-Stud, right there. Looking sharp, bud.
-That was fly.
-Yeah, you added that little dip right there.
-I love that dip.
-I like that dip. Thanks for that.
Congrats on all the success of "Snowfall."
-Bless you, man. -I'm happy you're here.
The show was created by the late, the great, John Singleton.
-Mm-hmm. -Who I'm a big fan of.
And he said that you reminded him
of a young Denzel Washington.
-Yeah, he -- he would call me "Damzel."
-He would call you Damzel?
-He would call me Damzel on set like, "Hey, come on, Damzel!"
[ Laughter ] All the time.
-But your relationship with Denzel Washington
has been very humbling, I would say, to say the least.
-Very, very humbling. Yes, Jimmy. That's true.
Last year, I was getting cooked online,
being cooked for a whole year actually.
Someone asked him on the carpet,
"Hey, Denzel, do you know Damson Idris?
He's, like, this great, talented actor."
And Denzel goes...
[As Denzel] "Yeah, I don't know who that is.
I-I don't know. W-What's the boy's name?"
No idea who I am.
-He had no idea who you were at all, yeah.
So that's a little -- Yeah. It crushes the ego a little bit.
'Cause he's one of your idols, right?
-He is. He's greatest in the world.
-He really is.
-And five days ago,
at the Warriors vs. the Lakers game, I finally got to meet him.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-This is what I'm talking about.
-Yeah. -Wow. Finally.
-Yeah. It was huge, man. He was walking by me.
And, you know, I got the courage to talk to him.
I was like, "Don't be a wimp, D. Talk to him."
I'm like, "Mr. Washington, thank you."
"Thank you for everything."
He like, "Thank you, son."
And I'm like, "It's Damson Idris."
He finally realized that it's me from last year,
and he's like, "Hey, my boy! Hey! Hey you!
Hey! You owe me money! You owe me money!"
-Is that's what he said? -It was amazing.
And I'm getting ready to have this moment.
And then Draymond Green comes running over, sweating,
'cause he just played four quarters.
And he's like, "Denzel, can I get an autograph?"
So I'm slowly walking back,
slowly coming out of the frame, slowly out of the picture.
Then a bunch of little kids run over, asking Draymond
from an autograph from him, and then the moment was over.
The moment was ruined. [ Audience awws ]
-We actually got a photo
that someone took a picture of you...
-No, you don't. -...falling in the back.
And just look at how innocent. And look at your face.
-[ Laughs ] No!
[ Laughter ]
[ Sad tuba plays ]
No!
-Like, "I was there! I was there!
Draymond, get out of there. I was almost..."
-Damn you, Draymond! Damn you, Draymond!
Go and take a shower!
-Go do something. Go sleep. -Take an ice bath, please!
[ Laughter ]
-Your accent, by the way, is so good in the show.
-Thank you. -Is it hard to do it?
-Man, you know what? I grew up loving "Def Comedy Jam."
I'd steal my brother and sister's tapes, sneak off.
-"Def Comedy Jam"? -"Def Comedy Jam," man.
-And who would you watch in there? Do you remember?
-Everyone, man. I used to love Chris Tucker.
I would run into the living room.
The whole family's there over at Christmas.
I would just run in, I'd be like "Pissed off, man!
"I am, 'cause I'm broke! Broke as a joke!
I'm so broke, if somebody rob me, they'll just be practicing!"
[ Laughter ]
[ Applause ]
-Yo. Yo, dude. That's fantastic.
-And then I meet Chris Tucker. -You meet him?
-I meet Chris Tucker at a party.
And he's like, "Oh, man, I'm a big fan, man.
Hey, take my number. We should work. Take my number."
And, yeah, I haven't called him.
I haven't had the guts to call him.
-No. What --
But you also are friends with Snoop Dogg, too, right?
-I am. -He just --
-He was a fan of the show. -He was a fan of the show,
and I used to listen to Snoop every day
to get into the character of Franklin Saint.
And then, yeah, I met him.
I brought him to set right before COVID.
-No way.
-Yeah, and, you know, I'm in Franklin mode.
I'm trying to focus. And he's like...
[As Snoop] "Man. This off the chain, nephew."
[ Laughter ]
-"Nephew." That's really him.
-That's my guy. -That's really him.
-Snoop is my guy. -"Nephew," yeah, yeah, yeah.
And I know your mom is very proud of your success.
-My mom. She's the best, man.
You know, as an actor with -- I'm Nigerian, right, so --
[ Woman cheers ] Bless you.
[ Laughter ]
So, my mom, she didn't know, right?
She didn't know that this wasn't real.
She didn't know.
She thought everything was real, right, in acting.
The first time I had an on-screen kiss,
she was like, "Ah-ah. Damsy!
How can you cheat on your girlfriend
in front of the whole family?!"
So, then I get Franklin Saint, right?
He's obviously a drug dealer.
She's like, "Ah-ah! So now you are selling cocaine!"
[ Laughter ]
"In front of the whole world!"
-"No, Mom, I'm acting! I'm acting!"
-"It's acting, Mom!" Yeah.
-But now she's embracing it. Here you guys are...
-Look at her. -...on the red carpet.
Look at the whole -- Come on. -Aw, man.
That's her in pink. That's my mama.
-Isn't that cool? Aww. -Yeah.
-Is there anything we should set up now?
What's going on in this final season of "Snowfall"?
-Wow.
So, for those who stuck with the show from season 1 --
and I was 23 years old when I got this part,
and now I'm 31 years old, and I always say
I'm a president at the end of his term.
And everyone, you know -- this was a slow burn,
and every season it got better and better.
And in season 6, it's full of entertainment.
It's iconic.
And, yeah, as all things,
it's going to be a tragedy at the end.
-Oh, man. Alright. I want to show a clip.
Here's Damson Idris in "Snowfall."
Take a look.
-I thought the middleman was the key.
-I said Teddy had help, which he did.
-So what? We back to square one?
-I believe the words you're looking for are, "Thank you."
-Thank you? Huh. Thank you.
For what? Telling me some [bleep] I already knew?
-Franklin, come on. -No, no, no.
We spent three weeks trying to find this mother [bleep].
Right? Setting him up. And what do we got?
The earth-shattering news
that I need Teddy to get my money back?
What else do you want to tell me, huh?
Is the sun hot? Is water [bleep] wet?!
-Franklin! -Nah, this is bull [bleep], man!
We're wasting our [bleep] time!
-Whoo!
[ Cheers and applause ]
Damson Idris, everybody.
"Snowfall" airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. on FX.
It's streaming the next day on Hulu.
More "Tonight Show" after the break.
Stick around, everybody.