Nick Frost and Edgar Wright – photo: Brattle Theatre
Nick Frost probably should have been a Man of the Week a long time ago, what with his sheer awesomeness and body of work. We’re featuring him this week because he’ll be releasing his memoir in a few days, aptly named Truths, Half Truths and Utter Bullshit. It looks like Bullshit is being replaced with Little White Lies at many outlets.
Nick Frost: Truths, Half Truths & Little White Lies
Frost wrote the book himself, without the help of a co-writer or ghost writer, and it’s a very open and emotional read. The Guardian posted an excerpt from it, focusing on the period of time in his life when his family’s business fell apart, and he eventually met his best friend, Simon Pegg. While the Guardian excerpt is much longer, the section that documents when the friendship began really stood out to me:
Simon and me see bits and pieces of one another over the next couple of weeks. A drink after work here and there, the odd house party, but it was at the Pink Rupee where our love truly blossoms.
A bunch of the restaurant staff had gone out after work one Friday night for a nice butter chicken and a few cold ones. Simon and I found ourselves sat opposite one another. As we talked and laughed drunkenly that night, Simon did something that would change me for ever, change us for ever. He picked up a condiment and moved it across the table making this sound: Birbirbigitt Birbirbigitt bigitt. I knew exactly what this was. Time slowed around us, a warm bubble of light inflated and for a moment I couldn’t see or hear anything but Simon. He was making the sound of the mouse droid that Chewbacca roars at in Star Wars. It was as if we were the only two people in the world. He got it, whatever it was. I understood him completely and he understood me.
I’m not sure how long we were in that golden bubble of self-indulgence, but once it popped our mains were on the table. It must have been a while though as my naan bread was floppy and cold. I didn’t know what was happening, but I’d made a new friend really quickly, and I wasn’t afraid or nervous, it didn’t feel weird – on the contrary it felt great and it’s been that way ever since. I guess one could argue we fell in love that day. It’s never left us either, we still make each other laugh more than anyone else.
Says Frost about the darker times: ‘No life can really be all black, right? Even during the darkest times, what got me through that bleakness was laughter and time. With enough of both of these things I reckon you could get over just about anything.’
Nick Frost’s memoir, Truths, Half Truths and Utter Bullshit Little White Lies will be available on October 8th, wherever you buy your books.
Feature photo: Trent Clarke on Flickr
