Nick Kroll on ‘Insanity’ of ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Drama: ‘So Much of It Was Nonsense’

The Don’t Worry Darling actor said his “first exposure” to the “drama around the movie” was “on the red carpet in Venice, and I was like, ‘Ohhhh, I think people might be interested in this’ “

Nick Kroll is sharing his thoughts on the buzz surrounding Don’t Worry Darling.

Kroll, 44, portrayed Dean, the husband of Olivia Wilde’s character Bunny in the film released last month. Harry Styles, 28, and Florence Pugh, 26, also starred in the movie, which Wilde directed.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter in an interview published Friday, Kroll opened up about receiving backlash after sitting on a panel for the TV series Cavemen at the Television Critics Association — and what he took away from that experience.

The show aired for one season in 2007 and was inspired by Geico commercials. However, accusations that the series was “racist” was an unexpected topic during the panel discussion.

“I learned so much going through that, like how you can’t predict how something’s going to be received. You can’t predict any of it. And I was young enough then where I was like, ‘I’m funny, I’ll be funny about this.’ But if that happened today, I would not be doing bits around it. I’d be as quiet and boring as possible,” Kroll said of the moment.

Asked if that experience “prepared” him for Don’t Worry Darling’s talked-about press tour, Kroll said, “It prepared me to be part of something that everyone was interested in, but here’s the difference: The Don’t Worry Darling trailer came out, and people were excited about it. People have been thinking about this movie for a while.”

He explained, “Then all of the mishegas happens, the drama around the movie started to take hold, and I was not a part of any of that. I’m not distancing myself at all, I just wasn’t doing press at that point.”

The actor said he first witnessed how the movie was being received during the Venice Film Festival, adding, “Ohhhh, I think people might be interested in this.” Laughing, he added, “And I was right.”

During the movie’s premiere at the festival, Styles was accused of spitting on costar Chris Pine, 41.

A representative for Pine quickly shut down the rumor, and Wilde eventually addressed what she called “spitgate” during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Speaking to host Stephen Colbert last month, Wilde confidently stated that Styles “did not” spit on Pine, adding, “But I think it’s a perfect example of like: people will look for drama anywhere they can.”

When Colbert, 58, joked “only time will tell” if the rumors are actually true, she reiterated, “No, he really didn’t!”

Forty members of the Don’t Worry Darling crew and production team also denied any drama on set after Vulture reported that Pugh and Wilde got into a “screaming match,” citing an unnamed insider who reportedly spent “significant time” behind the scenes of the film.

In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE last month, personnel who worked on Don’t Worry Darling said that any rumors of onset tensions “are completely false.”

“As a crew, we’ve avoided addressing the absurd gossip surrounding the movie we’re so proud of, but feel the need to correct the anonymous ‘sources’ quoted in a recent article,” the statement read at the time. “Any allegations about unprofessional behavior on the set of Don’t Worry Darling are completely false.”