Actor, writer and editor for Buzzfeed, NICK ROSS, was a twenty something pursuing his dreams of being an actor/comedian when he was hit with some life-changing news. The young talent was diagnosed with a disease we all shudder to hear, cancer (Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, to be precise). Ross had to put his dreams on hold and head to his home town of Denver, Colorado for a year of treatment. A New York friend, Ross was having a video chat session with, remarked that his pal “looked like a highly evolved version of a human being — one who had evolved past the need for hair.” This comment gave Ross a proper chuckle and an excellent idea. He decided to share his amazing story of overcoming cancer with people naive about the disease (as he once was), as well as the cancer community.
The Highly Evolved Human started off as a piece written by Ross and Graeme Hinde which was brought to life at a storytelling show for New York City’s Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. The theatre production ran for over a year in New York and received much praise. The show toured across the US and reached the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles. The show eventually turned into a web series produced by Rainn Wilson’s media and production company SoulPancake and presented by Squarespace. At times heart-wrenching, the video series still produces plenty of laughs while instilling hope in us all. I am happy to present to you the risk-taking season finale, The Scooter. Once, you’ve taken it in, read our interview with it’s brave creator. You won’t regret it!
COMEDY CAKE: How did the relationship with SoulPancake come about?
NICK ROSS: I made the first 3 videos last summer and screened one at an event for new web series. I didn’t have any idea what would come of the videos. I made them to create something I could be proud of. A woman at the event recognized me from a previous web series I made, came up to me and told me these videos should be at SoulPancake. I went home, watched a bunch of amazing videos, then looked at IMDB Pro to see who Rainn was repped by. Luckily, he was with an agent at WME that I knew, so I wrote that agent a personal email with links to the first three vids. The following week, I was sitting in the SoulPancake office talking about making more.
CAKE: Prior to creating your anthology, what were your favorite comedies based in reality?
NICK: This is hard. I think most comedy, if done well, is based in some sort of reality. Good Morning Vietnam with Robin Williams really hitting me hard as a teenager. It felt significant. It probably lingered with me so vividly because the humor opened the door to the pain and confusion of war. I loved Midnight Cowboy and The Graduate. Probably the most impactful movie in terms of my creativity has been Harold and Maude.
CAKE: How has the series been received by the public? What have been your favorite reactions?
NICK: The reactions have been incredible. I get so nervous before each story goes up. It leaves me feeling pretty raw, but the comments have really been amazing. I really like it when people leave comments that reveal the way the series has changed their understanding of cancer. So many of them have said things like, “I feel like I understand what my aunt or uncle or brother went through so much better.” That, and when other survivors contact me or people that are going through treatment relay that the series helps them. All of that is very sweet stuff.
CAKE: What was the most difficult part of creating the series?
NICK: I think in all creative endeavors, starting is the hardest part. I was really nervous to make these because they’re essentially reenactments… a word that, like cancer, has it’s own stigma. But I believed in the stories, and I liked the concept of narration bursting open into a cinematic world, so we made them.
CAKE: In the episode “The Host” you develop an endearing bond with the employees at your local cafe. Have you kept in touch with these inspirational individuals?
NICK: I do! They’re some of my favorite people to hang out with when I go back home. I took a picture with Breezy the last time I went to coffee at her shop… she works for a fancy new coffee shop in a very hip part of Denver.
CAKE: You are forced to reveal to a total stranger that you are going through chemotherapy in the episode “The Bus.” Were there other awkward encounters you experienced during your illness that you wanted to write about, but didn’t make it into the series?
NICK: There were tons of awkward moments. I felt like such a fish out of water. I remember being very nervous when I went swimming. I thought I looked like a hairless cat… and that everyone was looking at my medi-port (this awkward surgically implanted sub-dermal bubble under my chest). Running into old friends or people I knew growing up and not knowing to tell them or not was always a challenge. You never know how much some one really wants to ‘catch up’… and you always run the risk of making them really sad. There was a time when an old girlfriend wanted to get coffee because she heard I had cancer and she had just gone through a really awful personal tragedy… she just wanted to sit with some one who knew pain, maybe? It was as awkward as you might expect hanging with an ex.
CAKE: One of our favorite episodes “The Bank” contains a hilarious scene where you take a trip to the sperm bank with your dad to, of course, retain your healthy seed for the future. Did you always intend to write about this experience? What was your thought process for touching upon such delicate subject matter?
NICK: Of all the delicate subjects having to do with a cancer experience, this one realistically brought my future into question. I was 26 and had never been in a place to think about having kids at that point. I moved to NYC after college and was living in a 4 bedroom/1 bathroom shit-hole in Brooklyn when I got diagnosed. But banking sperm was an incredible thing to think about… that I might need these little guys in the future. And to accomplish this, I had to masturbate while my Dad waited in a waiting room. Talk about high stakes.
CAKE: What have you taken away from writing and developing this amazing series?
NICK: This whole experience has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. It’s an incredible thing to do an autobiographical project- to get a little light from such a dark time and help others along the way. It’s cemented the importance of storytelling and the impact that art can have as a tool for social change.
CAKE: The cast of THEH is truly impressive. Did you have trouble recruiting the actors or did they instantaneously flock to the project?
NICK: I don’t know if anyone has flocked to it. Most of the actors have been incredibly generous. I feel like I have an ace up my sleeve with the subject matter. Most people are friends or fans of the series. Jean Smart and Richard Gilliland were introduced to the series through our producer, Josh Shelton, and were so incredibly kind to be a part of one of the hardest episodes we’ve done. They really knocked it out of the park. George Basil is an old friend and one of the funniest guys on the planet. Lucy Walters (in the 1800’s letter ep – she’s in the show POWER on Starz) is reprising her role as my girlfriend in the upcoming season finale, along with comedian James Pumphrey. It’s the biggest episode we’ve ever shot and I can’t wait for it to come out. It’s the craziest story I had during treatment. There’s an action sequence in it, and I shaved my head… so get ready.
CAKE: What other projects do you have on the horizon? Would you work with SoulPancake again?
NICK: I did a series for SoulPancake called 0-100 that is still coming out. The first one is here.
I just shot another non-fiction piece for Refinery 29 where I interviewed women of all ages about different issues. I’m editing that one right now, and very proud of it. I have a series I’m shopping around about my best friend, who’s 34 and never had a proper girlfriend. He has no trouble with women, he’s just what some call, Aromantic. The series is an earnest look at the nature of love through the eyes of some one romantically challenged. It’s called An Aromantic Comedy.
CAKE: What dessert would you never ever pass up at a meal and why?
When I was living in NYC, I worked at this incredible Italian restaurant called, L’artusi, and they had this Olive Oil Cake that was heavenly. It still reign’s supreme in my dessert royalty.
Mentions: Catch up on THE HIGHLY EVOLVED HUMAN episodes you missed HERE.