Nick Kroll

Early life

Kroll was born in Rye, New York, on June 5, 1978, to Lynn and Jules Kroll. His father is a billionaire businessman who founded the corporate investigations and risk consulting firm Kroll Inc. The youngest child in the family, Kroll has a brother, Jeremy, and two sisters, Vanessa and Dana. and attended the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester. He went on to high school at Rye Country Day School. During this time, he also briefly attended The Mountain School in Vershire, Vermont, where he developed a fondness for hiking. In 2001, Kroll graduated from Georgetown University.

Career

Early in his career, Kroll contributed writing for Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show and MTV's Human Giant. In November and December 2008, he toured with Aziz Ansari on his Glow in the Dark comedy tour in the United States. Kroll's live work is a mix of standup, sketch and characters. In 2011, Comedy Central aired his stand-up special Thank You Very Cool. He has studied and performed regularly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC and LA and co-hosted the stand-up show Welcome to Our Week with Jessi Klein.

He is well known as a performer for his characters such as Bobby Bottleservice, who has been featured in a number of online videos for the Funny or Die website, including the Ed Hardy Boyz and an audition tape for the MTV show Jersey Shore. Other characters include Ref Jeff and Fabrice Fabrice, and Gil Faizon of The Oh, Hello Show, who he created with writing partner John Mulaney. His character work features prominently in Kroll Show, a sketch comedy show on Comedy Central. Kroll was honored with the Breakout Star of the Year award from the 2013 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

''The Oh, Hello Show''

Main article: The Oh, Hello Show

Kroll toured the U.S. alongside John Mulaney in a show called Oh, Hello, with both in character as Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland respectively. The show premiered on Broadway on September 23, 2016, and ran for six months to positive reviews. The Broadway performance was filmed and released on Netflix in 2017.

Television

Kroll's first significant career success came when he co-starred in the ABC sitcom Cavemen, based on the Geico insurance TV-commercial characters. Although the show was cancelled after seven episodes, he called his role "the most important experience of my professional career". He went on to VH1's Best Week Ever, and to guest-starring roles on Parks and Recreation, Community, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and New Girl. He made appearances on numerous Comedy Central series such as Reno 911!, John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show, and The Benson Interruption, both performing as himself and in character.

Kroll had a starring role as Rodney Ruxin in the FXX comedy series The League, which aired October 29, 2009, to December 9, 2015. Concurrently, he created and starred in his own Comedy Central sketch series, Kroll Show, which aired January 16, 2013, to March 24, 2015. Kroll had a recurring role on Childrens Hospital on Adult Swim. His voice work includes the character Stu on the HBO animated series The Life & Times of Tim, Andrew LeGustambos in the animated Fox comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up, and Reuben Grinder in the PBS Kids GO! series WordGirl. Kroll was one of the roasters on the Comedy Central Roast of James Franco.

In 2017, Kroll co-created, wrote, and starred in Big Mouth, an animated television show on Netflix. The show features the experiences of a group of 7th graders in the throes of puberty. Two of the main characters are based on, and named after, Kroll and his best friend from childhood, Andrew Goldberg. Kroll plays Nick, as well as Coach Steve, Maurice the Hormone Monster, Lola, Rick the Hormone Monster, the Jansen twins and Lady Liberty, in addition to several further minor and one-off characters.

Film

Kroll starred in A Good Old Fashioned Orgy and had supporting roles in comedy films such as Sing, Dinner for Schmucks, Date Night, Get Him to the Greek, Adventures of Power, and I Love You Man.

In 2016, Kroll's first villain role was a vaginal douche in the adult animated film Sausage Party. Originally, he played Douche's voice in a British accent, but the team wanted to make a Pixar-like film instead of a Disney Renaissance-like film.

In 2017, Kroll then had a second villain voice role as a villainous mad scientist Professor Poopypants in the DreamWorks animated superhero film Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie. Although many critics only either mentioned his character in passing, some pointing out his similarities with Albert Einstein, or his "committed" performance, Matt Zoller Seitz took particular note of his performance, praising it as "irrepressibly silly" with "an orange juice spit-take voice". Seitz further stated that "[t]he way Kroll savors every syllable of his alternately peevish, self-pitying and nonsensical dialogue—aided mightily by the animators, who've given the character a fireplug body and a waddling walk—transforms the ridiculous into the sublime." In recent years, Kroll has taken several non-comedic acting roles, such as that of Bernie Cohen in Loving and Rafi Eitan in Operation Finale, both historical drama films.

Book

In 2005, Kroll published a book, Bar Mitzvah Disco, cowritten with Jules Shell and Roger Bennett.

Personal life

In May 2013, Kroll began dating comedian and actress Amy Poehler. They ended their relationship in 2015.

Kroll met landscape artist Lily Kwong in 2018. They married in November 2020 and their son was born in January 2021. In November 2023, they announced the birth of their daughter.

Kroll's brother-in-law is journalist Roger Bennett. Through his wife, his cousin-in-law is fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra.

Before the 2020 United States elections, Kroll and other celebrities participated in the #IDCheck Challenge from VoteRiders to raise awareness about what identification voters need to cast a ballot in the election.

Filmography

Accolades

References

References

1. Phelan, Kevin. (December 12, 2014). "Rye native Nick Kroll talks 'Kroll Show'". [[The Journal News]].
2. Petersen, Anne Helen. (March 5, 2015). "Nick Kroll's Walk In the Park". [[BuzzFeed.com]].
3. "Nick Kroll".
4. Barnett, Megan. (December 1, 2010). "Nick Kroll: The other, other Kroll". [[Fortune (magazine).
5. Kroll, Nick. "Make 'Em Laugh: Nick Kroll (C'01)". Georgetown Alumni Online.
6. Schleier, Curt. (October 28, 2016). "Comedian Nick Kroll is serious about being funny".
7. Serico, Chris. (January 16, 2013). "'Kroll Show' star Nick Kroll recalls Rye upbringing". [[Newsday]] Hudson Buzz blog via Serico Stories.
8. Gordon, Barry. (August 16, 2011). "Growing Up in Rye Helps TV Star". Rye.Patch.com.
9. Goldman, Andrew. (January 13, 2013). "Taking A Hike". The New York Times Magazine.
10. Heisler, Steve. (October 29, 2009). "Nick Kroll". [[The A.V. Club]].
11. Faires, Robert. (December 19, 2008). "Aziz Ansari: Ready, steady, glow!".
12. Greenberg, Rudi. (January 26, 2011). "One-Man Muppet Show: Nick Kroll, 'Thank You Very Cool'". [[The Washington Post]].
13. "Wild times at UCB with Amy Poehler, Ilana Glazer, Nick Kroll and more".
14. (February 18, 2005). "Jessi Klein, Writer/Comedian".
15. NPR Staff. (January 19, 2014). "Before 'Jersey Shore' Owned Sleaze, There Was Bobby Bottleservice". [[NPR]].
16. (January 9, 2013). "Oh, Hello".
17. Tepper, Allegra. (July 22, 2013). "What's Next for Just for Laughs Comedy Honorees".
18. (May 18, 2017). "John Mulaney And Nick Kroll's Broadway Show 'Oh, Hello' Is Coming To Netflix".
19. Petersen, Anne Helen. (March 5, 2015). "Nick Kroll's Walk In the Park". [[BuzzFeed]].
20. (November 30, 2009). "WTFpod: Marc Maron interviews El Chupacabra (Nick Kroll)".
21. Jensen, Michael. (January 15, 2009). "Fox's animated "Sit Down, Shut Up" includes bisexual male character". After Elton.
22. "The Comedy Central Roast Of James Franco".
23. (March 2, 2018). "Best Of: Nick Kroll & John Mulaney / 'Shape Of Water' Fish Man". NPR.
24. (August 12, 2016). "Sausage Party Takes Itself Too Seriously".
25. "Nick Kroll Breaks Down His Most Famous Character Voices".
26. (June 2, 2017). "'Captain Underpants' Is an Inspired and Subversive Piece of Animated Silliness". Observer Media.
27. (June 1, 2017). "Feeling silly? 'Captain Underpants' is here for you.". Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC.
28. (June 2, 2017). "''Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie'' is a 'tighty-whitey triumph' with charm to spare". [[Time Inc.]].
29. (June 1, 2017). "Captain Underpants (United States, 2017)". James Berardinelli.
30. (June 2, 2017). "''Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie''". Paste Media Group.
31. (June 2, 2017). "Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie Movie Review (2017)". Ebert Digital LLC.
32. Burack, Emily. (August 22, 2018). "A Super Jewish Interview with Nick Kroll: The Holocaust, Bagels, and 'Operation Finale'".
33. Galuppo, Mia. (September 22, 2015). "Nick Kroll, Michael Shannon Join 'Loving' Cast".
34. (2005). "Bar Mitzvah Disco". Crown Archetype.
35. (October 14, 2014). "Amy Poehler Breaks Her Silence on Calling It Quits With Will Arnett: "Getting a Divorce Really Sucks"". [[E!]].
36. Blasberg, Derek. "Nick Kroll, Comedy's Ultimate Tool, Is Actually a Pretty Decent Guy". [[Vanity Fair (magazine).
37. Orfanides, Effie. (September 6, 2022). "Who Is Nick Kroll's Wife? All About Lily Kwong".
38. Jokic, Natasha. (November 28, 2020). "Surprise, Nick Kroll Just Got Married!".
39. (February 8, 2021). "Nick Kroll and His Wife Lily Kwong Welcome Their First Child: 'Our Beautiful Baby Boy'". [[People (magazine).
40. "Nick Kroll Welcomes Baby No. 2, a Daughter, with Wife Lily Kwong: 'So Much Joy and Harmony'".
41. (October 29, 2000). "WEDDINGS; Vanessa Kroll, Roger Bennett (Published 2000)". The New York Times.
42. (August 30, 2017). "How Former Model Lily Kwong Became the Darling of Landscape Architecture".
43. (February 24, 2016). "Lily Kwong, Student & Model".
44. "A Family story {{!}} Altuzarra Official Site".
45. Rabinowitz, Chloe. (September 29, 2020). "Rory O'Malley, Amy Schumer, Elizabeth Banks and More Participate in VoteRiders #IDCheck Challenge".
46. (September 11, 2016). "TIFF 2016: Matthew McConaughey optimistic about 'Sing'". Toronto Sun.
47. (November 11, 2015). "Meet the Animated Animals of Illumination Entertainment's 2016 Musical Comedy, 'Sing'".
48. Alliance, Morris County Economic Development. (June 25, 2025). "Adam Sandler Is Making Another Movie in NJ With His Daughter!".
49. Mitra, Soma. (July 12, 2025). "What Is 'Roommates' on Netflix? Everything You Need to Know About the New Comedy Drop".
50. https://web.archive.org/web/20060814193834/http://www.collegehumor.com/chtv/?section=chtv
51. Starner, Nina. (June 26, 2020). "Quibi just announced a Princess Bride remake you never expected to see".
52. Toomey, Alyssa. (November 4, 2014). "Jennifer Lawrence, Shailene Woodley and Robert Downey Jr. Among People's Choice Nominees, Plus Find Out Who's Hosting!". E!.