Usher wouldn't give B.J. Novak a hug after he pranked him on Punk'd
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
B.J. Novak is making his directorial debut with Vengeance, but his first Hollywood job was significantly less glamorous.
Novak starred on Punk'd, Ashton Kutcher's practical joke show, as one of the actors who helped perpetrate pranks against unsuspecting celebrities. Kutcher now appears in Vengeance, and it marked something of a reunion for the two stars.
"I hadn't seen him in a long time," Novak told Stephen Colbert during his Thursday appearance on Late Night. "He changed my life with that show. I was doing open mics at the time, and I was a dorky, khakis-wearing kid, and he was like the coolest person in the world. He wore a trucker hat — everyone in America wore a trucker hat. He was a trendsetter."
Novak continued by detailing how his time on Punk'd worked. "Out of the blue, I'd get a call from a burner phone and it's Ashton Kutcher," he said. "And he's like, 'I need you to be at the Van Nuys DMV tomorrow and know everything about the California driving code. Hilary Duff is taking her driving test, you're the instructor.' I'm like, 'Yes, sir!' I'm studying up."
The one downside to the gig? The celebrities being pranked would often get very upset. "Here's the problem: I'm meeting all these celebrities for the first time," he continued. "It's thrilling for me. I'm meeting Missy Elliott; I'm meeting Usher. It's the worst day of their life."
Novak said he remembers Usher being particularly mad during their encounter. "My job was I was a store owner on Melrose and his little brother had been busted for shoplifting — he was in on it with us," Novak recalled. "And the only way I would let the brother go was if he recorded a rap jingle for my store, which I rapped for him."
MTV UK/Youtube
"And he's like, 'First of all, I'm not a rapper, second of all, why does it refer to 'ice'?" Novak added. "And I'm like, 'Well we wanted Vanilla Ice'... he's furious and then Ashton comes out and he's like 'Bro!' and gets a huge hug. And I'm like [gestures for a hug] and he's like, 'No, no, no, no.' Your first impression of someone sticks. I have not run into Usher since. I don't think he'll be in my next movie."
But at least Kutcher is! Vengeance is now playing.
Related content:
