel catches up with him.

“It’s like, I went to the dog museum yesterday. I’ll go to the bowling museum today.”

Still, he has come a long way.

“I’ve been doing stand-up since I was 15 and started playing gong shows (open mikes) and stuff in Syracuse (N.Y.),” said Goldthwait, who is married and has a son, 11, and a daughter, 7.

From his native town, he went to Boston, where in 1982 he earned a spot on “Late Night With David Letterman.” He did a stint in San Francisco before heading to Los Angeles, where he was noticed on a showcase night that led to a film role as gang leader Zed in “Police Academy 2,” the first of three “Police Academy” movies the 31-year-old comic has done.

He was also seen in “Scrooged” with Bill Murray and a self-directed HBO special, “Is He Like That All the Time?,” as well as spots on “The Tonight Show” and “Arsenio Hall.”

The name Bobcat came about, he said, because there was already another Bob Goldthwait (“a weatherman somewhere”) in the guild. “It was a union deal, but I got a great dental plan out of it.”

He is doing five stand-up events this week. Asked how his recent shows went over, he replied with a simple, “Well, no one got hurt.”

*

He does, however, differentiate among audiences.

“The West Coast is more tolerant. Without California, there would be no mimes. The rowdier crowds are in the East. I probably do more shows in New England than anywhere else, a lot of colleges. In the heartland, the crowds are polite, but maybe later they put on white sheets and let you know what they really think. I like the obnoxious crowds. I know what they’re thinking.”

Overall, he said he’s happy with the state of stand-up, despite club closures and waning attendance.

“The bottom feeders have moved on, all the soap-opera stars,” he said. “Performers who really like comedy are sticking around.”

Before starting his current tour, he finished doing George Lucas’ “Radioland Murders” in North Carolina with Mary Stuart Masterson, Ned Beatty, Harvey Korman and Michael McKean. He plays a writer in what he says is a screwball comedy set in the ‘30s. It’s due out in the fall or winter.

As for “Shakes the Clown,” which he wrote, directed and starred in, Goldthwait isn’t sure why its appeal was limited.

“For the most part, people hated it,” he said. “I don’t know why. I wish it had succeeded. I was just trying to make myself and my friends laugh.”

He remains undaunted, though.

“I’m still writing scripts,” he said, “but ‘Shakes 2’ is not likely.”

* Bobcat Goldthwait performs at 9 p.m. tonight at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. $19.50. (714) 496-8930.