Nick Kroll Recalls Orchestrating John Mulaney's 2020 Drug Intervention: 'So Deeply Scared He Was Gonna Die'
Nick Kroll is opening up about the drug intervention he orchestrated for his longtime friend and collaborator John Mulaney in 2020.
The Big Mouth co-creator and star got candid during a recent appearance on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, where he recalled being 'so deeply scared that he [Mulaney] was gonna die' at the time.
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Nick Kroll Reveals Lady Gaga and Howard Stern as the Two Stars 'Big Mouth' Just Couldn't Get
How Did Peacock's 'Poker Face' Reel in So Many Guest Stars? Natasha Lyonne's Gravitational Pull
NeueHouse and Stacey Wilson Hunt Team to Launch Podcast Series 'My Hollywood Story'
'It was so scary and brutal to go through,' Kroll said. 'He was in New York. I was in L.A. It was the height of the pandemic. So it was incredibly stressful to be in the midst of the pandemic, trying to literally coordinate and produce an intervention, bringing a bunch of different people together, friends from college.'
To add to the stress, Kroll had a lot going on in his personal life as well, including his pregnant wife nearing birth and filming Don't Worry Darling ('There was no stress there,' he quipped to Shepard, hinting at the film's drama). And then he said Mulaney 'was running around New York City like a true madman. And I was so deeply scared that he was gonna die.'
Kroll went on to talk about the processes of planning an intervention, which also led to a revelation. 'You're all of a sudden going back and being like, 'Oh, that's why I've had an inconsistent friend for the last X amount of time,'' he explained. 'It gives you both empathy for them and also a tremendous amount of anger because they've been lying to you.'
The Red One actor also shared an emotional phone call he had with Mulaney shortly before the intervention. 'I have a very clear memory of being outside of my house — someone was working inside my house, it was again [the middle of] COVID — sitting on the ground, on the phone with him, both of us crying, and me just being like, 'I'm so scared you're going to die,'' the comedian recounted. 'And I felt him feeling the same way, but also like, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah…anyway, I gotta go. I'm in this new Airbnb.''
Mulaney has previously detailed the experience of his intervention during his Netflix comedy special, Baby J. The intervention, which happened on Dec. 18, 2020, saw the comedian surprised by a group of friends, including Kroll, to address his misuse of cocaine, Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin and Percocet. He then spent two months in a Pennsylvania drug rehabilitation facility.
Kroll later noted on Armchair Expert that after rehab, it still took some time for them all to heal from the experience.
'When he came out of rehab and started doing standup all about it, he was still pretty fucking pissed about the intervention,' he said. 'So he was pretty angry and all of a sudden, I was like, 'Oh, I don't know if I like having jokes about me.''
However, Kroll said he eventually recognized that the way everyone processes pain is different. 'What [Mulaney's] willing to share is what makes him so fucking funny and dynamic and intoxicating as a performer, that he's giving you a written version of his life, but he's giving you access to elements of himself,' he explained. 'And I myself am very guarded in certain ways.'
Throughout their careers, Kroll and Mulaney have collaborated on several projects, including the Broadway play Oh, Hello and the Netflix series Dinner Time Live.
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood's Most Notable Deaths of 2025
Harvey Weinstein's "Jane Doe 1" Victim Reveals Identity: "I'm Tired of Hiding"
'Awards Chatter' Podcast: 'Sopranos' Creator David Chase Finally Reveals What Happened to Tony (Exclusive)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
17 minutes ago
- Fox News
Marjorie Taylor Greene slams FDA green lighting of mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccine: 'Not MAHA at all!!!'
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., slammed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's move to give the green light to Moderna's mNEXSPIKE COVID-19 vaccine. "Not MAHA at all!!!," the congresswoman wrote in a post on X, using the acronym for the phrase "Make America Healthy Again," calling the move "Unreal." "MNEXSPIKE is approved for use in individuals who have been previously vaccinated with any COVID-19 vaccine and are 65 years of age and older, or 12 years through 64 years of age with at least one underlying condition that puts them at high risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19," an FDA letter to Moderna notes. According to a Moderna press release, CEO Stéphane Bancel said that "COVID-19 remains a serious public health threat, with more than 47,000 Americans dying from the virus last year alone." The company describes itself as "a leader in the creation of the field of mRNA medicine." Greene has previously spoken out against COVID-19 vaccines, saying their FDA approval should be nixed. "COVID-19 vaccines should have never received approval and they've known the entire time how bad the side effects are and deaths caused by them. It's time to do the right thing. Stop the COVID-19 vaccines," she declared in part of a tweet in March. The congresswoman is currently serving her third term in the House of Representatives.
Axios
an hour ago
- Axios
RFK Jr.'s on-the-fly health policy strategy
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s tenure as the nation's top health official is becoming increasingly known for abrupt policy pronouncements based on limited or sketchy evidence that perplex health care providers, industries and patients. Why it matters: While Kennedy has branded himself as a change agent bringing "radical transparency" to a bloated federal bureaucracy and promoting "gold standard" science, the results have at times been chaotic, even exposing rifts between President Trump's circle and Kennedy's own base. State of play: The Kennedy-led Make America Healthy Again Commission report on causes of childhood illness became a focus last week for a series of erroneous and fabricated references, first reported by NOTUS. The White House had to quickly correct those errors. New policies that Kennedy rolled out over the preceding two weeks that limited access to COVID vaccines also evidenced what some critics characterize as an on-the-fly approach, and delivered contradictory messages on whether healthy kids and pregnant women should get the shots. While Health and Human Services cited a lack of evidence in favor of annual COVID booster strategy for healthy people, public health experts said the administration provided scant evidence for switching from the current system. The commentary announcing the change includes just eight citations, one of which is an opinion piece from current Food and Drug Administration commissioner Marty Makary. What they're saying: HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Kennedy is "doing what previous administrations would not" in going against the policymaking status quo. "His approach is deliberate — not traditional for Washington, but urgently needed for a nation that has lost trust in public health institutions," Nixon told Axios in an email. "By leveraging direct communication tools like social media, Secretary Kennedy is modernizing how HHS engages with the public, reaching Americans where they are, and with the radical transparency they deserve." Yes, but: Health industry players have been left wondering what the actual rules of the road are, and how to implement policies that could change day by day. "There's a new inconsistency every day," said Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. "For many of us, what we're concerned about is that this is all merging into one anti-vaccine message, and it also is merging into [the administration thinking] 'We can do whatever we want from a regulatory oversight standpoint,'" he said. The false citations in the MAHA Commission report are an example of how even pieces of Kennedy's health care agenda with broader appeal are being carried out "in a way that is unserious," said Chris Meekins, a managing director at Raymond James and health official in the first Trump administration. Zoom out: The pace of the changes and the sometimes abrupt way they're communicated mirrors other parts of the Trump administration. Many recent announcements out of HHS come directly from Kennedy and appear on social media before they're reflected on official government webpages. It's not dissimilar to how President Trump has taken to announcing tariff policies on social media. A Truth Social post from the president can send financial markets spiraling. Reality check: While public health policy shifts abruptly and outside the typical channels, other HHS hallmarks like Medicare payment rules are moving through their typical processes under Kennedy, at least so far. What we're watching: Whether Kennedy's aggressive policymaking eventually undermines his agenda by angering stakeholders who are even closer to Trump than he is.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Marjorie Taylor Greene Fumes Over Vaccine Approval: 'Not MAHA at All'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Marjorie Taylor Greene has spoken out against a new COVID-19 vaccine being approved in the United States, saying the move is "not MAHA at all." Why It Matters Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing repeated backlash for some of his positions on health and medicine, including from people who would ordinarily support him. In May, prominent members of the Make America Great Again movement, including Nicole Shanahan, Kennedy's former presidential running mate, and media personality Laura Loomer, spoke out against Kennedy Jr.'s pick for U.S. Surgeon General Casey Means. In March, Kennedy Jr. sparked anger from anti-vax activists when he called on parents to "consult with their healthcare providers to understand their options to get the MMR vaccine," with one saying he is "no different than Fauci." Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., arrives for a meeting of House Republicans in the Capitol Visitor Center on May 15, 2025. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., arrives for a meeting of House Republicans in the Capitol Visitor Center on May 15, 2025. AP What To Know The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the green light for mNEXSPIKE (mRNA-1283), Moderna's new lower-dose COVID-19 vaccine, on May 31. Greene, the U.S. representative for Georgia's 14th congressional district, shared Moderna's post about the recent approval with the caption: "Not MAHA at all!!! Unreal." Not MAHA at all!!! Unreal. — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) June 1, 2025 She was referring to Kennedy Jr.'s movement Make America Healthy Again, whose mission is to "aggressively combat the critical health challenges facing our citizens, including the rising rates of mental health disorders, obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases." Newsweek has contacted the United States Department of Health and Human Services outside of office hours, via email, for comment. The new vaccine is set to be used for adults 65 or older or people between the ages of 12 and 64 with at least one or more underlying risk factor as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Approval for the jab is "based on results from a randomized, observer-blind, active-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial which enrolled approximately 11,400 participants aged 12 years and older," Moderna says. It comes after Kennedy Jr. announced that the CDC is no longer encouraging COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children, marking a shift in federal public health guidance. What People Are Saying Chief Executive Officer of Moderna Stéphane Bancel said in a statement: "The FDA approval of our third product, mNEXSPIKE, adds an important new tool to help protect people at high risk of severe disease from COVID-19. "COVID-19 remains a serious public health threat, with more than 47,000 Americans dying from the virus last year alone. We appreciate the FDA's timely review and thank the entire Moderna team for their hard work and continued commitment to public health." Kennedy Jr. said about the new CDC guidance: "I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule." What Happens Next The new vaccine is expected to be ready for those eligible to take it in time for the 2025-2026 respiratory virus season. You should not get mNEXSPIKE if you had a severe allergic reaction after a previous dose of either mNEXSPIKE, SPIKEVAX (an mRNA vaccine for preventing COVID-19) or any Moderna COVID-19 vaccine or to any ingredient in these vaccines, the company warns.
