Saturday Night Live is a unique job in which every week the cast gets to work with a different celebrity. On a normal day, cast members might find themselves starstruck. Amid SNL’s 50th Anniversary Special, it was like all of Hollywood in one room, plus 50 years worth of SNL legends. Everywhere you looked, there were household names. Yet series alum Leslie Jones hilariously still managed to call Pedro Pascal by the wrong name, and oh, to be a fly on that wall.
Jones and the Mandalorian actor were far from the only surprising celebrity encounter that night. But I have to imagine this was an especially amusing interaction for Pascal. The former Saturday Night Live cast member recalled for Vulture the story of her meeting the Narcos actor at SNL50 and, while sharing her account, the comedian humorously dropped an f-bomb:
Pedro, is it Pedro? Let me tell you, [I] called him Pablo until he told me his name is Pedro. So I was like, 'Pablo, Pablo.' And he was like, 'Pedro.' And I was like, 'Pablo.' He's like, 'Pedro.' And I was like, 'Who the f— is Pedro?' And he was like, 'That's my name.' And I was like, ‘Oh, OK. I’ll call you Pedro, even though Pablo’s better. [Laughs] He’s so cute, too.
Man, I wish these two had crossed paths during Jones’ stint on SNL. This interaction itself would have been a great base for a sketch. Unfortunately, the Ghostbusters actress exited the late night sketch series in 2019, after five seasons as a writer and cast member for the show. Pedro Pascal didn’t make his debut as a guest host until 2023, at which point he was promoting The Last of Us. Considering how famous Pascal was at that time (and continues to be), I'm surprised Jones called him "Pablo" by mistake.
Speaking of the Materialists actor, he's been one of the best SNL hosts in the past few years, and I personally need him to host again ASAP. The Fantastic Four: First Steps star has starred in some of the best sketches to come out of the most recent seasons, like “Lisa from Temecula,” “Protective Mom" and one of my personal favorites, “Waking Up.”
The concept for that third sketch is so silly and dumb it ends up being really good. Pascal plays a car accident victim waking up from a coma with a valley girl accent, and the Gladiator II actor manages to nearly break everyone involved, something I remember Jones doing quite often during her time on the show.
These two would make an unstoppable comedic duo, and I really wish they had been in a sketch together during the SNL50. I can’t help but wonder if Leslie Jones would ever return to the show for a guest spot or even to host. Jones previously said she doesn’t miss the show at all, but who knows? Maybe working on the anniversary special created enough nostalgic energy to see her return someday, and I can only hope she invites Pablo -- I mean Pedro -- Pascal along.
Saturday Night Live airs on the eponymous night at 11:30 p.m. ET, and episodes are streamable with a Peacock subscription.
