-Welcome back. -Thanks, Jimmy.
-It is so good to see you. You look fantastic.
-Thanks.
-You know, I have talked to you about a lot of things,
but I saw you posted over the weekend --
You were at "SNL" with Tony Hawk here and Amy Poehler.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
I didn't know you guys were pro skaters.
-I know. -Yeah, it was good to know.
-Isn't that something?
A lot of people don't know that about Amy and I,
but we spend most of our time doing, you know,
skateboarding stuff.
-Were you there just for fun or to see the gang
or so -- Aubrey.
-Got to support Aubrey, the baby.
-The baby was great.
-Gotta support the baby, who crushed.
-She did.
You crushed when you hosted, by the way.
-Oh! -Yes, you crushed!
-These are crushers. -You crushed!
-We go in and we crush. -You know to how to do it!
-But we talked right before you were about to host,
and you were kind of like,
"Dude, I'm so excited about this."
-Yeah, and you told me to pull out, remember?
-Yeah, I said -- -You were like, "Baby, baby."
-I said, "Hey, cancel. They'll get somebody else."
-"You take the money, pull out."
But I did it anyway.
-Yeah, you did. -I don't listen.
-Yeah. You're a rebel.
-I think maybe that was the greatest week of my life.
-You think so?
-Yeah, Baby Freddie and Maya. -You got to play with everybody.
-Yes.
-You were so good, like a natural.
But then you went back, too. -Oh, I know.
I got a Bat-Signal call to be "Hello Kitty" with Keke.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
That's a rite of passage as a New Yorker, to get that call.
-I want to ask you about something.
-Okay. I know you recently --
You had that amnesia thing come up, so you just go slow.
-Yeah, I hit my head before the show,
and I don't remember who I am.
-Yeah, just do your own pace. -So that's my question.
-Yes, dear? -Who am I?
-Yeah. Listen --
-Who am I to you, though, seriously?
-Jimmy, on the deepest level, who are any of us, you feel me?
-Wow! -That's right.
-Let me take a hit of that.
-The thing is -- If you guys want some of this.
-Yeah. Come on.
-But, like, what are we doing here?
Where are we? Midtown?
-I have a real serious question here
and I want to know -- I want to get down to the nitty-gritty.
-Okay, my dear.
-Are you -- You have a new hobby.
Is this true?
And what I'm hearing -- Do you know where I'm going?
-Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So I guess word is spreading.
So, in addition to the skateboarding,
you know, in a new year, you want to reflect.
You want to consider, "Who am I?"
-"What is this?" -I decided -- I thought --
I think my whole personality was bad.
-That's unbelievable. I've never heard of that.
-You know what I mean?
What am I doing with New York and the cigarettes?
Enough. So I became a surfer.
And I think maybe --
-You became a surfer. -Yeah.
-In my whole life, I never would've thought
Natasha Lyonne would surf.
And we've known each other since 1990-something.
And -- The first time we met, Kurt Cobain was there.
-That's right.
-And you -- But how did you even get into surfing?
What do you do? Aren't you nervous?
-Well, I Googled "mid-life crisis."
And I --
-Ah, exactly. I do it every day.
-So, I thought, "I think I'll take this one."
And, you know, make me, like, a Buddhist or something.
"I'm too into quantum physics, I should be more into nature,"
I said to myself.
-Wow! So this makes you more Zen.
-Yes. And now I'm, like -- I get up all the time.
I know I don't seem it, but I'm quite spry.
And I go out there --
-You're up and you're on the board.
-I'm out there. And it's very hard.
You can't -- It's hard to light up if you're on the board.
-Yeah.
-So it's very helpful, just as a tip
for anyone struggling to quit.
-You want to quit smoking, just start surfing.
-That's the ticket. -That's the way to do it.
-It's been great. Yeah.
-I can't believe that you're doing this.
This is so cool. -Yeah.
-And you're going to continue to do this?
-I think that's who I am now. Yeah, basically. Yeah.
-That's -- You're a complete surfer now?
-That's just -- Yeah, that's who I am.
New show, new personality, you know?
-Well, what about the old show? What about "Russian Doll"?
-"Russian Doll" is still in the mix.
So, "Russian Doll" -- But that's when I'm going to do --
-That's not surfing Natasha. -Yeah, but that's -- It is.
It is. -It is now?
-Yeah. You know, like, string theory, surfing.
It's a different kind. -Ooh.
-Yeah, you got to surf a different kind of a wave.
You see? -Wow! Ooh!
-Yeah, but -- -This is so deep.
-I know. Life is heavy. -Yeah.
-You know, we all die, so it's nuts.
-Yeah, no, don't get that deep. "Russian Doll."
-Oh, not us. -No, not us.
-I meant everyone else. -Yeah.
-Yeah, don't panic. Yes, dear?
-With my plastic surgeon, I don't die.
Yeah, of course. Hello. -By the way, you look so good.
-Thank you so much. -You are honestly so good.
-Thank you so much. -Yeah.
-Do I look like mid-50s? -No.
I would say -- I thought -- See, if you're 27,
that makes me like 22, which...
Yeah. As I always say, not a day over 1.
That's how you look. -I appreciate that.
But, so, "Russian Doll" --
we're not sure when that's coming back.
-I got to write it. I got to clone myself.
I don't know if the science is there.
I got a lot of projects. -You got a lot of projects.
-If I don't direct three movies before it's over,
I'll have a bad "All That Jazz" moment looking back, so...
-You think so? -Yeah, I got to set myself up.
This is -- You know, you've got to feel like
a narrow window as an artist.
You got to get it all in before they take it away from you.
That's show biz. It's -- -Do you want to direct?
Do you want to direct? -Yeah.
Yeah, I did all that directing on "Russian Doll,"
and I loved it.
And -- -I could -- I love this.
-Yeah, it makes me so happy.
It's really -- It's a joy in my life.
-So we're going to see some Natasha Lyonne-directed movies.
-Yeah, "pictures," I'm gonna call them.
-Yeah, "pictures!" That's what I'm talking about.
I would love that. -Yeah.
-Oh, you've got to come back for that.
I will support that all the way. -Yeah, yeah.
-Let's talk about "Poker Face." -Let's get to business.
-"Poker Face." -Yeah.
-It's on Peacock.
And if you don't have Peacock, get it.
It's a fantastic service. -It's -- Yeah.
This show is excellent.
It's Rian Johnson. I mean, it's excellent.
-Oh, I thought you meant my show.
I was going to say, "Thank you so much."
-Oh, by the way, this show is also great.
-Thank you. I appreciate it. Rian Johnson created it.
-Yeah.
-No, but Rian Johnson also created your show, "Poker Face."
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
-We know Rian Johnson from, recently --
-As the director of... -"Knives Out."
-...this show.
-And, of course, "The Tonight Show,"
as well, yeah.
Rian and I go way back.
-And he got an Academy Award nomination
this morning for "Glass Onion."
-Not too shabby. -Not too shabby.
-Not too shabby. Congrats, Rian Johnson.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Seem like a fun -- -This is a mensch of a guy.
-He seems like a fun individual. -A genuine genius.
I mean -- You know, we talk a lot about the crossword.
I can only do the Thursday.
He does Friday, Saturday no problem.
-You do Thursday? Really? -Oh, I do Thursdays.
And -- Oh, also Hong Chau and Stephanie Hsu
were nominated this morning, and they're guest stars in it.
They're awesome.
-By the way, the guest stars on "Poker Face" --
-Bananas.
-The guest stars on your show is kind of insane.
-Yeah. -Can we go through some of them?
-Sure, sure. -Chloe Sevigny.
-Aw, that's my buddy. That's my sister.
-She's the best. -Yeah.
-I love that she's in it. Who else showed up in it?
Who's your -- Who's the villain in this?
-Oh, we got Benjamin Bratt.
-Benjamin Bratt is fantastic in this.
-A gem of a human being. Yeah. -Who else showed up?
There's, like -- -We got Adrien Brody.
Nick Nolte is in the episode I --
-Nick Nolte is the best. -Yeah.
-I go, "How did --" -I directed that episode.
Directed Nolte, baby. -Yes! Come on, baby!
Directing Nick Nolte! -Yeah.
-It's so good. -Judith Light.
It just goes -- Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
I mean, it's on and on. -Joseph Gordon -- I know --
-Lil Rel. I mean, it's an incredible cast.
-They do it because they love you.
-Aww! -As we all do.
Yeah, we would do anything for you.
[ Cheers and applause ] Surfing or not surfing.
-Yeah.
-But how do we describe "Poker Face" besides
high octane?
-Yeah. Well, everything is high octane.
-Everything is high octane. -Well, it's sort of a throwback.
It's almost like a '70s sort of --
It's if Columbo made a baby with The Hulk and Magnum P.I.
and the Angela Lansbury.
-Yeah, that's exactly right.
-But it looks, because of Rian, almost like
"California Split" or "The Long Goodbye."
You know, those '70s Altmans. I mean, it's gorgeous.
-Yeah. -And it's just really cool.
So, it's like brand-new sort of throwback
and it's a real Case of the Week mystery,
beautifully crafted puzzle box each week.
You can watch it with your children
and also your grandparents.
I'm still talking. -I love it.
-Yeah. -I want to show a clip.
Here's Natasha Lyonne in "Poker Face."
Take a look at this.
-Now, you might say that's impossible.
The door was locked from the inside,
but that's where the cinnamon floss comes into play.
-Right. Cinnamon floss.
I guess I'm not over the part where
you're a human lie detector.
-Yeah, I know, it's, uh -- it's crazy, but --
-My favorite color is yellow.
-[ Chuckles ] Bull[bleep]
-I grew up in Old Dime Box.
-Bull[bleep] -I grew up in Tanglewood.
-[ Chuckles ]
-Wow!
You ever gamble? 'Cause you could make a killing.
-[ Laughs ]
Nah.
-Come on! That's how you do it!
Come on! The baby!
Natasha Lyonne -- "Poker Face"
premieres this Thursday on Peacock.
Nate Bargatze joins us after the break.
Stick around, everybody. Natasha!