Live Celebrity Bloopers That Make Us Love These Interviews Even More
Everyone loves a good celebrity blooper. Whether it's Julia Louis-Dreyfus being unable to control her laughter at the hilarity of the late, great Jerry Stiller on "Seinfeld" or Marcel the monkey causing havoc on the set of "Friends," bloopers are a major source of viral entertainment. But while bloopers can be swiftly written out of TV shows or re-shot once actors have composed themselves, it's not always so easy when it comes to interviews.
Celebs are often coached on how they ought to conduct themselves with decorum during interviews. And since many talk shows are scripted, albeit loosely via pre-interviews, this lessens the opportunity for things to go awry. But life is anything but scripted, and for these stars, well, life happened.
The truth is, celebs can't prepare for everything, no matter how rich and famous they may be. So for every Sir Anthony Hopkins eloquently discussing the significance of his work, there's a Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah's couch. After all, even the biggest superstars are only human, and we can't expect them to be as impeccable as their outward facades 100% of the time.
From cursing on live television to being humiliated in front of a studio audience, these stars will always be known for providing epically memorable interview moments. Here are the live celebrity bloopers that make us love these interviews even more.
Beth Behrs' risqué blooper
When promoting her sitcom "2 Broke Girls" on "Conan," Beth Behrs was responsible for a risqué blooper involving her co-star Kat Dennings. The two actors shared a palpable rapport throughout their interview, but their bond was perhaps a little closer than the audience — and the host — anticipated.
As the pair chatted about the merits of "DuckTales" versus "Saved By the Bell," excluding a perturbed O'Brien in the process, Behrs accidentally brushed her hand past Dennings' breast. "I just touched your boob," Behrs apologized amid giggles. This led to the host demanding that the clip be replayed so he could see it. "Roll it back!" he jokingly screamed, as the clip was repeated in slow motion, leading to Dennings rolling in her eyes in incredulity.
It must be said that O'Brien's response hasn't exactly aged well in the MeToo era (the interview was conducted in 2014, three years before the rise of the MeToo movement). O'Brien ends the incident on the note, "It's a sick world where I control everything," a statement that has aged like milk considering that gendered power imbalances in Hollywood are now being exposed as more rampant and ubiquitous than first believed.
All in all, Behrs' hilarious proclamation of the accidental boob-touching is what people can still chuckle at.
Samuel L. Jackson had the perfect response to this ignorant gaffe
Acting legend Samuel L. Jackson appeared on KTLA to chat about his work on 2014's "RoboCop" reboot. But host Sam Rubin proceeded to ask Jackson about his Super Bowl commercial, confusing him with Laurence Fishburne despite the actors looking nothing alike. "I'm not Laurence Fishburne!" Jackson protested, adding, "We don't all look alike." The "Captain America" star took the blooper in good humor, softening a potentially explosive and problematic moment while he rightfully teased Rubin.
Rubin apologized for the gaffe, claiming that he didn't confuse Jackson for Fishburne, but was referring to a "Captain America" ad that ran during the Super Bowl. "But I immediately felt so dumb, I didn't bring that up — and he gave me the shellacking that was well deserved," Rubin said, via KTLA, adding, "I'm really embarrassed about it, and I very much apologize to Samuel L. Jackson and anyone else who was offended for what was a very amateur mistake."
On Twitter, Jackson joked about the incident, wearing a t-shirt that read "I'm not Laurence Fishburne." During an appearance on the Graham Norton Show, he explained his rationale for sporting the shirt. "Fish and I have been going through this for, like you said, a very long time," he explained. "He and I have been standing together when people came up to him and started talking to him about 'Pulp Fiction.' ... At the end, you know, he would, he'd sign my name!"
Bradley Cooper and Jimmy Fallon got the giggles
Jimmy Fallon is notorious for breaking character. His frequent decimation of the fourth wall on "Saturday Night Live" is a testament to his risible nature. Bradley Cooper, on the other hand, is a rather somber actor with a restrained veneer that's tough to crack. But it seems that Fallon is one of the few individuals who can unravel the silly side of Cooper. When the actor appeared on "The Tonight Show" in 2014 to promote his return to Broadway, he and the host could barely make it through the interview due to a case of the giggles.
The incident was precipitated by the ridiculous wigs (attached to sports visors) that the pair sported, and Fallon seemed to burst out into laughter at any innocuous statement that Cooper made. "We can't use that... We got to reset," Fallon chortled. But Fallon and Cooper gaining their composure proved to be an impossible feat.
This wouldn't be the last time the duo would giggle uncontrollably in each other's company. In 2018, Cooper was interviewed by Fallon to promote "A Star is Born" and, once again, they inexplicably erupted into laughter. It remains a mystery why Fallon, of all people, is able to tickle the funny bone of the usually stoic Cooper. This is, after all, the man who told The New York Times that his inspiration comes from healing "the wound of being a human being." Whatever the reason may be for Fallon rousing Cooper's silly side, it's certainly entertaining.
Mila Kunis was interviewed by a newbie
With mere minutes' notice, novice Chris Stark was asked to interview Mila Kunis for the BBC to promote "Oz the Great and Powerful" in 2013. The entire interview was one big blooper, not least because Stark wasn't a professional interviewer and was thus vastly unprepared for the role.
In something that seemed straight out of a cringeworthy Ricky Gervais sitcom, obvious newbie Stark tried his best to interview the Hollywood A-lister, but was clearly out of his element. The always affable Kunis seemed to really enjoy the experience, quipping, "This is way more fun for me." Instead of talking about the film, the pair ended up chatting about, among other things, Watford Football Club, British chicken restaurant chains, bizarre alcohol concoctions, and the interviewer's mates and their weird nicknames. "There's Sir Dosser the convict, Chango the beast ... They're all my boys," he divulged. Stark ended the interview by asking Kunis to go to a soccer match.
Speaking with Express, Stark opened up about the surreal experience. "With the Mila Kunis thing, that was just me being me, but I can't tell you the fear when I had done that interview ... I thought I had screwed it up, I didn't have the confidence then. I actually thought that was game over," he explained. However, he said that the mortifying interview proved to be a positive experience. "It was my first lesson of just be yourself and that is enough," he reflected.
Martin Short's gracious response to an insensitive gaffe
When Martin Short was interviewed by Kathie Lee Gifford on "The Today Show" in 2012, she made a rather tasteless faux pas. The comedian was promoting his new flick "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," but Gifford ended up asking Short about his relationship with his wife Nancy Dolman, referring to her in the present tense. Unbeknownst to Gifford, Dolman had died from cancer two years earlier, after thirty years of marriage.
"He and Nancy have got one of the greatest marriages of anybody in show business. How many years now for you guys?" Gifford asked, much to Short's palpable surprise. But Gifford's inconsiderate questioning didn't end there. "You're still, like, in love," she gushed. Rather than correct Gifford, an understandably upset Short gave a dignified response to the insensitive blooper, joking that the two had remained married for so long because he's just really "cute."
Gifford later apologized for the mistake on Twitter, writing, "I send my sincerest apologies to @MartinShort and his family. He handled [sic] situation w/enormous grace and kindness and I'm so grateful." Short told E! News that he held no animosity toward Gifford following the slip-up, stating that it was an honest mistake. "On live television, people make mistakes. There's no ill will intended," he said.
Isla Fisher swore on early morning TV
British early morning television is known for many things: cups of tea, lighthearted chatter, and, of course, the floating weather map. What British morning shows are not known for, however, is bad language. Unfortunately, Australian actor Isla Fisher didn't get the memo when she appeared on "This Morning" to promote "The Great Gatsby" in 2013.
During her interview on the early morning show, which is filmed live, Fisher recounted an anecdote about Cannes and ended up accidentally swearing. Host Philip Schofield asked Fisher to verify a rumor that Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire held a raucous party at the film festival, with Fisher demanding that they keep quiet whilst dressed in a robe. "It was my husband and I, we did put on our robes, but we did it more for a joke. We didn't actually boll**k anyone," Fisher recalled, before gasping and covering her mouth. "Oh no I'm so sorry... I'm Australian!" she said of the foul-mouthed remark. "You are absolutely fine. You'll leave today with the entourage... Away you go, we're the ones that are whipped outside, publicly," joked Schofield in response.
Considering the ridiculous antics her husband Sacha Baron Cohen has gotten up to in interviews, Fisher's faux pas doesn't seem that bad by comparison. Nevertheless, cursing on a family-friendly talk show is undoubtedly not, as Borat would say, "very nice."
Tony Danza got caught unawares
No one wants to get caught with a mic on them, personal utterances revealed to all. But that's exactly what happened to Tony Danza when he appeared on WJXX, a subsidiary of ABC News, to discuss his work with Disney in 1998.
As the host prepared for the show, telling Danza that he was on air, the actor was completely oblivious, throwing shade at news shows. "You end up on those news shows so often, you know, and those news shows are terrible. ... You always think that you're doing those good morning shows, but this is one of those news shows. ...I'm telling you, this is crazy. I don't want to do this. I'm going to be part of the local news. How exciting!" Danza ranted.
The host tried her very best to get Danza's attention, presumably to stop him from humiliating himself any more than he already had. "You never know when people are listening to what you're saying, Tony," she chuckled. But the sitcom star remained heedless.
Eventually, the interview began and Danza realized that his rant had been broadcast. "Oh you heard me, huh? Good," he muttered before asking the host whether she agreed with him just "a little bit." "Well, it's how I make my living, so..." she replied shadily. The jury remains out as to whether Danza showed her who's the boss.
Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols vs. grumpy Grundy
In a moment of epically awkward proportions, the Sex Pistols infamously swore on live TV during a 1976 interview on the U.K.'s "Today." Worst of all, there was no delay, so the British public heard the punk rockers' foul-mouthed invective in full.
Host Bill Grundy and the band members were, by their own admissions, extremely drunk. Grundy proceeded to make lewd remarks toward female punks, which resulted in guitarist Steve Jones calling out his creepy behavior. "You dirty old man... You dirty b*****d. You dirty f***er," Jones said following Grundy's attempts to ask a young woman out on a date.
The infamy landed the band on the front page of British newspapers. Most notably, the Daily Mirror branded the incident "The filth and the fury." At the time, members of the public were outraged, with the Mirror reporting that one was "so angry and disgusted with this filth that I took a swing with my boot... I don't want this sort of muck coming into my home at teatime."
The interview was so notorious that it inspired Fred Armisen when he created the "Saturday Night Live" character Ian Rubbish, an angry punk who hates everyone except Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The show's "History of Punk" sketch contains a direct parody of the incident, with sees Rubbish interviewed by Grundy and referring to the Queen as "a silly stupid cow."
Burt Reynolds owned Marc Summers
Acting vet Burt Reynolds was never afraid of voicing his opinions. For instance, in one of his final interviews before he died, he passionately spoke to the BBC about Hollywood's history of racism against Native Americans. Considering his outspokenness, it probably wasn't a good idea to get on Reynolds' bad side. Unfortunately, Nickelodeon star Marc Summers discovered this too little, too late.
In 1994, Reynolds and Summers appeared on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" and almost immediately clashed. It started when Summers made an unnecessary jibe about Reynolds' divorce from Loni Anderson. The actor took offense and proceeded to throw water in Summers' lap. Just as Summers attempted to do the same to Reynolds, the "Cannonball Run" star was already ten steps ahead and threw water in Summers' face, much to his visible shock. "You're not a neatness freak anymore," Reynolds savagely quipped, referencing Summers' previous admission that his commitment to cleanliness was somewhat inharmonious with his stint as the host of messy kids' show "Double Dare."
As bemused host Leno remarked, "This one is known as losing control over the program, ladies and gentlemen." Things got even more awkward when Summers attempted to introduce some levity to the situation, but Reynolds remained stone-faced. When Summers asked why Reynolds wasn't acting his usual nice self, he quipped, "It's easy to be nice to nice people." The show ultimately ended with a pie fight duel, as the pair were quite literally left to eat humble pie.
Hulk Hogan's stunt went horribly wrong
To promote the main event of the first ever Wrestlemania on the '80s show "Hot Properties," Hulk Hogan, appearing alongside his tag partner Mr. T, performed what was supposed to be a simple wrestling move on host Richard Belzer. But it went horribly wrong.
The upbeat interview suddenly turned serious when Hogan — with the encouragement of Mr. T — put Belzer in a front chin lock and the host quickly grew limp, his lifeless body falling to the floor. The audience audibly gasped when Belzer's head hit the ground. After a few seconds, he stood up, dazed, and with blood running down from the back of his head down to his shirt, concluding the show. The sheer awkwardness makes this a blooper for the history books.
It turned out that Belzer's injuries were more serious than initially believed, with the host requiring hospitalization and nine stitches, as per The New York Times. He subsequently sued Hogan for $5 million. The trial was equally bizarre, with The New York Times reporting that Belzer's lawyer compared Hogan's wrestling alter-ego to Hitler, to which the wrestler vehemently objected. Meanwhile, Hogan's lawyers labeled the case ”a publicity ploy.” The lawsuit was eventually settled out of court.
Jennifer Garner was left red-faced after this blooper
Maybe don't try to correct the grammar of high-achieving Harvard alum Conan O'Brien. Jennifer Garner had to learn this the hard way. During a 2003 appearance on "Conan" to promote her series "Alias," Garner discussed the specifics of playing a spy. When she mentioned having "sneaked" into the writers' room to learn about future plot developments, O'Brien reiterated her anecdote, but replaced "sneaked" with "snuck."
This appeared to irritate Garner, who corrected the host's speech, claiming that "snuck isn't a word, Conan, and you went to Harvard and you should know that." No one likes having their grammar corrected, and O'Brien looked on incredulously at Garner's admonishment. "You should know that I went to the Harvard driving school by the way," he joked as he gained his composure. "They didn't teach me much there!"
However, the host had the last laugh. In a truly toe-curling moment, Garner was mortified when O'Brien took out a dictionary, proving her wrong, and let out a comically maniacal laugh.
It's important to note that O'Brien wasn't malicious in his takedown of Garner; by ending the confrontation on a comical note, O'Brien avoided toxic mansplaining and handled the situation in a classy manner.
Ryan Gosling giggled through an interview
Ryan Gosling is known for being a giggler. When "La La Land” was falsely hailed the best picture winner at the Oscars in 2017, he was the only person to find the situation funny, as per Entertainment Tonight. Similarly, who can forget his unforgettable "Saturday Night Live" sketch "Close Encounter," in which he snickered uncontrollably as Kate McKinnon recalled her risqué alien probe experience?
So when Gosling appeared on British talk show "This Morning," he laughed constantly at anything and everything, which was worsened by host Alison Hammond's frequent quips. In fact, Gosling was so overcome by titters that he could barely continue with the interview. Hammond was supposed to be discussing "Blade Runner 2049" with Gosling and co-star Harrison Ford, but she ended up drinking whisky with the A-listers. Gosling, in particular, appeared to be having a blast.
Reflecting on the now-iconic interview with HuffPost UK, Hammond explained that Gosling's risible persona made her feel more at ease during the interview. ″[Ryan] asked the question, 'Are you a big fan of the film?', and I was like, 'Well, no I'm not! Do I tell him the truth? Do I lie? What do I do?'" she recalled. "But I thought, you know what, my mum always says, always tell the truth, so I said, 'I've never seen it, babes,' and I think that got things going. He started laughing and I started laughing, and it settled the moment."
Leslie Nielsen let one rip
While he may have looked like a grave and debonair figure, Leslie Nielsen was as silly as they come. And he would be the first to admit it.
When he appeared on British talk show "Wogan" in 1989, the "Airplane!" star was responsible for a rather embarrassing faux pas. As host Terry Wogan cut a slice of airplane-shaped cake for his guest, Nielsen farted audibly. What makes this blooper even funnier is that Nielsen is hardly rattled by the random instance of flatulence, finding his own fart noises hilarious. "Do you know, I wondered why they called you a society entertainer," Wogan remarked.
In an interview with The Guardian in 2020, "Airplane!" star Robert Hays explained that Nielsen actually often carried a fart machine with him. "Leslie Nielsen had this little thing he called his machine. He'd squeeze it and it would make a fart noise," he recalled. "He'd wander over and casually lean against the wall as he was talking — and let rip. While filming, he'd use it during his lines to me: 'Mr Striker — PRRRRP — can you — PRRRRP — land this plane? PRRRRP' Keeping a straight face was the hardest part of the whole film for me."
The fact that Nielsen remained a class act throughout his absurd shenanigans only endeared fans to him — and made his antics all the more hilarious. Surely he can't be serious? Silent but deadly, don't call him stinky.
Larry King took a very long phone call
Liberal comedian turned right-wing pundit Dave Rubin isn't exactly known for commanding respect. Throughout the years, he has been exposed for his tendency to spread fake news and his sycophancy toward the American right, as argued by Vox. So when Larry King was interviewed on "The Rubin Report," the amount of respect that the veteran broadcaster harbored for Rubin became resoundingly clear.
When King's phone began ringing mid-interview, he could have just turned it off. But he showed the host just how much he was enjoying the interview by taking the call from his son Cannon. Not just that, but King spoke on the phone for two whole minutes. As the loving father and son casually chatted about baseball, King mentioned in passing that he was "doing David Rubin's podcast now," but that didn't stop him from continuing with what should have been a very private conversation.
Initially, Rubin laughed it off, but as time passed, his chortling turned to disbelief before he became visibly irritated. The moment is one of sheer hilarity, not least because of King's unapologetically nonchalant attitude toward the host.
This wouldn't be the last time the pair clashed. In 2020, King appeared on "The Rubin Report" again and the broadcaster, who sadly died of COVID-19 the following year, slammed the blasé host for his "ridiculous" stance on the Coronavirus pandemic.