Craig Robinson loves to watch the reaction of crowds when he performs his standup comedy routine.

It's a look some fans get, he said, because they come expecting to see Darryl Philbin, the character he plays on NBC's hit show "The Office."

What they get instead is all Craig Robinson, raw.

"I really love watching the crowd reaction when they get a hint of my craziness," Robinson said, laughing. "Some fans know me more for my comedy act, but a lot are from the show. When I'm on stage, I shift gears and some will say, 'Oh, I didn't know you were like this ...' but they usually love it. You really get a hint of my personality when I'm performing. You see a different side of me than Darryl."

On "The Office," Robinson's character is the level-headed warehouse supervisor — the straight man who's the target of clueless comments by his boss, Michael, played by Steve Carell.

On stage, Robinson is a self-proclaimed R-rated comedy act, tackling anything from his personal life ("I love the company of a beautiful woman") to current events. Almost all of it contains words never to be heard on prime-time TV, or even a late-night cable infomercial.

But you can see for yourself Wednesday night when he performs a one-night-only gig at Pipeline Café as part of the club's comedy night series. It will be Robinson's first trip to Hawai'i, and he plans to make it memorable.

"I'm going to get in a few days early and enjoy it," he said. "I've always wanted to see Hawai'i. On stage, it's not like I'm there for an eight-show gig. I only get one shot in Honolulu, so it's going to be fun. I'm going to come out and hit it."

It's good to be Robinson these days. Besides his expanding role as Darryl, his movie credits include appearances in "Knocked Up," "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story" and "Pineapple Express." He's also appeared on Comedy Central's "Premium Blend," "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and had guest appearances on "The Bernie Mac Show" and "Arrested Development."

In the past month, he's performed his standup comedy in San Francisco and Dallas. And after Wednesday's Pipeline gig, he'll perform in Miami and New Jersey before returning to Los Angeles to shoot more episodes of "The Office."

Not bad for a guy who started out 14 years ago by emceeing comedy shows while in college in Chicago, a job he took to showcase his talents.

"I thought I'd perform and make people laugh, and if it wasn't going well, I'd just introduce the next act and get off stage," he said.

Robinson moved to Los Angeles in 1999, and it was five years of scraping by before he got the chance to audition in a roomful of NBC producers and directors for his role on "The Office." He did a confessional scene, he said, and Darryl was born.

Robinson joined "The Office" cast as a bit player on the fourth show of the first season and continued to be an "episode-to-episode" character for the first four seasons. Today, for every 13 episodes shot, Robinson's contract mandates Darryl be in seven.

"I'm loving it," he said. "It's just an amazing show to be a part of. I'm down for however they write me. The writers on the show really captured the voice of Darryl, so all I have to do is say my lines and the rest of the time I get to enjoy watching my colleagues work. There have been so many wonderful takes ruined because we're busting out with laughter. Having to hold in and stay straight makes you a better actor, but it's tough because Steve busts everybody up."

Shooting for "The Office" resumes in February. They've done 18 episodes already for the upcoming season and 10 more are on the way. More will follow.

"I'm definitely R-rated on stage," Robinson said. "I'll be using some words you're never going to hear on NBC."