Nick Frost: Pirate Radio

Nov 12, 2009

Tags: Nick Frost, Pirate Radio, Simon Pegg

10 minutes is hardly enough time to interview Nick Frost. Hes got so many stories to tell, it seems like hed just go on and on, and wed listen. He was just getting warmed up when time was up. Just follow his cake flushing antics on the DVD extras from Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz to get a sense of how he finds comedy in daily situations.

Frost costars in Pirate Radio, inspired by the true story of boats that broadcast rock n roll music off the coast of England in the early 60s. The film shows the daily lives of the DJs as the sort of slice of life dramedy of the British romantic comedies. Richard Curtis (Love Actually) directs. Fans of Frost will get to see the Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz star swap girls with a shy shipmate, baring all for a nude scene and tell a story about sh*tting the bed to his crewmates.

I think its pretty brave of Richard to cast a 20 stone man in a romantic role, Frost told a small press conference earlier in the day. It was great to shoot those scenes. Its not every day you get to do a job where you can just wander around naked and people dont give a sh*t. I think if you had to show an alien race just how different the human form could be, I think Tom [Sturridge] would be at one end and I would be at the other.

On a Monday morning in London, Frost sported shoulder length hair and stubble that would have made him a rebel in the era of Pirate Radio. These days, its standard for a movie star. His Blood and Ice Cream films with Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg have made Frost international. The trio are gearing up to complete their trilogy with The Worlds End.

SuicideGirls: I think Danny Butterman, your Hot Fuzz character would liken your hair to Nicolas Cage in Con Air.

Nick Frost: Yeah, absolutely. I think my next film, my hair is going to be greased back like that as well.

SG:

In the 60s, they protested rock n roll music, in the 80s violent horror movies, now video games. Dont they ever learn that its never the thing theyre so worried about?

NF:

I don't think we ever learn, right? On any level, really. Everything seems to be cyclic.

SG:

Why cant people just look back and see weve already been through this?

NF:

I have no idea. I think thats a bigger question than Pirate Radio. Youre right. Why cant we just look back? I don't think necessarily people change so the things that those people are railing about will not change either, you know what I mean? Its easy just to forget. Considering how many of us there are, all our problems are kind of the same all the time. Throughout history, nothing changes really.

SG:

The scene where you swap with Toms character for the groupie couldve gone in a dangerous direction. Is it all in good fun?

NF:

Absolutely. It absolutely is and I think the way we justified it was that it was the 60s. I don't think we were condoning anything bad there. I think it was just Dave being a bit of a sexual animal and trying to do a buddy a favor, but absolutely it couldve gone either way.

SG:

Playing a ladies man, is that comfortable to you?

NF:

Absolutely. I think when youre not a conventionally beautiful person, I think you need to try and find some way to charm women. Otherwise, youre going to be very lonely. Comedy and making girls laugh was always, I dont want to say a way in, but its a way to start a conversation, isnt it? If you can make a girl laugh, youre certainly halfway there.

SG:

Between Spaced, Shaun, Fuzz and this, which of your characters is most like you?

NF:

Probably Danny Butterman. Out of all of them probably Danny.

SG:

Because of the film obsession?

NF:

The film obsession but also, Im not saying I have that kind of puppyish devotion, but Im kind of more like Danny than Ed. I mean, I think Simon and I were both Ed at one point. At different stages in our lives, weve both been Ed but I kind of relate a bit more to Danny.

SG:

You tell the sh*tting in the bed story as your embarrassing story in the movie. What are your real life stories?

NF:

Ive got a few. I think when I was a kid, I was walking, I came out of the sea and I was walking along the beach to get back to my parents. It was a very packed beach. I think I was only eight and two girls ran up behind me and pulled my trunks off in front of everyone which was terribly embarrassing. Another one was I lived in Israel for a long time and I was at a bar one night drunk and I ordered French fries. They came along and then there was a packet of condiments. What I thought was salt was in fact sugar and I put loads of sugar all over my French fries and the Israeli guy was saying, You know youre putting sugar on your fries. I didnt want to seem like I was an idiot so I said, Oh, yeah, thats how we do it. Thats what we do in London. Theres been a few. I remember theres a place near here and I live there now called Twickenham which is the center of British rugby and theres a very big stadium there, kind of 85,000 seat stadium. When I was 12, we went on a school trip to watch a match and I was right in the front. I thought it would be good to just a moment before the match ended to actually run onto the pitch and try and get the ball. There was a very high step going onto the pitch and as I put my leg up, my trousers literally blew up from crotch to anus. Everything fell out and I was terribly embarrassed. I think theres quite a special feeling having 20,000 people laughing at your nads.

SG:

Millions after Pirate Radio.

NF:

Yeah, sure. You dont really think about that when youre just doing it.

SG:

Can we assume that The Worlds End is your guys take on apocalypse movies?

NF:

I dont want to say anything. I think were quite a way actually from getting started.

SG:

Will it really just be a trilogy with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz or could you do four or five like The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy trilogy?

NF:

I don't know, I think the sense Im getting off the fellas is well leave it there.

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