Proud 'girl dad' Jimmy Fallon praises his family ahead of Super Bowl commercial: 'The whole reason I do anything is for them'
When Jimmy Fallon was asked to star in Michelob Ultra's Super Bowl commercial, the premise wasn't a huge stretch for the talk show host.
"They were looking for someone who hates working out, but loves drinking beer," Fallon told Yahoo Entertainment over the phone Friday. "I was like, 'They found their man!'"
The story is actually "so 2020," according to the Emmy winner.
Fallon explained he was contacted by Michelob Ultra after sharing a "post-workout" photo with a towel over his head where he declared, "Working out sucks." Cut to Sunday's 60 second spot, which follows The Tonight Show host as he learns that fitness can actually be fun — when a workout ends with a round of beer. The hilarious ad also stars John Cena, Usain Bolt, Brooks Koepka and Kerri Walsh Jennings, and when Cena's name came up, Fallon was all in.
"They pitched me the script and I thought it was so funny," he recalled. "Then all these names started coming up. They were like, 'What do you think about John Cena?' I go, 'If he'd do it, it'd be so fun, I love John.' We've done so many sketches and bits on our show [together]. I know him pretty well and he's really fun to work with. We call John and he's like, 'Ya.'"
"Jimmy Works It Out" is a part of Michelob ULTRA's brand campaign "Do It For The Cheers." Watch the add here:
Fallon and Cena have created many memorable moments on The Tonight Show. Their Mad Lib Theater, Fish Slap and Ew! segments have gone viral and it's thanks in part to Cena's "I'll do anything" attitude.
"He's the best, he's so cool," Fallon raved. "He is one of the most game people we've ever had on the show. He doesn't even read the scripts."
(Fallon noted the only other person to do that is Will Ferrell.)
"[John] doesn't even read the scripts he's like, 'Ya, I'll do it. What is it? If Jimmy's doing it, I'll do it. We'll play,'" Fallon continued. "He's easy to work with, he's easy to play with. He works well with others."
They worked so well together that the Saturday Night Live alum said the three days it took to shoot the commercial felt like a "vacation."
"We just had so much fun," he said. "It was like filming a tiny movie. These Super Bowl commercials are big budget, high quality now, it's like doing a movie."
The late night host has done plenty of movies, but this is his first Super Bowl commercial — and he didn't try to hide that he's "freaking out."
"I'm really, really excited," he admitted. "I'm going to try to keep my kids up to watch it. My wife is excited even though I get enough attention, she's like 'Alright, I'll give you another one.' We're all excited, my family's excited, my dad, my sister — everyone's freaking out kind of, it's really cool."
It's moments like the one he'll share with his family on Sunday that Fallon isn't taking for granted — especially in the wake of the sudden death of his friend, Kobe Bryant. He'll have his wife, Nancy, by his side and their two daughters, Winnie, 6, and Franny, 5 — assuming they can stay awake. And while having a Super Bowl commercial is cool and all, it's being a girl dad — like Bryant — that gives Fallon "a good ego check" in times like this.
A post shared by Jimmy Fallon (@jimmyfallon) on Jan 3, 2020 at 9:09am PST
"It's the best thing in the world, I'm so happy I'm a girl dad," Fallon shared. "I honestly don't know what I'd do with a boy — I love boys, but I'm so in love and I'm so lucky to have these two little angels waking me up at 4 in the morning every single [day], consistently since they were babies."
He quipped, "I can almost tell you what time it is by whose feet are kicking my face in the morning. I go, 'OK, it's 5:30 'cause Franny's foot's around...'"
"They're the best thing that ever happened to me and it's the whole reason that we're all doing all this," Fallon concluded. "The whole reason I do anything is for them and it's a good ego check because without them, without my wife, it'd be boring. And it makes you feel alive."
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