The Argus: Why do you want be a WesCeleb so badly?
Max Nussenbaum: Occasionally, when I’m using The Argus as toilet paper, the WesCeleb catches my eye. And I always think, I’m cooler than all these people. Why aren’t I a WesCeleb?

A: You’ve been in The Argus a few times before. Why the desire to be in it again?
MN: Anything to stroke my ego—and the ladies love it.
Henrik, Max’s housemate, in the background: No they don’t!

A: You were a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. How was that?
MN: Dude, that happened in like 2009.

A: You’ve been harassing me about being a WesCeleb for years. This is how these interviews work. What do you want me to do?
MN: Well, maybe I don’t want to be a WesCeleb after all.

A: It’s too late. So, Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
MN: It was extremely nerve-wracking but also extremely fun.

A: Did people treat you differently when you got back to Wes?
MN: I’d hoped so, but no.

A: Do people ever bring up the fact that you were on it?
MN: In the middle of first semester last year this one guy came up to me in class and was like, “Dude, congrats on Who Wants to be a Millionaire!” And I was like, “Thanks, but you know that happened over a year ago, right?”

A: How was your experience writing a musical?
MN: It was definitely the most rewarding creative experience I’ve ever been part of because Nat (my collaborator) and I worked on it every day for close to two years. It was also a major exercise in delayed gratification because it was over a year of writing and directing before we finally got to see it performed. And it was a bit fleeting because it was two years of work for a three-night show that probably 150 people saw, ever. But it wasn’t over because—

A: No one wants to hear about your soundtrack.
MN: I want you to put a plug for it in the thing! You can listen to the soundtrack on the show website, cgmeetshimself.com.

A: Last semester, you went abroad to England. How was that?
MN: The study abroad part was pretty lame, but the academics were so easy that I was able to take a two-month long trip around Europe, which was dope.

A: Are you happy to be back at Wes?
MN: I was until I had to sit for this stupid interview.

A: What’s the most exciting part about being back at Wes for your senior year?
MN: Finding out that Weshop opens at 11:30 a.m. on weekdays.

A: So, you’re writing a thesis. Tell me about that.
MN: It’s a novel for the English Department. It’s about a man who works for a fast food restaurant and is convinced that once, when he was a young child, he flew, and he’s sort of obsessed with that memory. It’s also a love story.

A: You’re an English and Government major and you briefly considered writing two theses. What changed your mind?
MN: The realization that that was a terrible idea—and that I’m not that smart.

A: I heard that the other day, you saw a girl wearing the same pair of purple skinny pants as you. What happened?
MN: You kind of gave away the story with that question.

A: I don’t know why I’m interviewing you. Anyway, what are your plans for this year?
MN: My house has had an awesome idea to throw “Stranger Parties”—we’ll slip invitations into thirty random Wesboxes that invite the owner of that box plus one other person to a party at our house. It’ll be an invite-only party of—hopefully—people who don’t really know each other. So keep your eyes on your Wesboxes.

A: Scary question: what are your plans for after graduation?
MN: My plan is to throw one amazing party that blows all my Millionaire savings, then live in a refrigerator box in the financial district rubbing my face with dirt and begging for money.

A: If there is one thing that you hope people at Wesleyan know/remember you for, what would it be?
MN: I am comfortable with the fact that I will be completely forgotten as even the greatest among us must eventually be.