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Colin Jost became a household name for his humorous delivery of the “news” on Saturday Night Live‘s “Weekend Update.” He might also have garnered a fair amount of fame simply for being Scarlett Johansson’s husband. But the comedian has carved his own path to the spotlight.
Just as SNL helped cast members like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Bill Hader launch careers beyond the live stage at NBC, Jost has also dipped his toe into other acting waters. And whether he’s to be believed or not, it’s landed him some high-profile acting gigs — perhaps even without formal auditions.
Colin Jost joined ‘SNL’ in 2005 as a writer
Jost has been an on-screen SNL regular for almost a decade. But he’s been practicing his comedy craft for much longer. He’s been in front of the camera since 2014, but joined the show’s writing team in 2005. Jost, along with his “Weekend Update” co-host Michael Che, are two of the show’s four head writers.
Suffice it to say, Jost has been honing his creative and comedic talent for quite some time. The comedian has won five Writers Guild Awards and has been nominated for 13 Emmy Awards for his writing on SNL, according to IMDb.
Jost’s writing has carried into other high-profile ventures. He and Che co-hosted the 2018 Primetime Emmys. And he was a writer for President Obama’s last White House Correspondents Dinner, featuring Keegan-Michael Key. As an actor, he’s appeared in Staten Island Summer, How to Be Single, and the 2021 version of Tom & Jerry.
Jost played Calvin Duke in ‘Coming 2 America’
In 2021, Jost also appeared in the Eddie Murphy film Coming 2 America. The movie is a sequel to the 1988 one of (almost) the same name. Murphy’s character is now King Akeem, and must return to New York to find his long-lost son, played by Jermaine Fowler.
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Jost was cast by Kenya Barris, the screenwriter for the film, he said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon. “I believe I was basically the only white character in the film. I think it was Louie Anderson [Maurice] came and reprised his role, and then it was me. And you’re not going to believe it, but I was a villain,” Jost remarked sarcastically.
In the film, Jost is Calvin Duke of D&D Digital, where Fowler’s Lavelle is applying for a job. “Weirdly, I didn’t have to audition. They were just like, ‘The part of white villain: I guess we’ll just ask Colin. He’ll come in and do it,’” Jost joked.
It’s unclear if Jost really did get to skip the audition process for the role, either because he was known by Barris for his work or for some other reason. Given the context and the bit Jost was doing with Fallon on his talk show, it’s also possible Jost really did need to audition for the part, but made the joke to endear himself to the audience with self-deprecation.
Duke is an Easter Egg for another Eddie Murphy movie, ‘Trading Places’
In the film, Jost’s Duke is the grandson of Randolph Duke (Ralph Bellamy), a main antagonist in another Eddie Murphy movie, Trading Places. Randolph and his brother Mortimer (Don Ameche) founded Duke & Duke, and swapped Murphy’s character Billy Ray Valentine to run their business operations with assistant Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd). The Dukes’ schemes in Trading Places are highly racist and problematic to the core. And in the end, Billy Ray and Louis bring down their operation.
However, in the original Coming to America, Murphy’s Prince Akeem unwittingly ditches a paper bag full of cash to two homeless men — who happen to be none other than Randolph and Mortimer Duke. In a seemingly unfair twist in the Eddie Murphy universe, Den of Geek theorizes, the Dukes use that cash to relaunch their business empire. Calvin Duke, decades later, is as smarmy and condescendingly racist as they come.
Jost said the role had him saying terrible things in character. “It’s really crazy when you’re doing the role because they make me say horrible things,” Jost said. “Then when the director yells ‘Take!’ you have to be like ‘Sorry, sorry,’” he said sheepishly. “But then when you improvise in character and it works, it’s even worse,” Jost said, to audience laughter.
