Nick Carter: Paris is a very good actress

June 6, 2005, Cologne, almost 11AM. Even in the lobby of the Hilton hotel the Backstreet Boys have to give autographs, the lifts are blocked. Nick Carter is used to that. For breakfast he first has 3 cigarettes and then 2 sandwiches with fries.

Nick, greetings from Tommy Lee, I met him on Monday.
(smiles) Thank you.

I heard you are friends. A weird combination at first sight – the classic sex, drugs and Rock 'n' Roll star and the heartbreaker of one of the most successful boygroups. Can you explain that to me?
I can understand that our friendship seems weird to you. But the kind of music we both make has nothing to do with our personalities. People have wrong expectations, because they don't have a clue. But I don't care about who I have fun with, an actor, a musician or a fan. I can hang around with everyone.

Do you maybe try to catch up on your youth now?
What do you mean?

In the past you've always been the innocent pop star, but then you made headlines with your DUI.
The problem is that everything I do becomes public. When you're watched 24/7 it isn't easy to act normal. But I'm a normal human being like everyone else and I won't change my lifestyle only because I'm in a band. That's maybe another reason why Tommy and I got along right away: he's a big child – and I also don't want to grow up.

Isn't this a typical reaction for artists whose careers began at an early age – they want to break out of that cage someday? You had already hit the stage for the first time when you were only 6 years old.
Believe me it's hard to achieve the next level when you start that early. Many people never make it. Most of the young stars, no matter if actors or musicians, had to experience that it doesn't work any longer.

What are the reasons for that, what do you think?
Many of them don't succeed in that transformation, when they grow out of their role, their genre. When you're young it's hard to keep the balance of your age and your job. You just can't have fun and keep the responsibility for the future at once. I learned how it works best for me. I became hard inside and out. Because I also went through some tough times – but I won't sit on a TV show and cry out to the world about how bad my youth was. I try to deal with that myself.

Were you raised like that?
Yes my dad raised me like that. (thinks) I come from a weird, very mixed family. My dad's parents had nothing, they were poor. The first six years of my life I lived in a bar, a strip club. We moved to Florida, because my mom didn't want me to grow up like that anymore. I can still remember that my parents were always fighting and half naked women everywhere.

Sounds like an interesting time...
There's still more to come: my dad's a real rocker, a trucker like his dad. Even my grandma was driving heavy vehicles. That's the tough side of my family, like I use to call it. My moms family side is different: creative, artistic. My moms dad was professor of English literature, my grandma was a kindergarten teacher. So my mom comes from a bit crazy artistic and intellectual family, while my dad represents the typical working class. I grew up between these differences. When my mom was fed up of all these fights, we packed our things in a truck and moved to Florida, without any money.

How do you come from a strip club in NY to a pop band like the Backstreet Boys?
It's a long story. In junior high I was only interested in acting. Only later on I started with the singing.

But the acting thing didn't work so badly: as a kid you already had a small role in Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands".
That's right. But it was only a very small part. I applied for the Mickey Mouse Club at the age of 11, the TV show which also brought up Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears. I got an offer, which I turned down, because I was already working with the Backstreet Boys. They offered me 50.000 bucks, but I turned it down. One year after that the MMC cancelled. And I don't have to tell you, what happened with the Backstreet Boys... sometimes life does write the best stories. My life is a crazy roller coaster ride. Even in school I have always been the outsider, was never really accepted by the others, because the people weren't able to rate me. I surprised them a lot, which might be in my blood. It's still like that: my solo record, my friends, my relationships...

Do you ever wish to have a normal life?
There was a time the inner child in me tried to escape, play with my friends, go to school. But with growing age I realized that there are only a few people who are able to earn money with that job and enjoy a whole lot of liberties.

How have you experienced the very beginning of the Backstreet Boys?
It was a pretty wild time. At one point I couldn't take it any longer. It was even too much when I was asked for an autograph. We worked our butts off with the touring and suddenly the whole world was interested in us. There weren't much pop bands like us at that time.

Describe this feeling of success for a 15 year old world star: did you feel unimpeachable?
You don't really reflect all that at that age. You just enjoy all the things, it seems easy and it's easy flowing for you. I'm pretty sure I acted a bit arrogant towards others sometimes. But if I act like the big pop star all the time, people would have realized pretty quickly that it's all fake. I can hardly hide my emotions, I'm a bad liar. That's why I'm a bad actor (laughs). I often look in the mirror and ask myself, who am I?

You're questioning yourself?
Yes. I'm a big question mark. You don't learn when you don't ask. When people think they're on the top, they're always wrong. Music wise and personally I'm still not where I want to be. I think it will come with age. But when we're on tour I've already seen a lot: in England the Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and Windsor Castle, here in Germany we've been to Dachau. That's also a part of history, even thought it isn't a pleasant one. I like history. In Japan I learned some things about the samurai and we've been to China lately.

Do you also learn other things besides the history?
Languages. Even though it's not much what you can learn during these short stops. But it works, when you come back more often. That's another advantage others my age don't have. (thinks) In two years I wanna do something different from all what I've done till now. Maybe I will move to Japan, learn the language and martial arts.

I wanna be like Forrest Gump: shrimp fisher, marathon runner, football player. That's a fulfilled life, don't you think? The most important part of my life will always be connected with the music, but why shouldn't I just hop on a sailing boat and cross the Atlantic?

Do you even still enjoy being a Backstreet Boy with this background and these attitudes?
Funny that you ask me for that. Tommy Lee also asked that a few days ago. Because every time he tells someone about me, he has to explain that I'm not a bad guy. Those people don't even know me!

The music of your band is very simple made. Do you support that?
Completely!

Have you never felt like a puppet in the hands of your manager?
Never. That's why we took the break, to develop. Of course we're sick of that boyband talk. But it will probably still need 20 more years till people admit that we are cool – or were.

Can I ask you a private question in the end? How can an intelligent guy like you fall in love with a woman like Paris Hilton?
(groans, laughs) I knew this question would come. You know, I just like to have fun. And I have to admit something about Paris: she is a very good actress.

Are you serious?
I mean that as an actress in the big game of life. She knows how to persuade. When I met her, she wasn't herself. I got to know the real Paris after a 4 month relationship. And we weren't together all the time – because of understandable reasons. Maybe I should have realized earlier.

What?
That she isn't the right one for me. After these 4 months I tried to break up with her several times, but it was her who came back to me every single time like "please don't leave me". And then I gave in again. I don't know why I had this relationship, I really don't. Let me say it like that: I was in a cage, had a fight with the lion and left quickly. I didn't die and wasn't eaten.

Do you regret this relationship?
(laughs) No! We had a lot of fun. But to be honest: she's not marriage material.