Nick Kroll on Canceling ‘Big Mouth’ After 8 Seasons, Casting 79 Roles

Nick Kroll

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Nick Kroll deserves an Emmy. Without his contribution to the intelligent writing and utter audacity of his long-running, steamy but tender semi-autobiographical Netflix series, Big mouth, then perhaps there is a more convincing argument. The actor has been seen in some of the best comedy shows on the small screen over the past 15 years and is expected to take home the medium’s top prize in terms of volume as he plays a staggering 79 characters in the animated series for adults beloved, which is about to end. after eight seasons next year.

But don’t ask Kroll to name the 79 character voices he created for the series. In fact, speaking with The Hollywood Reporterhe explained how Netflix had to do some quick research and verify that number before this year’s Emmy voting, which began this week, now that it’s throwing its hat in the ring for the Outstanding Voice Performance award off the character.

Not that Big mouth, which has the distinction of being Netflix’s longest-running adult show, is shut out on Emmy night. It’s seen multiple nominations for Best Animated Series, one of its many musical numbers won acclaim, and Kroll’s comrade Maya Rudolph once won the Emmy for Outstanding Voiceover Performance of her character three times for her instant classic work as Connie, the hormonal monster. Where Rudolph can make a simple phrase like “bubble bath” to make the audience laugh and remix videos of Connie saying those words so that they go viral, Kroll is truly the soul of the show. This is because one of the 79 characters he plays is Big mouth‘s central character, Nick, a fickle and passionate pubescent avatar of Kroll’s preteen self whose flaws are never covered and vulnerabilities are often laid bare.

Yet for every main or recurring character Kroll plays in the ensemble – Maury the Hormone Monster, Lola Ugfuglio Skumpy, and Coach Steve, to name a few – he will make about 10 short-lived, one-off characters. These include the streetwise Ladybug whose personal story is quite a rich tapestry and the world-weary Statue of Liberty (with a French accent, naturally).

“When you’re creating a show, you’re always like, ‘All right, can you just go in there and do, you know, do a…surf stamp?’ “And you’re like, ‘Yeah…I can do that,'” he explains. “So there’s a huge amount of vocals that I’ve brought in, and then there’s the lead vocals that I do, which is proportionately very high for the show.”

But is there a character he plays that holds favorite status? Kroll must run with the fans when asked and accompanies Lola, the middle school bully whose lonely home life and spunky attitude resonate with many vocal fans. “It’s been a pleasure,” he says. “Because she started out as a sad sort of outcast girl who always really excited me and the writers. And it took a while for her to, I think, become much more central to the show.

Lola, so confident by the seventh season that she became an insurance liability, followed her evolution with all the characters that Kroll and his lifelong friend, Andrew Goldberg, created with Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. Although change is naturally the central theme of this series about puberty, the horrors of middle school and the evolving nature of teenage friendships, Kroll cautions that while it sounds cheesy, he feels it’s essential that they “let the characters tell you who they want.” become and who they are.

“Unlike any other animated series, our kids grow and change, and we change everything about them: their character designs have changed, what they wear, their height. We’ve slowly transformed some of the characters because we want to mark that,” he says, adding: “The beauty of telling stories about kids who are evolving is that it never tires and you’re always finding new elements, new stories to tell. telling and new emotions for these children… because the show itself does not stand still, it makes it more rewarding to perform.

Character arc completed Big mouthAccording to Kroll, the nearly 100 episodes were a big help, thanks to a partnership with Bay Area health educator Shafia Zaloom, who invited her class at the Urban School in San Francisco to engage with Big mouth’s writers on what resonates and where the series falls short. On her website, Zaloom writes that as an educator, she seeks to “discuss the complexities of adolescent culture and decision-making with direct, open, and honest dialogue.”

“Every season we have long conversations and try to understand emotionally what these kids are going through, psychologically and scientifically,” Kroll says. “But also talk to the kids and tell them, ‘This is what’s happening to our schools. Here’s what’s happening with the kids right now. Here’s what didn’t ring true for us last season.

This approach is one of the elements that has allowed the community to tell honest and fearless stories. Big mouth writers room on topics that may seem counterintuitive to animated entertainment. For example, the season two episode focused on debunking lies about Planned Parenthood or debunking teen shame via a 360-degree character study of David Thewlis’ villainous Shame Wizard. As the end of the series nears, feelings of immense pride have emerged from what initially appears to have been a brutal end for the team behind the series.

“When you see season eight… We’re very happy with how we ended the series. It was incredibly new when we were writing it that this would be the final season. And I really can’t wait for people to see it when it comes out,” Kroll said, adding that he and Netflix agree that it’s a good time to move away from these characters. “But I love them and I’m so curious to see where they land.”

It’s also my story,” he concludes. “It’s an incredibly personal story. It’s based on my life. I was so invested in their lives for so many reasons. And I love these kids, I love the monsters, and I love the parents. We have put an end to it and the door is open to come back and visit these children later.