Comedian, actress, writer, musician, podcaster, and roast master mommy Nikki Glaser has had an eventful year. Treasured in comedy for her unfiltered takes on sex, relationships and personal insecurities, Glaser’s fearlessness has earned her a dedicated fan following. But this year has been somewhat different for several roasty reasons.
“Winning” Netflix’s live “Roast of Tom Brady” catapulted Glaser’s reputation worldwide as a sharp-tongued killer, opening doors that had been shut tight. On Jan. 5, she will make history as the first woman to host solo at the 82nd Golden Globes, and there is no telling who will find themselves in her comedic crosshairs.
Though she’d likely never admit it, Nikki is obviously an overachiever. Even her accolades overachieve. Nominations for a Grammy, an Emmy, a Critics Choice Award and a Golden Globe for stand-up comedy on television for her newest stand-up special, “Someday You’ll Die,” are proof of that.
Her brand of self-deprecation, brutal honesty and sharp wit has elevated her to stardom and changed her life. Glaser spoke to me about her career and life changes in a recent interview conducted over Zoom.
This has seriously been your year. It seems like it ramped all the way up too after “The Roast of Tom Brady.” What a ride for you!
Nikki Glaser: It’s been a year! It was kind of rough right after “The Roast of Tom Brady,” I think because I felt like suddenly there were all these eyes and attention and expectations on me that weren’t there before. Before I felt like an underdog, where no one really noticed me. But expectations were high after the roast, and I just felt like, oh, my God, I’ve always got to show up that polished, that perfect, that precise, and I have to win everything I do now. It was like it turned into some kind of, “you won the roast” thing, and I didn’t even know it was a thing you could win. It just felt like I got a lot of attention for this really specific thing that I’m good at, when it takes months for me to be good at it. It took a couple months for me to let myself off the hook a little, but I also learned a lot from the roast on how to approach these big events. So, when it comes to something like the Globes, I now know I can show up, and given the right amount of time leading up to it, kill it the way I did before.
It’s a lot, though, and being on all the time becomes a little exhausting. I had a full-time job before with my podcast, and a special, and then the roast kicked in and a lot more things got added. I already had a full plate, and I didn’t know how much fuller it could get. I’m very grateful for it, but it’s a little bit like you just gotta spend the extra money you’re making on self-care, on IV drips, on a makeup team so I don’t have to do it myself — it just becomes a lot. But I’m so grateful and don’t want it to go away.
Your crushing the roast and its being broadcast live to such a massive audience were bound to get you a seat at the popular table. It’s fun to see you get all of this love from longtime and new fans.
Yeah, there was such a nice reaction from my fans who have been there all along, like, don’t change! It’s kind of the way I felt as a Swifty when she reached this next level — she’s ours! I’m really cognizant of that and I do appreciate everyone that’s been there from the get-go. I can see through it right away when people say “I’ve been a fan forever” but they only know my roast stuff. It’s an interesting social experiment to have a rapid level of success in a short amount of time and see who’s nice and who isn’t suddenly.
Read more: Jo Koy grades himself on the Golden Globes, prepares for Kia Forum shows
Ahhh, the industry. Doing a set in a club is unlike hosting a legendary awards show. How are you preparing for it?
In terms of running the set around town, people seem pretty excited about me doing the Globes. I’ve been telling the audience this is what I’m doing, and I want to run it by you. I’m bringing my audiences in on the project with me. They’re part of my team and we’re in this together. I’m also approaching the Globes the same way as the roasts, where I’m watching everything. I’m consuming and trying to find what my opinions are about these people and these projects. I’m really just trying to immerse myself in that world. I’m trying to do a lot of visualization of what it’s gonna be like to walk out there too. Who am I gonna see? Thinking about what the tone I want to hit is and thinking about overall goals of the evening. My goal is just to walk offstage after that monologue and feel like, OK, the rest of this show’s a cakewalk. I did the hardest thing, everyone seemed happy, I didn’t piss anyone off, I didn’t ruin anyone’s night, I’m gonna make headlines for the right reasons of maybe saying some shocking things, but not upsetting anyone. You know, I’m not going to have to avoid anyone at the after-party. The most successful thing I can do is just say the things I want to say. Speak some truth, possibly get some groans, claps, and “Whoa, she went there.” I’m not up there to call anyone out or make some audacious political statement. I just want to have a good set.
Nikki Glasser in Rancho Mirage. (Linus Johnson / For The Times)
I think we’re all also waiting with bated breath to see how hard you will go.
Actors take themselves so seriously, I think more than any other profession. Everyone just wants to look so cool in that room, and you’ve spent hours and hours getting ready to look amazing. So, any kind of joke that would take you off that pedestal is a deep threat to you. I also think it’s an opportunity for celebrities to have a moment where they appear human and laugh at themselves. There are certain people in the room that are so uptight that I kind of want to win them over first, just so I can get away with the rest of the monologue. Especially if they only know me from roasts, they certainly are gonna be terrified of me. “She’s out for blood!” That’s just not the way it is, though, so I’m gonna have to remind them that’s not what I’m here to do, even though it might be what I’m known to do. Then I’ll go ahead and do it, but not in the same way because this is obviously not a roast.
I also think there are opportunities to have fun with some of these people and bring them in on the joke — certainly, someone like Martin Short, Steve Martin or anyone who comes from a comedy background. There are opportunities to have fun with comedians in the audience, so I’m gonna seek those out and really bask in those moments. Maybe I’ll even get to have a moment with Meryl Streep. How fun for me!
It really is incredible. Have you gotten any advice on your journey to the Globes?
I have. I never have too much confidence going into something where they might not know who I am and with some kind of fanfare waiting for me. The thing I learned from watching past sets is that I need to introduce myself to the crowd. No matter how much in the comedy world I might be known, they might not be savvy to that. A lot of people don’t know that world, so I’m going to have to introduce myself to them and then self-deprecate enough to earn the opportunity to then deprecate them. Tina [Fey] and Amy [Poehler] reached out to me and gave me some really great advice about things you would only know if you stood on that stage and said jokes to that crowd. Their advice made me feel like you could only get this advice from two mothers. I’m so glad to have them co-sign on this because it’s a really big social event. The first of the year. The first of the award season, and everyone is seeing each other after a long Christmas break of having plastic surgery.
You’ve got a lot of nominations to list off — Globes, Critics Choice, Emmys. I’m into this Grammy, though. How did you hear about it, and who did you tell first?
I was on a plane, and I got a text from my publicist. I honestly didn’t even think that this was a possibility. I mean, there are some things you dream about when becoming a stand-up comedian, and winning a Grammy is not one of them. It just seems like you don’t even know that it’s possible. To me, it was just like, “Oh, yes! I get to go to the Grammys!” Of all the awards shows, it’s the one that I have most wanted a ticket to because I love watching musical performances. The best musicians all in one room performing together is the best ticket in town. I just hope that my nomination can turn into a ticket! I think one of the first people I called was my vocal teacher because it just seems so out of this world. We work every week on this thing that I’m not even nominated for, and, meanwhile, there’s a song on the album, but it’s a comedy album that I’m nominated for. I was also quick to tell my dad, who is also a musician. All the musicians in my life, I was quick to tell because I just knew that they understood the magnitude of such an honor.
How did you congratulate yourself on this insane honor?
Wouldn’t congratulating myself be a nice thing to do? I think I bathed a little bit, and I just kept saying it over and over. I would just come in from walking the dog and tell my boyfriend, “Oh, babe. I forgot to tell you I’m nominated for a Grammy.” I just kept bringing it up casually like, let’s not put this down. Let’s keep this thing up in the air because it is so wild, and I’ll probably never be able to say it again. You never know, but, yes, I should do something nice for myself. I just have not had any time.
Get notified when the biggest stories in Hollywood, culture and entertainment go live. Sign up for L.A. Times entertainment alerts.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
