Even if you know his crowd work clips and not his name, comedian Jeff Arcuri is ready to meet you

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Set us as preferred Life is a bit surreal for Jeff Arcuri these days.Though he’s been a stand-up comedian for over 14 years, most people in the world never knew it until clips of him joking around with audiences at spots like the Comedy Cellar in New York started going viral a few years ago.

But while there’s no shortage of comics who’ve cracked the code to instant follows and likes (and plenty of scorn) by posting crowd work, Arcuri’s path in comedy has always been a coping mechanism for ADHD and razor-sharp situational awareness mixed with an overall lack of filter.At heart he’s always been a people person, even if he believes them less and less when they now say they’re fans of his.“Is this ‘The Truman Show?’ I have that thought all the time where everyone’s just being nice and following me because they feel bad for me,” he tells The Times.

“It’s crazy, all of it is crazy and I appreciate it every day.”What he’s referring to, other than the millions upon millions of views online, is how recent internet fame combined with long-term anonymity in the comedy scene has fueled the rocket that’s sending him into a new level of notoriety on Netflix when his debut special “Nice to Meet You” drops on Tuesday.The new hour, performed in the round, tests Arcuri’s ability to remember minute facts and callbacks from random people in the crowd as well as his written material about his personal observations on life, family and his wife Katie Thurston — star of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette” — who is currently battling Stage 4 breast cancer.

Despite the low moments they’ve gone through this year, getting a debut special was his chance to share how he and his reality star spouse have found ways to laugh through their everyday struggles.This interview has been edited for length and c...