Nick Kroll Plans to Work Until He’s “Very Old, Out of Touch, and No Longer Funny at All”
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The post Nick Kroll Plans to Work Until He’s “Very Old, Out of Touch, and No Longer Funny at All” appeared first on Consequence.
Nick Kroll’s got a lot going on right now: The recent release of his new Netflix standup special Little Big Boy; his supporting role in one of the year’s most discussed films, Don’t Worry Darling; and the upcoming new season of Big Mouth, the animated coming-of-age comedy he co-created with Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett. Not to mention the many, many other projects he’s guest-starred in over the last few years, a list that includes What We Do In the Shadows, Our Flag Means Death, Bob’s Burgers, Dickinson, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
“I’ve been so lucky to be able to be on so many of the shows that I liked,” Kroll tells Consequence. “And it’s something that I’ve tried to work on, to tell those people that I like their show and that if they ever wanted to have me on it, I would love to be on it. You have to swallow your ego a little bit to say, ‘I really like your show. I’d like to be a part of it,’ because you could receive rejection for that. But I really love it, and it’s a lesson that I’ve tried to take over into how I approach these kinds of things.”
It’s something that Kroll tries to pay forward as well: “I’ve had people tell me that they like my shows or whatever. And it’s really helpful to be like, ‘Great, let’s see if we can find something.’ Tyler, the Creator is on this upcoming season of Big Mouth because he reached out and was like, ‘I love your show.’ And we’re like, ‘Well then, great. We’ll find something for you to do.'”
When asked what shows he himself would still like to guest star on, he has quite the list: “I’ve been obsessed with much of Fargo — I think that is an incredible show. I love Atlanta, but I think Atlanta’s now done. Always Sunny — I was just talking to my wife about that; I’ve been a fan of those guys, and I used to be on The League, paired with them. I love Sunny.” Also, he adds, “Is Mork & Mindy still on the air? I’d like to be on Mork & Mindy. And obviously NCIS: New Orleans.”
In the interview below, transcribed and edited for clarity, Kroll reveals his current level of involvement with Big Mouth, his hopes for the show’s longevity (it’s been renewed for a seventh season, with Season 6 set to debut at the end of the month), why putting out his new special was a very vulnerable experience, how Olivia Wilde asked him directly to be involved with Don’t Worry Darling, and where things stand between him and frequent collaborator John Mulaney, in terms of future projects.
He also talks about the Big Mouth Season 5 finale, which featured “Nick Birch” (Kroll’s animated pre-teen avatar) directly confronting a live-action “Nick Kroll” (as himself) about their mutual issues. It’s a big creative swing for the series, with even a meta moment of musing from “Nick Kroll” about whether or not breaking the fourth wall would end up being successful…
So in the Season 5 finale of Big Mouth, there’s this bit where “Nick Kroll” is talking about the choice to include this live-action segment, saying, “We’ll see if this actually works once it’s out.” And I wanted to ask, now that some time has passed, how do you feel about that sequence? Do you feel like it does work?
I love it in theory. We shot that in the thick of the pandemic and I think right after my wife had given birth. And I, to be frank, hate how I look in it because I feel like I was out of practice of being on camera and probably was not at my normal, on-camera fighting weight. I was more likely in the pandemic having just had our first child. So, I like the idea of what we were doing. I just have trouble looking at myself. It’s part of the beauty of animation is that you can make something and not have to look at yourself inside of it.
It was not my idea. It was my partners’ idea. It’s like anything in the show — there are times where it’s weird when it’s you. And whether it’s Nick Birch or, in this case, Nick Kroll, it’s hard always to have clear perspective on what works, what feels narcissistic, and vice versa. What feels too protected. So, I like the move. I don’t like what my face or body looks like.
The fact that it wasn’t your idea is really interesting. In general, how involved are you in the writing of Big Mouth these days?
I am less involved on a day-to-day basis because of other things that I’m responsible for. I’m obviously very involved still in the larger scenes of the show. I’m very present throughout the season, but I am not in the writer’s room every day like I was for the first five seasons. But I’m still quite involved.
And sometimes it’s helpful. At different points, in how our show gets made, you’ve got me, Andrew, Mark, and Jen. And it’s sometimes nice to have fresh eyes, people who weren’t in the room or are fresh to something, being like, “Huh, this doesn’t make sense.” Because if people were all in the room together, it all makes sense. And sometimes, you just need a little bit of a fresh perspective. But yeah, I’m still very, very involved, but I’m not in the writer’s room every single day.
Big Mouth (Netflix)
It’s a show that we love making. And because it’s about puberty, it means that literally the kids are always changing and evolving. And that’s a very exciting way to make a show in that it doesn’t feel like you’re rehashing the same material or idea over and over again. Although it continues to be about kids going through puberty and sexual development, we’re not only exploring different facets of the kids we’ve already met, but introducing new kids.
Each season, there tends to be a theme. And in this case, the theme is family, which of course is a very rich theme to talk about it. It allows us to tell new stories that involve not only the kids but also their families and Maury and Connie.
For sure. Do you feel like this is a show that could go end up becoming Simpsons-esque, and just keep running as long as people are able to make it?
That’s something you got to talk to Netflix about. I feel like we are still going very strong and have a lot of good stories to tell. But you should have that conversation with Netflix.
I’ll just be like, “Hey, you’re cool with greenlighting them for another 30 seasons, right?”
“That makes sense with your model, right?”
Yeah. They love business suggestions from journalists, so it’s going to be great for everyone.
Perfect.
Speaking of Netflix, I do want to ask about your new special. When you get a special like that out in the world, how much do you monitor the public reaction to it?
I’ve been working on this hour [for a while]; I was touring it before the lockdown happened in 2020. And even before that, some of the material I’ve been doing for quite some time, and I toured it somewhat extensively. And then some of it obviously changed as the lockdown happened —all the things that have happened in my life: getting married, having kids, all that stuff.
And so, it was very exciting to put it out in the world and slightly… Scary is not the right word. But when you’re doing an animated show or another project, you have so many other people to share the ups and downs of it. When it’s a standup special, it all falls on you, both the praise and the critique. And so, it feels very vulnerable. And that was scary.
But the reception has been incredibly nice and very gratifying to read people and hear also secondhand from people, or get emails or texts from people checking in, both friends and family and then also just people on the internet. It’s been very gratifying.
Yeah, when I was watching the special, I was struck by how I’ve seen you so much playing so many different characters. And yet, I felt like I was actually seeing the real Nick Kroll for the first time.
And that was a big part of it. I really wanted to try to be more… It was a lesson that I learned from Big Mouth. Obviously very different than an animated show. But the response we would get from Big Mouth is about people complimenting or talking about the vulnerability of the character or the show and being honest.
And it really changed the way I was thinking about doing standup, of not hiding behind characters, but instead presenting myself and being more revelatory about who I am: what my foibles are, my addictions, my heartbreak. Those things are a means to telling jokes and stories that hopefully would be relatable to an audience. And being more forthright about who I am and not hide… even though the standup is infused with characters and voices — something that I love to do and helps me tell my story.
But ultimately, I was trying to be more myself for an audience. Because the standups that I admire and love, so much of the time, are more honest and revelatory, and you feel like you’re really getting a window into who they are. That’s what I was aspiring to in this one.
To pivot quickly to Don’t Worry Darling — I was reading that Olivia Wilde originally planned to play the lead role herself, before she decided eventually to switch casting and play a secondary character. In the casting process, did you come in after that decision?
Oh yeah. I came in well into the process. Everyone was in place. I don’t know if everyone was in place, but most of the casting was already done. And I got a call, frankly out of nowhere, from Olivia being like, “Hey, do you want to be in this movie and play my husband?”
It’s very, very flattering when a director who’s an actor/director asks you to play their spouse in the movie. You’re like, “Boy, she was like, ‘That’s who I want…'” I was flattered because she’s making those decisions. And I was very impressed with watching her on set, acting and directing simultaneously. It’s a very hard thing to do. And so, I was also flattered that it felt like she knew that she could leave me to do what I needed to do, and she could focus on the hundred million other things that she had to deal with on a day-to-day basis.
So I know that both you and John Mulaney have been very busy with things, including Big Mouth. But do you still talk about collaborating directly again in the future, whether it be reuniting for another Oh, Hello! or just doing a new project?
Oh yeah. We’re always chatting and talking about things. But it’s been nice over the last little while, with both of us doing our own things, to also be able to reconnect as just friends and not have to always be figuring out the thing that we’re going to do together, even though obviously collaborating with John is one of the greatest joys of my professional and personal life.
It’s also nice to just have a phone call or catch up for a coffee and just talk about life versus work. But John, like many of the people I’ve collaborated with in my career, I hope to collaborate with until we’re very, very old and out of touch and no longer funny at all.
Nick Kroll: Little Big Boy is streaming now on Netflix. Big Mouth Season 6 premieres Friday, October 28th.
Nick Kroll Plans to Work Until He’s “Very Old, Out of Touch, and No Longer Funny at All”
Liz Shannon Miller
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