Many people have their own vision of paradise: Some like a tropical environment; others favor a big city.

To actor and comedian Jon Lovitz, paradise looks a lot like Oahu, and he calls his upcoming visit, including his stand-up comedy concert tonight at the Hawaii Theatre, a “working vacation.”

“I just love it when you get off that plane and smell that air,” he said in a phone call from Los Angeles, where he still lives.

When he’s not working, you might catch him here lounging on a beach or driving around the North Shore. You might also see him taking a ride on the catamaran Kepoikai II, off Waikiki Beach. During the multiple times Lovitz has been to Hawaii, he’s become friends with crew members of that boat (Jay and his mascot dachshund Taro), as well as some of the beachboys who earn their living renting surfboards.

He also will hang out with his good friend, the artist Wyland, whom Lovitz has worked with on conservation projects.

“There are just certain cities, and my favorite places to perform shows are ones where there is a beach,” he said. “That is Hawaii. I wish I could move there, but there’s no work.”

No full-time work, that is: Lovitz has guest-starred on the reboot of “Hawaii Five-0.”

Lovitz might be best known for his work on the late-night comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live” (1985-1990), the TV show “The Critic” (1994-1995) and his voice work in multiple roles that continue to this day on the animated series “The Simpsons.” But he also has starred or guest-starred on more than 20 other TV shows and has played parts, large and small, in more than 50 movies. An upcoming movie project with Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson is “Mother’s Day,” directed by Garry Marshall, who helmed “New Year’s Eve” and “Valentine’s Day.” Each movie offers a similar plot: Explore the love lives of multiple people who eventually cross paths.

Lovitz is usually cast as a character actor.

“This is just a business,” he said. “I’m not ugly, but they want actors like George Clooney or Brad Pitt for the lead roles.”

LOVITZ IS MORE reserved than one might guess from the absurd characters he portrays, like Tommy Flanagan the Pathological Liar on “SNL” or gloomy Jay Sherman on the cartoon “The Critic.” The famously nasal quality to his voice that’s heard onstage is barely noticeable in regular conversation. He tends to fill in the pauses in a conversation, expounding on answers to questions he’s just been asked.

These days Lovitz also performs stand-up comedy, and has shows planned through December. He describes his humor as “smart, silly and extremely immature, which means it’s funny. I play piano, sing funny songs and talk about stuff that’s happened to me.”

Next month he performs in Niagara Falls with Tim Meadows and Rob Schneider, who are also members of the large “SNL” family.

Now that he’s in his 40s, Lovitz said, “the movie parts began slowing down. I wasn’t broke, but I was going to run out of money in five years.”

His manager and agent at the time both suggested he sell his house. “I said, ‘I have a better idea.’”

He decided to go into stand-up comedy and now performs an average of three times a month. The manager and agent? Lovitz fired both of them — and both were friends of his at the time.

“They just gave up on me,” he said.

Lovitz has now been performing stand-up comedy for the last 10 years.

“In movies you play a character,” he said, “but in stand-up it’s me. It’s very interesting. You share your opinions and what I think about stuff.”

He never pursued stand-up comedy at the beginning of his career, though he was part of the esteemed comedy troupe the Groundlings, which he credits with getting him on “SNL” producer Lorne Michaels’ radar. After graduating from college he wanted to be an actor, but when opportunities dried up in New York, he moved back to Los Angeles and enrolled in a comedy workshop.

“It was great being told to goof off in different ways,” he said of the comedy training. “I was the class clown in school; after I made everyone laugh, I was told to go sit in the corner.”

His father, a successful doctor, told him that after college he was on his own, and he went into the entertainment business without a backup plan.

“It forced me to make something for myself,” he said. “I had no choice. It was a great motivator.”

Of his body of work, Lovitz has said he is most proud of “SNL,” despite the hard work involved; performers typically worked 80 hours a week, with only Mondays off.

“It was like a fraternity,” he said, but at the same time, “everyone was competitive. … It messes with your head and you’re competing against people. But everyone is passionate and you care about them. … I have a career because of the show.”

A funny bit on the “SNL” 40th-anniversary special earlier this year was a montage of previous past cast members who had died: The montage included him, but the camera cut away to a flustered Lovitz in the audience.

“That was the spirit of the show,” he said, adding that he didn’t mind being butt of the joke.

Lovitz has nothing but praise for the dozens of producers, writers and actors he’s worked with, especially those on “The Simpsons.”

“Working with that caliber of people, who really make you laugh, it brings out the best in you,” he said.