Nick Swardson Interview

Swardson's sharp humor
Interview

by Scott Bolohan
Staff Writer

Nick Swardson’s career seems straight out of a movie. And at this rate, he’ll probably be starring in it soon.

After starting as a stand up comedian at age nineteen, Swardson, 30, now has written and appeared movies such as "The Benchwarmers," "Malibu’s Most Wanted," "Blades of Glory"and "Grandma’s Boy." He also makes regular appearances on "Reno 911!" as Terry the roller-skating prostitute. But it wasn’t always that way.

"I used to sleep in my car or sleep in a park when I traveled across the country. I remember one comedy club when I slept in my car and I washed my face and my hair in the sink of the club." Swardson said. "Things have definitely looked up from that."

After Adam Sandler saw his "Comedy Central Presents" special in his bed, he called Swardson up the next day. Now, Swardson is working with Sandler’s Happy Madison production company and is set to star in movies alongside him, and is in the works on his own starring movie. You can catch the rising comedian at the Improv from May 11-13.

The DePaulia (TD): How did you start with comedy?

Nick Swardson (NS): I just started doing open mics in Minneapolis. I’m from the Midwest so I know Chicago really well. I’ve had family live here, and had friends go to college here and all that crap. I’ve partied here many times, I love it. It’s one of my favorite cities.

TD: Where do you usually hang out in Chicago?

NS: I usually spend a lot of time in Old Town. There’s a comedy club there so I spend a lot of time up and down North and Wells. Like the Ale House and all those bars by Second City. That’s probably the area I know the best.

TD: You were the youngest person with a "Comedy Central Presents" special. Why is it so hard for people to break into comedy when they’re young?

NS: I think it’s basically just a relating game, you know what I mean? I think if you're really young, because most comedy clubs are at least twenty-one and up. For the most part, comedy club audiences are in their thirties and forties. I started when I was nineteen, so it was just kind of tough to find common ground with people like that. When I started comedy, it felt like all the comedians were talking about their wives and the differences between men and women, and dating, stuff that was kind of corny. It’s just tough because if you try to be dark and weird you can lose them too.

TD: What’s the hardest part about being a comedian?

NS: You have to really want to be a comedian. I don’t know if that makes sense, but I think a lot of people think because they are funny or their friends think they are funny that they can be funny. But to do it as a career, you really need to commit 100% of your life. You can’t be like, "Hey I’m up here telling jokes."

You have to commit to struggling and not doing well for a long time, and realize there’s no guarantee you’ll be successful. It’s a really brutal business. I don’t think people understand how hard it is.

TD: Yeah, I know what you mean, everyone thinks of it as a dream job, but they don’t really think of how they get to that point.

NS: It’s like the exact opposite. I mean I love my life, but I’ve been working on it for twelve years. I really had to bust ass. It’s not like I just sat back and things came to me. I was trying to write and do every possible thing I could.

TD: Have your movie and TV roles made you more popular as a stand up comedian, or is that a different realm?

NS: No, I think they definitely complement each other. I think the only weird thing for me is I have a lot of stand up fans and a lot of fans from my movies and TV things, and when I do my live shows it’s a mix of old stuff and new stuff, just because I have so many different fans there. It just kind of annoys me sometimes because some of my stand up fans are like, "I’ve seen that joke before," and I’m like, "Yeah, well the other fucking 500 people haven’t, give me a f***ing break."

TD: It seems like if you do movies and you get big like that, like Carlos Mencia or Dane Cook, people will turn on you. Why does this happen? Are you afraid of that happening to you too?

NS: I don’t know, I think that with Mencia he became more of a target because anytime you are in people’s face and trying to be edgy, you are going to draw haters. Especially with that thing about him stealing jokes, I think people turned on him there.

As far as Dane, he’s a friend of mine, I’ve known him a long time. I think one thing that drew haters for him was how fast he arrived, even though Dane has been around a while it was like, boom and Dane was here.

The press was like, "This is the funniest guy in the world." And I think once you put that label on someone, they are going to want to hate you. People who don’t know him are going to be like, "Oh yeah? Then make me laugh." It’s like music, like popular music, they’ll look for any reason to hate it. But I think I’ve had a slower build with it.

I mean I have haters now, but hopefully it won’t be that bad. If people are going to hate me, they’re going to hate me. I do what I think is funny and do my best, and if people don’t think that is funny, then go fuck yourself (laughs).

TD: How did you get started with screenwriting?

NS: Literally, Jamie Kennedy got me doing screenwriting. He had the idea for "Malibu’s Most Wanted" and he talked me into writing it.

TD: Was it something you thought about doing before that?

NS: I mean I had, but I never realistically thought about doing it then. I was 23 or 22 when I started doing it, I was a raging alcoholic (laughs). It was the furthest thing on my mind, but he really forced me and pushed me into doing it. I always thought about it, but I never thought I would do it that early.

TD: Is it easier for you to write stand up than movies, or is it two different things?

NS: They’re really two different things. With movies, I can sit down and focus and write, but with stand up I never was like that. I never sat down for an afternoon and was like, "Today I’m going to write jokes." It was always like, "If I think of something weird, I’ll do it on stage." But stand up is all over the place; it’s stories, it’s one-liners, it’s weird observations, it’s all when it comes to me, not controlled at all.

TD: Do you have a preference between working on TV or on movies?

NS: People do ask that question, and I really do love doing all of them. It sounds so generic, but they are all so different and they all complement each other. I love going and doing stand up now because I have so many great fans and I’m starting a movie, called "Zohan," it’s Adam Sandler’s next movie, in July which I love. We’ve been shooting for a while now.

TD: What is Adam Sandler like?

NS: He’s great. He’s the most down-to-earth guy you’ll ever meet. He’s just like a normal guy. After a while I don’t even think of him as Adam Sandler, I just think of him as one of my buddies, I mean not 100 percent but still. Literally he’ll call me up and we’ll go eat or play basketball. He’s just really down-to-earth. It’s not like he’ll call me up and be like, "Hey, do you want to go juggle diamonds?"

TD: A lot of those big guys seem like they could be jerks.

NS: I’ve never met anybody who was a jerk. The only person who was an asshole was Dennis Miller, who was a raging a**hole. Everyone else, I’ve met some pretty big guys, and I know everyone in comedy, they’re all great. I also kind of feel bad for those people. I was in a cab and this guy has pictures of all the celebrities that were in his cab and he goes, "You know who was an a**hole? Steve Martin. I took him to the airport and I wanted to get a picture with him and he was like, ‘No, I’m late for my plane,’ and I was like ‘F*** you.’"

And that’s not his fault. I’ve had people come up to me and say weird shit and be weird and I’ve been like, "Can you just leave?" and they’re like, "What a fucking a**hole." It’s just weird. If you are any kind of celebrity you are always a target.

TD: Is it hard for you to always try to be the funny, cool guy and not get to be like a real human around people?

NS: It depends on my situation. I’ll take pictures with anybody anytime, I’ll do anything. The only problem is sometimes in interviews is when it gets weird. I’ll do radio interviews and people will be like, "Ok, be hilarious." Sometimes I just want to answer a question serious, and they’ll be like, "Oh no, be funny." And I’ll be like, "But you just asked me a serious question." But I’ll go out drinking and I’ll be crazy in public, there’s a time and a place.

TD: Do you get complaints from the gay community for some of your characters?

NS: No I don’t. The only gripe I’ve ever had was the character of "Gay Robot." I had a waiter who was gay when we recorded the sketch for Sandler’s album and he heard it and pulled me aside at this club and said I set the gay community back 20 years and I just went off on the dude. Terry has got no flack at all.

TD: What are you most proud of accomplishing in your career?

NS: Honestly, probably this thing I just did, this movie with Sandler that I helped write and produce and act in, "Chuck and Larry." It was a big accomplishment because I was a writer/producer on this huge budget movie with Adam and it was a lot of pressure and I felt like I did a great job. Working side by side with Adam on one of his huge movies was a challenge and I’m just glad I survived that.

TD: What are your goals for the future? What do you want to accomplish still?

NS: I want to go to the moon. We’re working on my starring movie that I’m writing. I just want to move into stuff where it’s my starring vehicle. I’m still developing a handful of movies, and "Gay Robot" animated on Comedy Central, more stand up tours, everything. So basically I just want to not die, that's my goal for the future.

TD: I've got to ask this one last question, it just seems out of place on your Wikipedia page. It says you are an excellent ping pong player. Is that true?

NS: I’m pretty good at ping-pong. I’m not like Chinese good where I stand a mile behind the table and hold the paddle upside-down, but I’m pretty good at ping pong.