Latest news with #Kroll
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nick Kroll Reveals Lady Gaga and Howard Stern as the Two Stars ‘Big Mouth' Just Couldn't Get
Big Mouth, Netflix's hit animated series following a group of friends navigating puberty, is coming to an end after eight seasons, following a rare model where its characters actually grow up. 'It is puberty and we really covered so much of what we set out to do and about this journey,' co-creator and star Nick Kroll told The Hollywood Reporter at the show's Los Angeles premiere on Thursday of the decision to wrap up. 'Most animated shows, they go on forever; people are frozen in whatever time they are in. Our show evolved and the kids evolved and they moved through time and they grew and they changed, and that was part of the joy of making the show.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Lady Gaga Inches Closer to EGOT Status After Sports Emmy Win John Krasinski Didn't Know Brother-in-Law Stanley Tucci Was His 'Fountain of Youth' Co-Star Until Midway Through Filming Tina Fey Explains That 'Four Seasons' Death and Teases "Starting From Scratch" for Season 2 Co-creator Andrew Goldberg echoed that after working for over a decade on Family Guy, where those characters all stayed the same age, 'I kind of assumed that our show would be the same. I remember having a conversation in season two where my other collaborators were like no, this is a show about changes, the kids have to get older and puberty is a discrete time of life, it doesn't go on forever. So it only made sense to end it once they were getting to that age.' On top of Kroll voicing dozens of characters himself, the show has welcomed over 200 guest stars throughout its run — but that doesn't mean they've gotten every A-lister they wanted. While celebrating Steve Buscemi — as a little cat called Mr. Pink — joining the final season, Kroll also noted they 'wanted to get Howard Stern and we couldn't get him. He did so much in inspiring the show; he's the best, he's the king. And Lady Gaga we tried to get as well, turns out she's busy.' Goldberg echoed, 'We really, really wanted Howard Stern to do the show; he doesn't do anything and we were no exception' and additional co-creator Mark Levin added they 'asked Lady Gaga to do a song in the last season and she was too busy, that was sad. But not surprising.' And when it came to deciding exactly how to end the show, the team, 'really went on a journey of figuring out how do you end the story of characters who are just beginning their lives? And that was a big challenge to figure out,' Levin explained of its teenage protagonists. 'Fear of the future and fear of the unknown is the thing that really jumped out as the biggest monster of all for them to confront.' Big Mouth's eighth and final season is now streaming on Netflix. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
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)
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nick Kroll shares shocking insight into John Mulaney's relapse ahead of famous intervention
Big Mouth creator Nick Kroll has shared his deepest fears about watching his friend and collaborator, fellow comedian John Mulaney, spiral during his drug addiction relapse in 2020. On the latest episode of Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Kroll candidly explained the process of trying to organize the now-famous 2020 intervention that prompted Mulaney to check into rehab. 'It was so scary and brutal to go through because he was in New York. I was in LA. It was at the height of the pandemic,' Kroll explained on the podcast. '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.' In addition, Kroll's wife was about to give birth. 'And I was shooting Don't Worry, Darling, which there was no stress there,' he joked of the highly publicized drama surrounding the film. 'Then John was running around New York City like a true madman. And I was so deeply scared that he was gonna die,' Kroll continued. 'And I was trying to orchestrate all this of combining all the elements that go into these things, like the intervention person, where he was gonna go, who was gonna be at it. 'It was so f***ing stressful.' Kroll continued: 'You're all of a sudden going back being like, oh, that's why I've had an inconsistent friend for the last X amount of time. Oh, this explains that. And so it gives you both empathy for them and also tremendous amount of anger because they've been lying to you.' Kroll recalled being on the phone with Mulaney and sharing his fears. 'Both of us crying, me just being like, I'm so scared you're gonna die,' Kroll said. 'And so I felt him feeling the same way, but also like, just like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But anyway, I'm in this new Airbnb. I gotta go.' The infamous intervention involved about a dozen of Mulaney's famous friends, including Kroll and late night host Seth Meyers. They all convened in New York and lured Mulaney to attend after convincing him he was having dinner with a friend from college. Speaking to Meyers on his eponymous show in September 2021, Mulaney said: 'When I opened the door, I knew right away it was an intervention. That's how bad of a drug problem I had, that when I opened a door and saw people, I went, 'This is probably an intervention about my drug problem.'' Mulaney went straight to rehab from the staged intervention and stayed for two months. He admitted to being addicted to Adderall, Xanax, Klonopin, and Percocet, and was also heavily using cocaine. The comedian then turned the ordeal into a Netflix special called John Mulaney: Baby J, which debuted in 2023. Mulaney has credited the intervention with saving his life. 'I don't mean to be weird. It was a star-studded intervention. It was, like, a good group,' Mulaney said of the intervention in the Netflix special. Despite being angry at the time, he did acknowledge that the act was life-changing. 'I am grateful to everyone at my intervention,' Mulaney said in the Netflix special. 'They intervened. They confronted me and they totally saved my life.' If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here. In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP
New York Post
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Nick Kroll reveals devastating details about John Mulaney's ‘brutal' intervention: ‘Scared' he was going to die
Nick Kroll helped save John Mulaney's life. The 'Big Mouth' star, 46, appeared on the new episode of Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' podcast and opened up about staging a drug intervention for Mulaney, 42, in 2020. 'It was so scary and brutal to go through,' said Kroll. 'He was in New York. I was in LA. It was at the height of the pandemic. So it was incredibly, literally, stressful to be in the midst of that, trying to literally coordinate and produce an intervention, bringing a bunch of people together, friends from college.' Advertisement 7 Nick Kroll, John Mulaney at the 'John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in L.A.' Netflix FYSEE Photo Call in June 2024. Variety via Getty Images Kroll recalled that Mulaney, his longtime friend and collaborator, 'was running around New York City like a true madman' at the time. 'And I was so deeply scared that he was gonna die,' he added. Advertisement 7 Nick Kroll on 'Armchair Expert.' Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/Youtube The comedian explained that he 'orchestrated' the planning of the intervention which was 'f—ing stressful.' Kroll also said that the process gave him new insight into the pair's friendship. 'All of a sudden, you're going back, being like, 'Oh, oh, oh — that's why I've had an inconsistent friend for the last X amount of time. Oh, this explains that,'' Kroll shared. 'And so, it gives you both empathy for them, and also a tremendous amount of anger because they've been lying to you.' 7 John Mulaney and Nick Kroll attend the afterparty for 'Oh, Hello On Broadway' in 2016. Getty Images Advertisement 7 Nick Kroll and John Mulaney attend the Michael Che and Colin Jost's Emmys After Party in 2018. Getty Images for Google Recalling an emotional conversation he had with Mulaney days before the intervention, Kroll said, 'I just sat on the ground, on the phone with him, both of us crying. I said, 'I'm so scared you're going to die.' And I could feel him feeling the same way, but also like — 'Yeah, yeah, yeah…anyway, I gotta go. I'm at a new Airbnb.'' Mulaney believed he was going to a college friend's dinner when the intervention took place in New York City. Some of his closest friends were there, including Kroll and Seth Meyers. 'When he came out of rehab and started doing standup all about it, he was still pretty f—ing pissed about the intervention cause he was having a good time,' Kroll recalled. 'So he was pretty angry.' Advertisement 7 Nick Kroll and John Mulaney at the 33rd Film Independent Spirit Awards. Penske Media via Getty Images The 'Saturday Night Live' alum went to rehab for his addiction to cocaine and prescription pills for two months in December 2020. He poked fun at the experience in his 2023 Netflix special, 'John Mulaney: Baby J,' which didn't sit well with Kroll. 'All of a sudden, I was like, 'Oh, I don't know if I like having jokes about me,'' said Kroll. 'But then we talked about it and I was like, 'I don't like how you're representing this,' and he was like, 'I hear you. I totally hear you.'' 7 Nick Kroll and John Mulaney at the Keep It Clean To Benefit Waterkeeper Alliance in March 2018. Getty Images for Waterkeeper All 'And everyone's process and art is different,' Kroll noted. 'So what he's willing to share is what makes him so f—ing funny and dynamic and intoxicating as a performer. He's giving you a written version of his life, but he's giving you access to elements of himself. But it's what makes him such an amazing standup.' Mulaney has been sober since leaving rehab. He married actress Olivia Munn in July 2024 and they have two children together, son Malcolm, 3, and daughter Méi, 8 months. 7 John Mulaney and Olivia Munn at the 2025 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. WireImage Munn, 44, told GQ last year that she staged her own mini-intervention for Mulaney before he went to rehab. Advertisement The 'Your Friends and Neighbors' actress also shared that she still randomly drug tests Mulaney to help keep him sober. 'It's like a relief,' Mulaney said in the GQ interview. 'I like to be able to not even have that be a question in her or anyone else's mind. Something about peeing in that cup is like, I'm walking this walk. It gives me confidence.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Nick Kroll Reveals the ‘Sick Little D—' Scene in ‘Big Mouth' That Netflix Asked to Be Cut: ‘It's the Grossest Thing'
Just when you think coming-of-age animated series 'Big Mouth' on Netflix couldn't be any raunchier, co-creator and star Nick Kroll reveals the time that he and his cohorts realized they probably went too far. 'Maury [Kroll] was allowed to have sex with the decapitated skull of Garrison Keillor, and this was before Keillor went down, mind you, and [Netflix] still let that go,' Kroll told me Thursday at the show's series finale premiere at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood. (Minnesota Public Radio cut ties with Keillor in 2017 after an investigation found he had engaged in dozens of sexually inappropriate incidents over many years.) More from Variety Seth Rogen Sends Message to Daniel Day-Lewis to Guest Star on 'The Studio' Season 2: 'Please Consider a Zoom With Us, We'll Pitch You a Good Idea' Jimmy Kimmel Joins 'Smurfs' Voice Cast (EXCLUSIVE) 'Étoile' Star Gideon Glick Launches LGBTQ+ Not-for-Profit Theater Initiative Blue Roses Project With Jonathan Groff Joining Board of Directors (EXCLUSIVE) 'But there's another moment in that scene where…Rick takes a thermometer out of his sick little dick, and a little bit of blood spurts out,' Kroll laughed. 'It's the grossest thing. Netflix was like, 'Could you maybe…' and we were like, 'Yeah, we saw.'' The eighth and final season of 'Big Mouth' premieres on Netflix on May 26. Also hitting the red carpet on Thursday were Ayo Edebiri, Jason Mantzoukas, Jessi Klein, Richard Kind, Steve Buscemi, Whitmer Thomas, Jack McBrayer, John Gemberling and co-creators and executive producers Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. The after-party included penis-shaped grilled cheese sandwiches. Andrew Rannells co-stars on 'Big Mouth' as gay bully Matthew. 'I told Nick Kroll this and he was very surprised,' Rannells said. 'When Nick asked me to do this, he was like, 'You're going to play a gay bully and I was like, 'What am I going to do for this voice? What is a gay bully going to sound like?' I decided that my gay bully voice was going to be a young Kim Cattrall as Samantha Jones.' Next up for Kroll is a part in the new 'Smurfs' movie. He told me he's playing a 'bad guy wizard' who is part of villain Gargamel's (JP Karliak) 'crew' but 'genuinely' doesn't know his character's name. The film stars Rihanna as Smurfette. Papa Smurf is played by John Goodman with Amy Sedaris as Mama Smurf. Rounding out the cast are Sandra Oh, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Dan Levy, Natasha Lyonne, Octavia Spencer, James Corden, Kurt Russell, Maya Erskine, Alex Winter, Xolo Maridueña, Billie Lourd and Marshmello. Kroll joked that he produced Rihanna's music for the movie after working on Rihanna's long-awaited next album. 'They threw me a bone and were like, 'Wanna do some lines?' [in 'Smurfs'],' Kroll cracked. 'I said, 'I'd love to.'' Best of Variety Emmy Predictions: The Art of the Submission Creates New and Viable Contenders New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz
