I remember calling up my dad the day Igot cast after like six auditions and multiple chemistry tests because he had been the
Biggest support of my comedy career my whole life so when I called him
I was kind of nervous to tell him about the character. I was playing because he was this sort of sexually permissive
Best man, and he just lets out this huge laugh, and he goes Nick
You gotta understand?
It's Central America things are a little spicier down there and over the next two years we shop for two separate months down in
Nicaragua, and then after we were finished with the shooting I booked a trip to go back home to Denver
Colorado to go see my family and I remember my dad picking me up at the airport
I was like
boiling over with excitement to tell him all the stories of all the
parrots and weird swimming in the ocean at night and crazy boat trips that we were on in Nicaragua and how much fun I had
So in the car he drove me this little guitar store, and we strum some guitars for a while
And then he drove me home because his wife had cooked us some dinner and midway through dinner. He sort of got out
He wasn't feeling that well, and it didn't seem out of the ordinary. He just got up
He was like 'hey I'm not feeling so well. I'm gonna. I'm gonna go to bed' and the next day
I was at a movie with my mom and when I left the movie
I got like ten text messages all from my dad's wife and apparently
During the night my dad got so ill that they had to go to ER and then
They admitted him into the ICU, and they didn't know what was happening
um and
I extended my trip I stayed with him
And about a week later
We found out that he had a very rare and very terminal form of cancer that had metastasized in his stomach
I think as a son you always kind of know that your parents are gonna die at some point
But it's a very strange feeling to know that they're gonna die
Imminently, and that was the moment that I knew my father was gonna die
And I had to go back to LA to finish up some business
And then I came back and when I came back the producers of this movie
Sent me with a very secret copy of this unfinished film that I was in so that I could show my father
But when I got back my father was in hospice and the first moment I had I told my dad
I was like hey, I brought a copy of this movie
Paramount sent me with a secret copy and I'd love to show you and I remember he was like I would love to see it
But I want to see it when I'm the most lucid I want to be the most
Coherent to understand it to be able to watch it through and he was on this mixture of drugs that
Made him really drowsy
And then made him really loopy and then made him really pain free
So he wanted to sort of watch it when he was right in the balance and then like two or three days later
He just perks up and I was sitting next to his bed
And he goes I think I want to watch your movie now, and I just went into a frenzy. I was like yeah
Yeah, let's watch it. That's right
I put this computer next to his bed
And then I gathered my aunt who was there and she sat down
And then he invited a couple of the hospice nurses, and he was a really charming guy
And he was like hey excuse me do you want to come watch this secret movie that my son was in and I got even
More nervous because it's a raunchy movie
And I noticed that his wife isn't in the room and I'm like hey Dad
Do you want to just pause for a minute cuz you're you know your wife is out getting food? I think she'll back
be back in a minute, and he was like very insistent. He was like no let's just watch it now
I feel like watching it now. We can catch her up when she comes in so here
We are like all huddled around this little iMac and my dad is sort of you know like sitting there
He gets situated in this little chair, then. I'm like all right guys here
We go and I have never been more nervous watching a film in my life
I was just sweating the whole time and looking at my father, and he wasn't laughing. He was just sort of
concentrating
And about halfway through the movie his wife comes in the door, and I'm like oh
And I pause it and I welcome her in and I'm like we're watching the movie
And she's really excited and so she sidles up next to my dad
And then I try to catch her up, and I'm like okay, so what has just happened so okay?
So there was a crazy night last night and my character
and the bride's older brother had to drug the bride's sister because she knew too much and
She, my dad's wife, who's this you know like very?
strong spiritual feminist woman looks over at me shoots me this piercing stare and goes you drugged her and
I was like oh my god this is the worst choice what am I doing?
I mean I'm sitting at my last memory to my dad is gonna be this terrible movie that I was in
And right when I'm having this panic attack my dad perks up my shrunken version of my father perks up and just goes
They had to and the whole room exploded. It was the biggest laugh of the whole watch
And it took all the pressure off
And we finished the movie
And I my dad gave this thoughtful analysis that he really enjoyed it and before he died
He got to see his son running around in a movie
He got to see his son be the man who he'd always supported with that big laugh
And I may be in a movie again, or I may never
But I don't think I'll ever have as good a premiere