These days, he’s hard to miss, be it hosting a suite of ‘Real Housewives’ shows plus his own late-night chat on Bravo, getting low-key turnt with Anderson Cooper on CNN’s New Year’s Eve special or holding forth on his eponymous satellite radio station.
In a sense, Cohen will complete the transition from That Guy to living-room fixture come Super Bowl Sunday, with his first starring role in a big-game ad, for Nerds. Cohen has plans to host a party at his new apartment in Manhattan, nosh on the candy of honor and, he says, “watch my phone blow up.”
Yeah, he doesn’t hate this.
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“Anderson Cooper likes to rib me and he’s like, ‘You love being famous,’” Cohen tells USA TODAY Sports of his CNN New Year’s running mate. “It’s fun. I was not famous for a long time in my life. I didn’t get famous until I was very set in who I was as a person, and I knew a lot of famous people just from working in the media.
“I had a really good sense of how not to turn into a horrible person as a result of being famous. It’s been a really fun ride for me. I’ve gotten to do incredible things. To go places and do things I never thought I’d be able to do or see.
“I got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. And I have to say, being in a Super Bowl ad is something I’m crossing off my bucket list and can say that I was a part of.”
Not that the Gummy needs one – the Nerds Gummy Cluster, introduced in 2020, has transformed the Nerds mode of transmission, creating an arguably unsettling level of fandom via TikTok and other means. The snack treat, in a global sense, is designed as a fleeting respite, a sweet and ephemeral hit to the senses.
Enter Mr. Bravo.
“Look, I’m a taste bud to Gummy in the ad. But I’m a taste bud to a lot of my friends, too,” says Cohen. “Which means kind of being there for the big moments and hyping them up and celebrating what makes them special, which is what best buds do.
“I’m really proud to produce shows that are a great escape for people and make people really happy and provide an environment where people have fun. I think it’s all lighthearted and positive and that’s what I want to be associated with.”
And not take himself too seriously. Cohen got an invite to the Super Bowl, but after his family moved to their new digs his seven-year-old son asked, “Are we going to have a Super Bowl party here this year?’”
So, the traditional household soiree is on, to the delight of his son and 4-year-old daughter. Sure, their dad loves the spotlight, but also isn’t so big that he can’t keep it unpretentious.
“I’m going to be comfortably home, watching the ad in the second quarter, with the kids. They’re so excited. They haven’t seen it yet,” he says. “We’re going to wait until it airs on TV, old-school style, and serve Nerds to all my guests.”