Andy Samberg Tells Academy Members Unwilling to Accept Diversity Standards to ‘F— Off’

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Andy Samberg gets raw and has a strong message for the Academy voters who have an issue with the Academy’s new diversity and inclusion standards set to take effect in 2024. Samberg recently spoke to Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast about his film “Palm Springs” – listen below!

Samberg says “the parameters if you look at them closely…you can have the “whitest” cast in the history of cinema and still very easily meet them by just doing a few key roles behind the camera. People who have problems with it can fuck off.”

The Golden Globe-winning actor of “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” is incredibly grateful for his time on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and to have his closest friends, fellow Lonely Island members Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, when his career started to take off.

For his comedic and dramatic work in “Palm Springs,” he digs to get some of his personal acting abilities to date in a film in which Andy Samberg has a love scene with Peter Gallagher. “I believe in comedy and I believe it can be, and is a high art form. You don’t make comedy to get nominated for stuff. I don’t do this to get nominated for stuff and I feel good when I do it. You either kill it and you’re Jim Carrey in ‘Eternal Sunshine’ or Robin Williams in ‘Good Will Hunting’ or your other examples.”

Written by Andy Siara and director Max Barbakow, both their feature debuts, the film tells the story of Nyles (Samberg) and Sarah (Miliotti), who have a chance encounter at a Palm Springs wedding, and get stuck in an infinite timeloop.

The chemistry between Samberg and Cristin Milioti was immediate, spending about two hours together during their first meeting that was supposed to last five minutes. “We immediately had a rhythm,” says Samberg. “We became buddies quickly and we have the same sense of humor.” He even discusses dropping her during rehearsals for their big dance number.

For his NBC hit-show “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which is gearing up to shoot, he talked about how the sitcom would address police brutality and systemic racism. “Our country is going through a hard time. It’s been going through this. I’ve been hearing about this in rap music for 30 years. We’ve been told if we wanted to listen. It’s been happening. What the show is going to do is further the conversation.”

Playing Jake Peralta on the sitcom that follows the exploits of him and his lovable colleagues at a NYPD Precinct, Samberg sees the responsibility at his feet. “I do believe that our characters need to examine their roles in the world. They’re going to be forced to look in the mirror and see who they’re complicit with. We have a decent track record of addressing social issues.”

Also in the episode, Cristin Milioti discusses starting out in the New York theatre scene, tapping into the vulnerability in Sarah’s character and her favorite musical and dream roles. She covers the gamut which includes wanting to play Sally Bowles in “Cabaret” and what is her favorite movie musical. She even discusses the text thread she has with her friends on who is going to play Elphaba and Glinda in the movie adaptation of “Wicked.” In the Awards Circuit roundtable, the hosts discuss “Hillbilly Elegy,” HBO Max releasing “Wonder Woman 1984” and the films you should watch over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jenelle Riley, Jazz Tangcay and Michael Schneider (who produces), is your one-stop listen for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each week “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives; discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines; and much, much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts. New episodes post every Thursday.

More from Variety

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.