It wasn’t until Thanksgiving of 2021 that I even knew who Nathan Fielder was.
After our family meal, my sister, Leslie, told me that there was a show that they wanted to show me. I shrugged and said okay. They opened Hulu on the family TV and played the first episode of the third season of the hit Comedy Central show, Nathan for You.
Both of us were in tears from laughing so hard. The notoriously awkward way that Nathan interacted with the business owners had us both cackling and asking each other, “Is he really like that?” We were completely unaware that we were soon to find out.
I had found out about the Nathan Fielder event hosted by TCNJ’s College Union Board (CUB) only a day before. I had not given him much thought after Thanksgiving, but I remembered him as “that guy from that show.” I texted a picture of the flier to my sister, who absolutely insisted that we went to see the CUB’s “A Conversation with Nathan Fielder” on February 11th in Kendall Hall.
The big question about Nathan Fielder and his show is, “Is he really like that?”
The short answer: Kind of.
He answered questions about the show and about his career in a very similarly awkward fashion to which he behaved in Nathan for You. During the moments of uncomfortable silence, it was hard not to laugh, unsure of what would be said next.
The highlight of the night was the question and answer segment, where he invited three students onstage to each ask him a question. However, he led each question by asking the students a few questions about themselves, of course adding his humor to the conversations wherever he could and commenting on their lives as college students, even asking about TCNJ’s beloved Rho. I felt that it was easily seen that there may have been some underlying awkwardness to him, but it was a trait that he had really played up for the sake of comedy.
Personally, my favorite part of the night was actually well after the show. My sister and I were walking across campus and in front of the student center, we spotted a member of CUB walking with who we quickly realized was Nathan Fielder himself. In the short interaction we had, we experienced his awkward demeanor first hand. They asked him about his reaction to the episode “Smokers Allowed” being widely taught in college-level art classes, because of how “painterly” he was during his creative process displayed in the episode. He told us that he was not expecting that kind of reaction from art programs, and it genuinely surprised him.
Overall, despite his long conversational pauses and slightly odd demeanor, it was easily told that there really was no malicious intent behind his words, which has been accused of him in the show. He was just funny, and enjoyed making people laugh.