Words: Jay Riggio Photo: Naomi Harris
Over the years, the masses have witnessed their fair share of well-publicized and overly-hyped skit-comedy outfits that are just about as funny as a plate of pretension-soaked puppy shit. Now on the opposite end of this unfortunate travesty of handicapped wit is a 29-year-old comedic wizard by the name of Nick Kroll, a New York native, whose improv, stand-up and character work is worthy of genuine praise, establishing him as one of the freshest rising faces in comedy. Tackling project after project like a mutton-hungry gazelle, Nick carefully grazes the laugh circuit with a rucksack full of highlighted credits that include penning skits for Chappelle’s Show, appearances on Human Giant and VH1’s Best Week Ever, co-writing the acclaimed book, Bar Mitzvah Disco and starring in the upcoming shows, Layers on superdeluxe.com and the curiously anticipated ABC series, Cavemen. There is a time to believe the hype and a time to issue the fuck-off finger straight to hype’s lying face. In Nick’s case, the hype is real and so is his ability to have you soil your speedos once he lapses into character.
How did your upbringing influence your sense of humor?
I’m the youngest of four, so my desperate need for acceptance within my family eventually translated into my desperate need for acceptance from the world around me. Growing up, I was a short little guy with glasses, and I figured the guns weren’t gonna get me laid.
Your Fabrice Fabrice character from Human Giant is fucking amazing.
Thank you. He’s based on a collection of people you’ve seen on [Manhattan’s] Christopher Street. I was on the subway one day, sitting there with a couple of gay, black and Latino kids, and one’s like, “If any of those boys at school fuck with me, I don’t give a shit, I’ma fuck them up.” So I kind of watched those guys and worked from there. In New York, there’s just so many characters around, and so much to work from to create these people on stage or on camera. This one happens to be a sexually ambiguous Puerto Rican Kraft Services Coordinator who wears a thong.
You’ve been in a shitload of commercials. How did you break into doing TV ads?
During the day, a lot of comedians and actors in New York audition for commercials and voice-overs constantly because it’s a great way to make money and be on TV. I was desperate to be on TV so that I could finally vindicate against the girl who wouldn’t date me in high school. I probably went on fifty- hundred auditions before I booked my first commercial. And then pretty steadily for a couple years, I was booking a couple commercials here and there, some more high profile than others. I did this campaign for American Express during the U.S. Open a couple years ago called “Andy’s Mojo,” [where] Andy Roddick’s mojo steals his credit card and goes out and parties. [There were billboards and print ads that said], Where has his mojo gone? It was this huge campaign, and then Andy Roddick lost in the first round. So I was basically personally responsible for losing millions of dollars for American Express and destroying Andy Roddick’s confidence. But we’ve both made it out okay.
Is that pretty much how you’ve been able to continue your stand-up stuff?
I started doing commercials, but always at the same time working on my own projects. I don’t know the spread here that I’m going towards, ’cause it’s about to get sincere and I desperately want to avoid coming off as sincere at this point. I think the advantage of being a comedian is that you can write and you’re controlling your own content. My great desire is to always be working on other people’s stuff and acting but always working to create my own content, so that if Andy Roddick loses in the first round, I’m not fucked. My feeling from day one has always been [that] regret is a lot more powerful than rejection. If it doesn’t work then at least you know you tried.
So right now, you have Cavemen that’s about to drop. Is it a little weird to have a show that’s a spin-off of a Geico commercial?
When it happened, I started going online and reading what people thought, like, The commercials totally sold out! And I was like, That’s a bit of an oxymoron, isn’t it? I read the script and it was really funny and the commercials are almost universally loved, people really responded to them. And it’s the same directors, Josh Gordon and Will Speck, that did all the other Geico commercials and they just directed Blades of Glory. My character’s name is Nick and he’s sort of a snarky asshole, so it’s a real reach for me.
You seem pretty busy with shit. Are you constantly working on something?
I’m busy but I definitely spend a lot of time smoking pot in my underwear and watching 30 Rock. And like a lot of the 700 Club.
So now you’re moving to LA to film for Cavemen. Are you coming back to NY?
I have to move there to film, but also to have sex with famous actresses. It’s a two-pronged mission. I’ve got a temporary place there right now. I’ll wait and see what happens with the show. I don’t mind LA, but I just love New York. I mean it’s the home of Rudy Giuliani, hopefully, keeping the fingers crossed, future President of the United States Rudy Giuliani. [Sarcastic laughter] ’Cause he was great before 9/11.
