goofball

　テレビで見たことある人もいらっしゃるのではないでしょうか。

Meet the black comedian who has become Japan’s most unlikely star

But Ike is strategic about his public persona. As often as he plays a goofball, Ike also takes on more serious roles, like teaching English to Japanese celebrities or chiming in on daytime news commentary panels. When I ask him if he feels any responsibility to be a positive black figure on Japanese TV, he’s a little cautious in his answer. “I don’t see it as a responsibility,” he says after a long pause. “I see it as an opportunity. That’s all I see, just opportunities. It’s one of my goals, just opening their eyes, you know? Showing that not all black people are the same. Me coming out of doing technology, I think that helps.”

（一部抜粋）

https://news.vice.com/story/meet-the-black-comedian-who-has-become-japans-most-unlikely-star

　今回はgoofballについて調べてみました。Oxford Dictionary of English(Second Edition Reserved, Oxford University Press)によると、 "a naive or stupid person"と "a narcotic drug in the form of a pill"の２つ定義されておりました。『ジーニアス英和辞典』（第五版，大修館）には、「睡眠剤，精神安定剤」や「麻薬常用者」、「まぬけ，どじ」と書かれておりました。

　記事では "he plays a goofball"で「おバカを演じる、フリをする」のような意味合いで使用されていると考えられます。(Gomez)