Natasha Lyonne Says Pee-Wee Herman ‘Sends the Best Gifs in the Biz’
American actor Natasha Lyonne is recognized for various roles, including the sexually savvy Jessica from the highly successful teen comedy American Pie and inmate Nicky Nichols in the original Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. Now, she stars in a show she also co-created, Russian Doll. But even fans of her early career might not realize she got started long before that. In fact, Natasha Lyonne became friendly with one famous childhood entertainer as part of her first job in the industry.
Natasha Lyonne talks about her start on ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’
Natasha Lyonne’s first official acting credit is for her role as Opal on the wacky and whimsical 80s show Pee-wee’s Playhouse. In 2022, she sat down with Entertainment Weekly to revisit some of her breakout roles. “I did Pee-wee’s Playhouse when I was like, six years old,” she shared.
Although she only appeared in six episodes as part of The Playhouse Gang, it’s obvious her time on the show left a lasting impression. “Nothing makes me feel legitimately cool quite so much as the fact that I was on this show,” she told the publication during a 2018 interview. She also said Pee-wee was “like my child-actor dad that was really fun.”
Natasha says she keeps in touch with actor Paul Reubens
During the Role Call interview, EW learned that Lyonne still keeps in touch with her former co-star from her early days, the one and only Pee-Wee Herman, aka Paul Reubens.
“I love Paul!” Lyonne gushes, “I see him. We stay in touch.” The star continued, “Paul Reubens—aka, Pee-wee Herman—sends the best gifs in the biz.”
Indeed, Reuben’s madcap sense of humor lends itself perfectly to gifs and memes, and his Pee-wee Herman Twitter profile serves up regular helpings of the weird and hilarious. Is this perhaps how Lyonne developed her own whip-smart sense of comedy?
Lyonne also notes that his genius for gifs predates the smartphone. “Steve Jobs should write him a letter of thanks,” she joked.
Lyonne was born for this biz, and fans want more
Since those early days as a fresh-faced child, Lyonne has gone on to earn herself rave reviews and critical acclaim for her work both on stage and on camera. She appeared in hit films like Slums of Beverly Hills, Detroit Rock City, and Scary Movie 2. Her comedy chops have also landed her cameos in several television shows, including sketch comedy show Portlandia (with ex-boyfriend Fred Armisen) and the irreverent animated sitcom Big Mouth.
But the recent release of the long-awaited season 2 of Netflix’s time-trippy dark comedy Russian Doll really has fans talking. As a co-creator and star of the show, Lyonne’s portrayal as the wickedly smart central character Nadia may be her most famous role yet. Lyonne seamlessly blends her acerbic humor into Nadia’s no-nonsense personality, ultimately creating an alternate-reality version of herself.
Russian Doll currently boasts a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score and has earned 13 Emmy nominations, winning 3. It’s clear that fans want Netflix to renew Russian Doll for a third season. But they’ll have to wait and see.
