Comic Nick Callas has opened for Tracy Morgan, but guess what else they have in common?
Nick Callas might spend most of his time making people laugh, but his career is no joke. While Callas might be best known as a comedian — his first stand-up special debuted on YouTube last month — he is also an actor, director, writer, visual artist and rapper.
"Visual art came first," says Callas, a Bergen native. "I’ve been drawing since I was six years old."
Callas eventually started writing his own stories so he could illustrate them. Shortly after that, he got into comedy and has since opened for well-known comics such as Dana Carvey, Tracy Morgan and Colin Jost.
"I think one medium always brought me closer to the next and helped me understand that art is just art, and a medium is simply another way to express the same thoughts and feelings," he says. "I don’t discriminate between form, medium or genre. I just let the idea dictate the manner of presentation it should take."
Callas is a proud Greek-American, raised by his mom and her parents throughout Bergen County.
"Being Greek gave me a sense of uniqueness among kids who all seemed to have their own very different cultural identities," he says. "Coming of age practicing the traditions, values and morals of Greek Orthodoxy gave me a sense of belonging to something bigger and longer standing than myself."
Maybe even more importantly, Callas sees himself as an artist. Someone who has been working on his crafts for more than 25 years. "Anything imaginative, creative and visual would captivate and inspire me to participate in making things," he says. "Creating is the soul of my identity and it's been a calling for as long as I can remember."
You do a little bit of everything. Do you have a favorite outlet?
Visual art came first, drawing then writing. I’d always performed in some sense, making my own little sketch comedy videos, and doing school theater productions. I didn’t think of comedy as an art form until I started doing stand-up. I get such a different sensation from each outlet. I don’t think I could pick a favorite. Stand-up is so immediately fulfilling but ephemeral. Illustration is with you so long as you’re looking at the piece. Rap music is something you can return to as a listener as well, but the feeling of figuring out the word puzzle and then conveying it passionately is very cathartic. Ironically, nothing feels quite as freeing or validating to your experience as a person as acting in a role, being a character. All in all, I’d say picking just one is impossible so it’s why I haven’t. But directing and editing films has been my favorite lately.
Have you always been into performing?
In some capacity, yes. As a little kid, for no reason other than that it was fun to do, I would write little sketches and plays for my friends and me to act out. So in that capacity, I’ve been performing since I was seven or eight. I always jumped at opportunities like school plays, and talent shows to do comedy. Growing up, I was neighbors with actress Liz Gillies (Victorious, Dynasty). We were close friends and we would make silly videos of her little scenes. By the time I was in high school, I was doing community theater and school plays as well as writing and directing my own sketches. By the time I was a junior in high school, I was doing stand-up.
How did you get into comedy?
I had always watched a ton of stand-up comedy as a kid. I idolized comedians. I went to school every day quoting and performing their bits for my friends. As a kid, I always did impressions of actors, comedians and cartoons, and told stories in a big and performative way. So it was always cooking in me. But for the first 17 years of my life, all I wanted to do was be a comic book artist. When the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan required four pages of sequential art for their portfolio submissions — and I had the challenge of making my own comic — I chose to make it a comedy. And writing that script was my first foray into writing. And then from there, I was constantly writing down jokes and comedic dialogue ideas. As different opportunities started to present themselves, I took every chance I could get to develop. Once I tried it, I knew it was something I was meant to do.
Who are some of your influences?
Jim Carrey, Dave Chappelle, Louis CK, Dane Cook, Matt Stone and Trey Parker, Eddie Murphy, Jackie Chan, Seth McFarlane, Patrice O’Neal, Mike Meyers, and so many more.
When did you start performing live?
When I was 17, I was asked by one of my teachers to host an event for some type of fundraiser. I had a great relationship with that teacher, but she was also very aware of my constant compulsion to make jokes and goof off. She thought I’d be good at doing a monologue and one-liner-style jokes to open this show in the auditorium. And I was! It went well and that was one of my first simulated stand-up experiences. It helped build my confidence to audition for my high school’s play. I got a part and was given a comedic monologue. So once again, I was effectively doing stand-up on stage. I have always been eager to try stand-up properly, and those experiences motivated me to go for it. Then I started taking the bus into the city to perform at open mics in comedy clubs and bars with a fake ID I made.
What’s your favorite part of touring?
Post-show meals and car rides with my openers. Those conversations are funnier and more fun than even the shows themselves. Kevin McGloin and Luke Burke are hilarious comedians who travel with me and the tour dates always feel like one big sleepover party. There’s no hypothetical “would you rather…” or roasting of mutual frenemies we won’t spend hours belaboring.
You have Type 1 Diabetes. How do you stay healthy while on the road?
I practice intermittent fasting. Being on an empty stomach helps me maintain a stable blood sugar by way of framing from raising my insulin levels and blood sugar. There’s also a major cognitive benefit to that which I can really feel on and off stage. I’m sharper and more focused. If I do eat before a show, which is unlikely, I avoid carbs and sugars. I also try to squeeze in a workout, regardless of whether or not there is a gym where I’m staying. It’s all about doing any of the little things that I can to maintain. I also check my blood sugar as frequently as possible, especially right before the show starts. I’m sober, which helps a lot too. Drinking alcohol as a diabetic is like downloading a virus onto a faulty laptop. Anything you can cut out to streamline your health is a focus for me.
What advice can you share for people wanting to get into comedy or the entertainment industry?
It’s an art form, a craft, so be dedicated to improving your skills. That means dedicated practice, fearlessness and reviewing your work. Be honest with yourself about where your work is at and be honest with what you share. The jokes don’t have to be true but they should be truthful. And most of all, make yourself laugh. You are the first witness/audience member to your joke. If it doesn’t work on you, it shouldn’t even get to anyone else. If you cry laughing at yourself, then you’ll know it’s something you need to share.
Tell me about taping your stand-up special, ‘Wolf Pup.’
I’ve been doing stand-up for about 13 years and last year I was touring a new hour of material. At the same time, I had signed a deal with 800 Pound Gorilla Media to do a stand-up comedy album. But my comedy is so physical that it felt idiotic not to do a stand-up special as opposed to just an audio presentation. Because I have never released a one-hour special before, I used my tour dates to figure out which bits from the material I had been touring and which bits from the past decade of doing stand-up would make the best introduction to comedy fans who have never heard of me.
After six months of developing the show, I recorded the special in Austin, Texas, at a comedy club called The Creek and the Cave. We filmed four shows and I used about 85% of the first show we taped and the rest was from the third. I’m really proud of how I struck the balance between the material I had been touring and some of my favorites from over the years. I think there are some stylistic flourishes to the special that I have never seen done before. I think the material in my performance is uniquely me, so I’m extremely excited for people to see it.
What goes into taping a show that makes it different than a typical performance?
Basically everything but hopefully nothing. I was concerned with my hair, my outfit, remembering the flow and order of the material, how much energy and passion I hit every beat with, how many tickets were sold, the lighting, camera placement, and basically anything that could have even the smallest effect on the final product. At a regular show, there is nothing on my mind besides having fun and being funny. These are two very different places to go into a performance from, and you can guess which one makes for a more fluid performance. So you have to wear two hats at the same time: the performer hat, but also the producer hat, and you have to pick which moments to wear each. Obviously, the second you walk out on the stage you have to throw all concerns to the wind and just service the people in the room because that’s how anyone else who gets to see the show will be best serviced.
How has social media helped your career?
While I’ve been performing live for over a decade, which I’m sure is responsible for many fans, it doesn’t put a dent into how many people are aware of me and stay tuned in because they found me online. I couldn’t have shot Wolf Pup without social media. A video of a joke I did about California went viral a couple of years ago and it really boosted my fan base in Texas (hahaha). If it wasn’t for that, I would not have chosen Austin to shoot my special. And because of it, there were four shows full of fans for me to tape Wolf Pup for.
When and why did you start rapping?
When I was 13, my older brother played me a mixtape by Lil Wayne called Da Drought 3. Lil Wayne was so incredible at double entendre, really funny similes and punchline bars. He was so impressive at it that it made me want to participate. Some of the first raps I wrote were me trying to do what Lil Wayne was doing, as a sort of parody of him to show my friends. That was when I was 13, but at that point, I had already had such an interest in poetry and the written word. I had one poetry contest a few years before and always loved rhyming. Lil Wayne became an introduction to other rap artists and within a couple of years, I was writing and recording my own songs in GarageBand before I graduated from high school. People like Donald Glover were notably developing careers as actors, comedians and hip-hop artists and seeing him do it gave me the confidence that it could be done.
What does a typical day in your week look like?
It varies, so there isn’t one that’s exactly the same as the last, but it always starts with coffee. Then I will check my emails and almost instantly use that morning positivity and excitement around the day to jump into an edit on whatever sketch, short film, or stand-up I am working on. From there, I’ll zoom out and try to think more about the big picture on my career and where my focus should be. That usually leads me to some time spent booking, taking meetings or doing press, promoting or strategizing. And that’s only if I don’t have an acting audition, which is more and more frequent now. When that’s the case, I study, rehearse and tape, which usually takes me to the middle of the day at that point. I’ll hit the gym, eat something and then get back on my computer to do more of the same. That’ll take me to about 6 or 7 p.m., at which point I am heading out the door to go do stand-up. When I’m finished with my shows, I’m excited to belong to my girlfriend and her cat.
How has growing up in Bergen County influenced you?
Irrevocably so. Bergen County is a weird combination of people. We are so close to New York City that there is a very prevalent New York City vibe, focus, and frankly obsession from a lot of us. It’s where so many of us end up or aspire to be. At the same time, Bergen is more diverse than people might realize both ethnically and economically, which for me created a great exposure to people with different life experiences and backgrounds. There were elements from all of these things that informed who I am and my perspective on myself and the world. All of that is deeply baked into my comedy and I find that I’m influenced by the kids I grew up around. I think by and large northern New Jersey dudes share a sense of humor that is edgy, bold, daring and hysterical.
What are some of your favorite things to do in Bergen?
Some of my favorite things to do include driving around the Rio Vista bumping music, seeing movies at Westfield Garden State Plaza, going to White Manna in Hackensack and checking out Collector Comics Shop in Maywood and The Joker's Child in Fair Lawn. But most of all, I enjoy getting a bagel, sitting outside of the deli in the sun with my friends and family, and soaking in the weather.
Get to know Nick Callas
The socials: @MrNickCallas on Youtube, Instagram and TikTok
Age: 31
Grew up in: Haworth, Demarest and Closter
Currently lives in: New York City
Education: Northern Valley Regional High School, Demarest; NYU Tisch School of The Arts, New York
What's next: His stand-up special, Wolf Pup, came out on June 27. It was screened at the Alamo Drafthouse in lower Manhattan and can now be streamed on YouTube, with additional content available on my Instagram and YouTube channels. He will also be announcing new tour dates and some special projects soon.
Joram Mushinske is the art director for (201) Magazine. He also writes monthly columns in (201) about local influencers and asks business owners to share their favorite things to do in Bergen County. Joram is a Ridgewood native and his work appears regularly in The Record and on NorthJersey.com. He also manages the @201magazine account on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Nick Callas' 'Wolf Pup': Here's why he credits social media for it
