Lakeith Stanfield Never Saw ‘Friends’ Before Starring in JAY-Z’s “Moonlight” Video

Lakeith Stanfield dropped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to talk everything from Knives Out to JAY-Z’s “Moonlight” video, which he said actually introduced him to Friends. Directed by Alan Yang (Master of None), the video from 4:44 is a parody of the iconic sitcom made with black actors, and Stanfield had somehow avoided the series until he was cast as Chandler.

“I’d never seen that show before in my life,” Stanfield explained to Fallon. “I maybe heard of it in passing, but I didn’t really watch it. So, it was cool, it was a learning experience for me. I was like, ‘Damn, this is white.'”

Issa Rae, Tessa Thompson, Tiffany Haddish, Lil Rey Howery, Jerrod Carmichael, and Hannibal Buress co-starred alongside Stanfield. JAY-Z personally called Stanfield to offer him the role. “I was just doing some random stuff, walking around and my phone rings. I answer, and it’s JAY-Z,” Stanfield said. “I’m like, ‘Who is this?’ He’s like, ‘It’s Jay, baby.’ I’m like, ‘Jay? Jay who?’ ‘JAY-Z.’ And I was like, ‘Yoooo what?!’ … I played it cool, I was like, ‘All right, cool cool cool.’ I hung up and I was like, ‘Yo!’ I was like, high-pitched voice and everything.”

During his appearance on Fallon, Stanfield also talked about how his Knives Out co-star Jamie Lee Curtis helped him quit smoking. “It was crazy. She’s just such a straightforward, beautiful human being that just says what’s on her mind at any given time,” he said. “She seen me smoking a cigarette, she just come up like, ‘What’s with this thing?’ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, I’m on set, you know? It’s a very high-stress environment. I’m just taking a little…’ She’s like, ‘Yo, yo, cut that out.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what? You’re right.’ It was just that simple.”

Watch his full interview, which also features a new clip from Uncut Gems, above.