Blue blooded
Andy Samberg’s having a ball and winning awards as loveable, goofy detective Jake in Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Season 1 Fridays SABC3 (*193) 20:30 Season 3 Thursdays Vuzu AMP (*114) 20:00
Andy Samberg is a funny guy – he’s got an Emmy and a Golden Globe to prove it. The 37-year-old found fame with his celebrity impersonations and comedy styling on variety sketch show Saturday Night Live (SNL, 1975-current) between 2005 and 2012, but he’s cemented his status as one of TV’s top funnymen as detective Jake Peralta on Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013current), a sitcom about the kooky cops at Brooklyn’s 99th precinct.
How did Brooklyn Nine-Nine come about and was it what you were looking to do after SNL? Friends said, “Hey, would you ever want to do a show? We have an idea for one and think you would be good for the lead.” I said, “Come on over!” [Laughs] They sold the pitch: a detective comedy show… but I hadn’t read the script yet. I said, “Let me think about it,” but I knew that I was going to do it. I’m used to creating the things that I’m in, so this was a nice change of pace, where people who I think are even better at writing than I am asked me to be in their project. So how are you like your character Jake and how are you different? I’m different from him in that he’s a detective [Laughs] but I think similar in that he’s a very silly guy and he likes goofing around, poking and prodding people to the effect of laughs hopefully. I think the longer the show goes on, the more my character becomes like me… I think the same is true of all the cast, because everyone’s getting to know each other more and they start writing towards our personalities and our strengths. Jake is a really good cop with deductive reasoning and all that kind of stuff… and I’m a comedian, so I am not. [Laughs] What’s the secret of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s overnight success? Why people enjoy it is the strength of the ensemble. There’s no weak link in the cast – and not just as performers, but in the way that the characters are drawn. I feel like every character is multi-dimensional and has a different way of being funny and being interesting. There’s no scene that I’m not excited to see. Did you work with anybody to make the show’s cop elements realistic? I watched as much Sherlock (2010-current) as I could [Laughs]. No, we have technical advisors who are former detectives and before the show started, we worked with them on very basic training. Like, this is how you would handcuff someone, this is how you would walk through a door if you thought there was criminal activity. We have them on set anytime that we do procedural stuff. Sometimes we’re like, “Hey, would you ever do this?” and they’re like, “It’s a little risky,” and we’re, “Well, it looks cool. Let’s just do it!” And have you ever had a run-in with the NYPD? Have I ever seen the police station from the inside? I was never taken in… [Laughs] I got a fine for having an open beverage [Laughs]. I was drinking beer on my stoop. I got a $60 ticket, which at the time I couldn’t afford [Laughs]. How did you end up in showbiz? I grew up loving comedy and watching movies and TV. I was a little slack in school until I got into film school. Then my personality completely changed and I started working really hard and my parents relaxed about my future because they knew that I wasn’t just going to be sleeping on their couch [Laughs]. So when did you realise that you’re funny? I was literally the class clown! And what things make you laugh? I laugh at a lot every day. I laugh at physical stuff, somebody tripping [Laughs]… as long as they’re okay. I trip constantly and I find it very funny when I trip as well, as long as no one’s getting hurt [Laughs]. Margaret Gardiner is a member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Born in SA, the former Miss Universe winner now lives in LA. She’s written two books and regularly interviews showbiz’s biggest stars.