“I suffer from shame, depression and the feeling of being different,” admits the comedian Nikki Glaser. In our latest webchat, she continues: “Comedy is a way for me to say these dark things, and if I get that relatable laugh, then maybe I’m not so weird after all. Before I started comedy, I would have benefited from having someone in the spotlight who I attributed a lot of perfection to, and dissipate some of that perfection.” Watch our exclusive video interview above.
Glaser is now nominated for an Emmy, her HBO comedy special “Someday You’ll Die” won in the Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) category. Glaser explains that the special was about “introducing myself to the world as a theater actress. I always felt like I was on my way there and I would never make it. I like the struggle; I don’t like getting anywhere. It was like now that I’d gotten there, I had something to lose. Once I was nominated for an Emmy, everything I did had to be Emmy-level. I realized that in this industry, you want all these things and once you get them, the pressure just gets bigger.”
SEE Lively chats with over 200 of the 2024 Emmy nominees
In the special, Nikki uses her raw humor to talk about her decision not to have children, growing older and her sex life. The darkest part of the performance was her discussion of suicidal thoughts. She reveals: “I tried to make it palatable and that left the audience feeling unsettled. I remember standing on stage one time and I was sick of their reaction. I almost felt insulted because they were insulted because I felt judged. I ranted and said, ‘I have a right to say that because one day I’m going to kill myself.’ Saying the truest and worst thing I’d ever thought kind of blew it up. It’s funny that I’m still learning that lesson over 20 years later.”
The highlight of her performance is the physical simulation of a sex act, which ties all the threads of her act together. Glaser says, “I’m not a physical comedian at all. This isn’t something I’ve ever done in live shows. It’s something that was really made for this recorded performance so we could do it on film. I had to do a lot of Pilates to prepare for this part.”
Last year, Glaser captured worldwide attention with her wild performance on the Emmy-nominated “Roast of Tom Brady.” She muses, “You have to turn into a real sociopath when you do the roast. That’s the job. Surgeons don’t have a lot of empathy because they have to cut someone open. Yet nobody asks, ‘How do they do it?’ It’s so mean that they cut someone open.’ I don’t think I’ll experience anything in my career that’s as well-received as that. I was the most popular girl on the show. And that passed, but for about three days I felt like Taylor Swift.”
PREDICTIONS the Emmy winners 2024
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