Podcast Summary

Podcast: The HoneyDew with Ryan Sickler
Episode: #371: Nic Novicki
Release Date: February 2, 2026
Guest: Nic Novicki (comedian, actor, and creator of Easterseals Disability Film Challenge)

Episode Overview

This episode of The HoneyDew features comedian Nic Novicki, who shares in-depth stories about growing up as a little person with pseudoachondroplasia, navigating surgeries and social challenges, and finding community, purpose, and humor along the way. In characteristic “HoneyDew” fashion, the show highlights life’s “lowlights” as opportunities for resilience, laughter, and transformation, with Nic providing raw, hilarious, and moving insights about his unique journey.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introducing Nic Novicki and His Projects

• [04:24] Nic introduces himself, noting the frustration of having his name spelled with no "k": “My name is Nic. There’s no K, which is frustrating to a lot of people when they’re searching. But Nick, no Vicki.”
• Nic promotes his upcoming movie, Father’s Day: Bittersweet, and his appearance on “Bad Thoughts” (Netflix).
• He mentions his stand-up dates and engagement on social media: “See me do comedy… all my dates… at Nick Novicki.”

The “Mystery” Diagnosis: Rare Dwarfism

• [05:33] Nic shares that he has pseudoachondroplasia, a “really rare kind of dwarfism… the only kind where they have no idea that you’re little.”
  • At birth, he was taller and heavier than his brothers.
  • No family history of dwarfism; parents baffled.
• [06:38] Details on how doctors eventually realized something was different:
  • “All of a sudden… they’re like, he shrank. What do you mean, he shrank?” (scoliosis caused him to lose height).
  • Diagnosis comes after confusion over a possible kidney issue.
• [07:40] Pre-Internet parental confusion: “My parents are just staring at a phone book, like, what do we do?”
  • Eventually, a TV episode of the Phil Donahue show led them to resources, culminating in a visit to Johns Hopkins and Nic’s first exposure to the little people community.
  • Memorable moment: As a kid, Nic attended his first Little People convention and met Billy Barty.

Childhood & School Years: Embracing Difference With Humor

• [11:05] On how his parents approached raising him:
  • “They were kind of just like: we’re going to treat him the same.”
• [11:15] Nic credits his East Coast upbringing and familial approach with building resilience and a comedic instinct:
  • “That’s where comedy came from… You start reverting things… like, hey, just like a karate move. You’re gonna roll at me, I’m gonna, you know, dodge it.”
• [13:59] The turning point in junior high when peers outgrew him: “Then once I get to, like, junior high, it starts getting crazy where everybody is just like, kaboom.”

Navigating Bullies, Outsiders, and Building Social Survival Skills

• [14:27] On bullying and support: “My philosophy has always… since I was a little kid, if people are gonna say something crazy to me, they want to, hey, I want to meet you now.”
• [15:09] Strangers would ask for pictures simply because he’s little (“Strangers will go up, bro, let me take a picture.”).
• [16:20] Social strategy:
  • Nic befriended “the biggest and the toughest” kids—often fellow outsiders or minorities.
  • “There’s like a hidden bond where people, like, ended up honestly having my back.”
  • On bullying: “I never really got picked on… If I was on their side, it would be trouble for that other person if they attacked me.”

Adult Experiences: Dealing With Prejudice and Physical Confrontation

• [18:51] On being jumped for the first time at age 40 in Hollywood:
  • Quote [21:13]: “He’s like, ‘I’ma punch you in the face.’ I was like, ‘Whoa, man. Chill. I’m Nick. I’m just trying to go home.’ And he hit me. But in fairness, he did just tell me he was about to hit me.”
  • Afterward, a homeless man tells Nic: “I saw what happened… You don’t look disabled, you know, so I didn’t know.” [22:47]
  • Nic reflects this was the only physical altercation in decades living in rough neighborhoods.

Comedy Origins: Breaking Into Stand-Up

• [24:40] Began stand-up at Temple University:
  • First time at a comedy club: “All this stuff… she was, like, mortified, you know, but I was just like… ‘You know what? I’m gonna make a life out of this right now, right here.’” [25:48]
  • Would ride to New York, sleep in Penn Station to do gigs.

Words, Labels, and the Language of Identity

• [28:03] Discussion on slurs and evolving terminology:
  • “Little person” is current preferred term—originates from “Little People of America.”
  • The term “midget” comes from “midge,” an insect (circus/carnival language), and is outdated/offensive.
  • Nic [30:45]: “To me, that’s just not my world. Certainly not now… If somebody else wants to be called, you know, a dwarf, little… person of short stature, I’m kind of like, ultimately, like, let whatever they want to be called be that.”
• [31:48] Recurring anecdote about being unable to pronounce “dwarf” to directors, leading to humorous ADR sessions:
  • “I did an episode of Private Practice… I keep saying dwarf. No one’s going to correct me.”
  • Second time: “I’m like, I am living in a Larry David, like, Curb Your Enthusiasm… This is the second grown adult that has told me how to say dwarf.” [35:22]

Childhood Surgeries & Physical Challenges

• [37:42] Multiple reconstructive surgeries as a child and teen (hips, ankles, knees).
  • Body casts for months at a time; had to relearn walking twice (ages 11 and 16).
  • “It was sort of a blessing. My parents were just like, ‘Hey, we’re going to a movie.’ I’m like, ‘What? What’s happening?’ And boom, I’m… in the hospital after a 16-hour surgery.” [38:08]
  • A time of creativity and community, forming connections with other little people worldwide during long hospital stays.
• [41:16] Admits difficult times: “There definitely, I think, was a little depression in my life, too… in between the first set of surgery when I was 11 and then when I was 16…”
• Perspective shift: Hospitalized at 16, Nic witnesses others with even greater challenges; “I’m gonna take my and run with it… it shifts your focus.” [53:49]

Dating, Relationships, and Fatherhood

• [48:18] Met wife (also a little person, achondroplasia) at a convention.
• Dated both little people and tall women ("What's the tallest lady you ever dated?"—“She was 5’10 and a half.” [48:30])
• On insecurities and fetishization: “Did you ever worry that… you could be a fetish?” [49:10] “Yeah, I’m like, you gotta roll the dice, you know…”
• Describes teenage struggles—frequently in the “friend zone” and not yet comfortable in his identity; lost virginity at 18 or 19, largely because he was often recovering from surgeries.

Parenting & Genetics

• [54:55] Father of a four-year-old and a newborn.
• Both he and his wife are little people—but from different genetic forms (achondroplasia, pseudoachondroplasia).
• Genetics explained: 25% chance kids would be her kind, 25% his, 25% both, 25% neither (average stature). Still unsure if their older child has dwarfism: “We don’t know until… wild card genes.” [55:32]
• About new treatment to “cure” dwarfism: Nic is critical: “That says to me… that I’m not okay because I’m 3 foot 10. I’m like, look, I’m so far past removed—this idea of I want to be tall… I’m not my height. This is who I am.” [57:14]
• Imagines family dynamics if daughter is tall: “She’s gonna be lifting things, right? I mean, we’re gonna start training her… Come get this soup down…” [59:22]

Adapting to the World & Disability Advocacy

• [60:23] On conveniences he’d buy with unlimited funds: “What after yesterday and flying into LAX? I would like to have them change this stupid system where you have to take a shuttle bus to get an Uber where I have to walk like 10 miles.”
• [62:02] Shares his passion for disability advocacy:
  • Created the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge: “850 films… have somebody with a disability in front of or behind the camera… just showing what’s your disability.”
• Reflects on fate: meeting his wife by chance at a convention lobby, and how closely life’s pain and blessings are intertwined.
  • “If I had not been in the lobby of this little people convention, if she had not been like, ‘I’m fed up with this, and I want to leave’… we never would have met.” [63:28]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On adversity as a kid:
  • “My philosophy was always, I’m going to win in this fight. I’m going to come in—if you come at me kind of alpha, I’ll come back at you like that. And then try to be like, ‘What’s up, man? I’m friend, you know, we’re cool, it’s all good.’” [17:13, Nic Novicki]
• On language:
  • “No one’s gonna challenge me on what I want to be called. If you’re confident about it… I want to be called the chicken now… Like, I like being called a little person, but if somebody else wants to be called, you know, a dwarf, little… Let whatever they want to be called be that.” [31:00, Nic Novicki]
• ADR studio moment:
  • “This is the second grown adult that has told me how to say dwarf. I’m like, I went to college, you know? Like, I got a scholarship.” [35:22, Nic Novicki]
• On perspectives after surgery:
  • “I’m gonna take my and run with it.” [53:49, Nic Novicki]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [04:20] – Nic’s background, promoting his projects
• [05:33] – Timeline and confusion leading to diagnosis with pseudoachondroplasia
• [06:38] – Early health confusion, the Donahue story
• [11:15] – Parental approach and East Coast upbringing
• [13:59] – Transition to feeling “different” in junior high
• [16:20] – Social strategies for avoiding bullying
• [18:51] – Story of being jumped in Hollywood
• [24:40] – Comedy origins at Temple University
• [28:03] – Changing language around dwarfism (“midget”, “dwarf”, “little person”)
• [37:42] – Surgeries, challenges as a child, and community in hospital
• [48:18] – Dating and relationships
• [54:55] – Fatherhood, genetics, and culture of little people
• [60:23] – Dream modifications for convenience, advocacy
• [64:56] – Advice for his 16-year-old self: “It’s all going to work out.”

Final Reflections

The episode is marked by Nic’s humor, drive, and insight—moving seamlessly between painful memories, sharp observations about language and society, and comic self-deprecation. Whether discussing surgeries, bullying, or identity as a little person, Nic reframes adversity as comedy and opportunity, consistently emphasizing agency, perspective, and the value of community.

Where to Find Nic Novicki

• Comedy & Dates: @NickNovicki on all social media
• Film Challenge: Easterseals Disability Film Challenge
• Films/Shows: Father’s Day: Bittersweet, “Bad Thoughts” (Netflix)

An essential listen for anyone interested in lived experience, humor, and the power of resilience in the face of adversity.