Here’s Why ‘SNL’ Alum Leslie Jones Complimented Dustin Hoffman on His Role in ‘The Godfather’
Leslie Jones found success with Saturday Night Live and went on to achieve even more fame with other ventures after leaving the show. The comedian has delivered wonderful performances over the years, and her comedic chops show in her projects and personality. Jones has shared several hilarious anecdotes over the years including one time when she mistook Dustin Hoffman for Al Pacino and complimented him for his contribution to entertainment.
Leslie Jones’s career before and after ‘SNL’
Jones’s career started in 1987 when she was in college after her friend signed her up for a contest on campus. After winning the competition, the comedian left school for Los Angeles and performed at comedy clubs while holding down two day jobs to make ends meet.
Jones did stand up for a while, but after opening for Jamie Foxx and receiving a negative reaction from his audience, she took a three-year hiatus. Her luck turned around in 2012 when comedian Chris Rock saw her perform and forwarded her name to several industry players. Rock helped the rising comedian secure an audition for SNL which she landed.
The comedian started as a writer on the show before being promoted to cast member in 2014, becoming the oldest cast member to join SNL. Jones returned for four more seasons and earned a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on the show, before leaving after the 44th season.
During her time on the show, Jones appeared in movies including the Amy Schumer comedy Trainwreck, the rebooted Ghostbusters, and Rock’s Top Five. After her exit from SNL, the actor lent her voice to The Angry Birds Movie 2 and appeared in Coming 2 America.
Leslie Jones thought Dustin Hoffman was Al Pacino
To err is human and Jones learned that in a hilarious manner. In an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Jones recalled an embarrassing encounter with Tootsie star Hoffman. She told Meyers that she spotted who she thought was Al Pacino at a hotel and was immediately excited to see him, so she decided to approach him.
Jones said she heaped praises on the actor saying, “I go over and I’m like ‘Oh my God! I love you. I think you’re one of the best actors in this business.’ You know, I’m bowing to him and I was like ‘The work that you did in The Godfather. Oh you’re just so…’ and I’m going on.” The star said the actor just stared at her and walked to his car.
It wasn’t until the interaction was over that Jones’s friend walked over to her and corrected her telling her that she had been speaking to Hoffman and not Pacino as she thought. Jones said at that moment she imagined Hoffman thinking, “Damn! Latifah be tripping.”
In Jones’s defense, Hoffman and Pacino do get mixed up and the Scarface actor himself acknowledged its frequency. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 2014, Pacino said he often gets mistaken for Hoffman and Taxi Driver star Robert De Niro reasoning that it may be because they all rose to fame during the ’70s. “We’re all part of that thing and I think sometimes that gets confusing,” he said.
The actor plays a fan-favorite character in ‘Our Flag Means Death’
Jones joined Taika Waititi’s period comedy Our Flag Means Death in its first season’s third episode playing the character of Spanish Jackie. The character is a fierce polyamorist who doesn’t mind resorting to violence if the situation calls for it.
Starting out at 20 husbands, Spanish Jackie is down to 18 after one of them got murdered and killed one herself after his capture. Jones said she accepted the offer to play the role without hesitation given the character’s complex dynamic. “They said ‘Pirate’ and I was like ‘Oh, I’m in,'” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2022.
