When it comes to pranks it definitely helps to have a friendly, unassuming, and ideally unknown face. Think Johnny Knoxville before MTV started airing the first season of jackass in October 2000. Three episodes deep, however, it was a completely different world and a lot more dicey trying to pull off pranks in public with his ruggedly handsome, increasingly recognizable mug. Anyway, that was then, this is now, and when it came to filming pranks for Swerved, a fresh face was needed—that's how Carly Adams became one of those recurring accomplices in the mix. Rick Kosick probes the who, what, where, why, and how…
Rick Kosick: How did Gorilla Flicks go about casting you for Swerved?
Carly Adams: Pitching my show, Girls With Balls. I made a sizzle reel specifically for Jeff [Tremaine], because I am one of the biggest fans of jackass. I always wanted to be a part of it, but I knew it was a “boy’s club.” So I was like, “I’m going to create a show that’s just like jackass but for girls.” They brought me in and I thought, “I’m meeting with the Steven Spielberg of pranks and hidden camera!”
So then they said there was this other idea they wanted you to be a part of?
No. It went away for a while because they didn’t want to do Girls With Balls, and I never heard from them again. But I was still super stoked, because I got to meet Shanna [Zablow] and everybody and it was amazing. But then Donny [Anderson], the same camera guy that worked on jackass, was one of the camera guys on my show. Six months later when Donny was working on Swerved, I guess he said to Jeff, “Carly’s really good,” so Shanna called me and was like, “Come in.” And I remember my first day, because I’d never met you and I was like, “That’s the camera guy from jackass!”
Yeah, I remember that was in West Virginia. I was sitting outside and you were, “Hey, what’s up, Rick!” and I was like, “Who are you?”
And I saw everyone’s face, all the behind-the-scenes guys from jackass—the camera guys, Guch… I was just so, “Holy crap, I’ve won the lottery of hidden camera! I’m here working with all the people I’ve been laughing at and kind of feeling like I know." So it was amazing. Flying in and working on Swerved was just like, “I made it!”
Is this the first TV show you’ve worked on?
Well, I’d done a couple pilots that were hidden camera that never got picked up, but yeah, this was like my first real one, like “this thing is airing.”
Do you consider yourself a prankster?
I came out of the womb pranking. I think my first words when I came out of my mom’s vagina were like, “Haha… just kidding.” My family is so gullible that it set the stage for my life. I’ve been falling down stairs, hiding around corners, going on with these elaborate pranks… I still get my parents and family. So it didn’t just happen because I watched jackass that I was like, “I’m gonna make a show that’s a girl’s version.” No, I’ve always considered myself like the queen of pranks. There were so many guys doing it—especially online, the Johnny Knoxvilles of the world—and I figured there wasn’t a girl representing this world. So I want to be the Lucille Ball of hidden camera. I want to be the female prankster. This is what I love to do, I’m here now, and I get the opportunity to work with some of the most famous wrestlers! Who gets to do that, who gets to prank wrestlers?!
Are you a fan of the WWE?
I love the WWE. I remember my parents took me and my little brothers to my first show in the ’80s—this was when Hulk Hogan was still doing it—and I was like, “Whoa… people are throwing chairs at each other, people are getting really upset, and I don’t know if this is real, but it is real, because people are really getting angry and wanting to spit on the wrestlers." I was like, “I don’t know, mom and dad… should you really be taking your toddlers here?” But my little brothers and I loved it, and it was Hulkamania everywhere in our home growing up. We were always watching when it came on Monday nights. So it’s awesome that I get to go work and prank wrestlers. It was the chance of a lifetime for me.
Who’s easier to prank, a Superstar or a Diva?
It was easier to prank the girls, I think, but it was more fun to prank the Superstars. Sometimes while pranking the Divas it was like, “I don’t want to get my ass kicked,” because there was a moment when Paige was pranking Foxy and she got so close to me that there was an opportunity where I could get my ass beat. And I’m stepping up to her, so that was a little nerve-wracking. But see, I could step up to a Superstar and he’s not going to touch me. You know what I mean? I could get him to that point, but he’s not going to swing. The Divas are going to swing, because I’m another girl, so like, why not. And I don’t want to get my ass beat, so it was actually more fun to do the Superstars. But don’t get me wrong. I’ll do a Diva any day. Those Bella Twins have it coming.
What was one of your favorite bits to be involved with on Swerved?
The pregnant bit. First of all, you take a pregnant woman anywhere and it’s kid gloves. Everybody is like, “What can I get you… Are you okay… Everything good…,” so it’s such an easy thing to do to prank people. I love pregnancy bits. I do a lot in my own stuff, so when Jeff was like, “Here, we’re gonna put you in a pregnant belly,” I was like, "Okay," that allowed me to be very physical and fall on my belly. What a perfect stage to be able to play with someone, like what is this woman doing in a gym?! And I got to prank Zack Ryder. He looks like Bradley Cooper and he’s so cute and I couldn’t wait to prank him. His reaction was so sweet and genuine. What I love Swerved for is that you get to see these big crazy wrestlers, who are so animated and big tough guys, and all of a sudden they become these little soft creatures and it makes you love them. Like when I saw Zack Ryder on the shock chair, it was like, “Oh, he’s so sweet and kind of gullible.”
Yeah, it just breaks that third wall down. You see these people for who they really are. I think Swerved is a show that not just the WWE fan can enjoy, everybody can.
Oh, for sure. You get to see these big, muscley dudes go from all “I’m gonna kick your ass,” to “Can I help you? Sit down, let me rub your shoulders….” I mean, Zack Ryder rubbing my shoulders and me pretending to shoot out a baby was amazing.
What was it like having Tremaine as a director?
Dream come true. He’d been directing Johnny Knoxville, who I adore and wish to be the female version of, and he was in my ear. It was like, “Wow, I think I made it!” I know it probably sounds silly for other people to hear that, but this is a world that I’ve lived in for the last three years—the prank world. I mean, like I said, I came out of the womb pranking, but I decided to make it a business and I’ve been working on it for so long. You guys are the top people doing this, so for me, someone that had no experience doing this except for shooting all my own stuff, that’s a big deal.
Was there anyone you were nervous to prank?
Well, I was kind of nervous to prank Zack Ryder. I didn’t have a crush on him, but he was so cute and I was like, “What if I mess up?” There’s really no messing up in pranks—the blocking is where you’re going to mess things up—but I was like a girl in junior high, crushing on her beefcake football boyfriend. And then I’ve got Jeff Tremaine in my ear telling me what to do, and I’m like, “This is too much!” But it worked out great. I’d have to say when we did the brother and sister kissing bit I was kind of nervous how that was all going to go down, because there was three wrestlers we were trying to get and Fandango was in on it, who, by the way, is also very handsome, so that was a little nerve-wracking. Plus, I had to make out with Ginger Boy. So I’m like making out, trying to prank three wrestlers all at the same time, I’ve got Fandango over here … it was craziness. But it was super fun, and I helped write that bit.
If Swerved were to come back for a second season, would you like to do it again?
Um, yes please. I don’t even have to think about that. I would absolutely do it. That was so fun … being on the road, pranking wrestlers. And I love riding with the crew, like I’m one of the boys—it’s just fun being a part of the camaraderie of the crew. I love playing in this kind of world. It’s kind of like being in high school again, but you’re getting paid, meeting new people, and pranking big muscley dudes.
Or gals.
Or gals! That could technically kick my ass, but I could hold my own… maybe? For like a second? But once those big muscley girls come out and start putting their weight on me, I don’t think I’d be able to take them.
Closing thoughts?
I just hope we get to go out on the road again, because I have a lot of ideas. I know the WWE probably won’t let us do anything, but boy do I have some ideas for John Cena and the Bella Twins….
Do you only have brothers?
Posted by: Kelly | 02/09/2019 at 12:19 AM