What You Don't Know About Andy Samberg

Andy Samberg is one of the most universally well-loved comedic actors working today. Whether you know him from Saturday Night Live, his music career with The Lonely Island (the band he formed with BFFs Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone), movies such as Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, or as the lovably goofy Detective Jake Peralta on sitcom super-hit Brooklyn Nine-Nine, there's simply no world in which Samberg has escaped your attention. He's also gorgeous, in a nerdy kind of way. 

Although Samberg has been acting and making music for more than 20 years, according to IMDb, he's never been anything close to a tabloid staple. Judging by the comedian's jokey interview style, that's clearly by design. It's not that Samberg is standoffish — he's just guarded, keeping his family life with wife Joanna Newsom firmly behind closed doors. Evidently, the work is the most important thing for the hard-grafting Californian. Behind the jokes, though, there's plenty of fun stuff to learn about the sweet-natured star. 

While speaking to Today, Samberg admitted his casting on legendary late-night staple SNL came as a massive surprise to him. The actor was recommended for the show after he, Schaffer, and Taccone penned jokes for Jimmy Fallon's hosting stint at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards. Samberg found himself meeting with head honcho Lorne Michaels and was flabbergasted. The Lonely Island star reminisced, "He said, 'So you think you can do this?' and I said 'I would try my hardest.'"

Samberg later found out he was in, but only if he'd agree to cut his hair, which at that point was in the wild curly style fans probably associate with his earlier work on Hot Rod, etc. — it also forms the basis of a running joke with Matthew Bennett in Victorious, as seen in clips on Twitter. Thankfully, Samberg had no issue ditching his overgrown tresses, admitting he even offered, "I'll shave my head, I'll do whatever you want" to secure his dream job.  

Although he's not typically associated with serious roles, Samberg believes he's fully capable of delivering the goods if only someone would give him the chance. As he told Deadline, when the script for David Fincher's celebrated Facebook movie, The Social Network, was doing the rounds, Samberg "was like, 'I would do anything to be any of these parts.'" He's quick to note nobody actually offered him an audition. 

Samberg totally understood why Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake were ultimately cast, of course. Still, "It always struck me from the first page that there was a different kind of writing that exists and that was the first time I was seeing it for real." As for who would play him in the biopic of Samberg's own life, "It's got to be Meryl Streep, right? If you're going to do it, go for the best. I would be so amped to see her take." 

He may be a funny guy, but Andy Samberg isn't afraid to speak his mind on important issues, telling Variety anybody who has an issue with the Academy's diversity initiative, set to take effect in 2024, can "f*** off." Moreover, with the Black Lives Matter movement taking hold of the country and focus on police brutality at an all-time high, Samberg reckons Brooklyn Nine-Nine has a special duty to educate its massive fan base.

The actor opined, "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." Samberg feels the show is responsible for tackling thorny issues, arguing, "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." 

Andy Samberg is effusive about fatherhood, telling The New York Times, "It's been the best thing that's ever happened to me. Just like a beautiful, incredible dream. It has surpassed every expectation I ever had. It's definitely been very blissful." He argued that SNL was "good training" for being a dad, admitting he's used to getting no sleep after working on the hit show. However, Samberg also acknowledged, "there's so much less stress because the baby's not going live at 11:30." 

His daughter was born in 2017, and although looking after her has brought great joy, it hasn't been without difficulties. During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Myers, Samberg revealed, "I'm working on a pretty signature dad bod. I pick her up a lot, so my guns are really rockin'. But I eat all of her bread crust, so my tum's a little fat," (via E! News). 

Playing a variety of different characters comes easily to Andy Samberg, from Popstar's hilariously clueless Conner4Real to Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Peralta. But being himself was difficult at first. It wasn't that the young Samberg had a tough home life or anything. He just didn't like his given name. As the comedic actor noted in an interview with Time Out, he was actually born David A.J. Samberg. The youngster decided he was going to go by Andy at the age of 5, and thankfully "hippie mom was down." 

Being Andy Samberg clearly suits him and these days, the performer is totally fearless. In fact, he even admitted to wanting a part in Game of Thrones before the show ended. In true Samberg fashion, however, he also acknowledged, "That would ruin Game of Thrones for people. I would definitely get naked." Naturally, we wouldn't expect anything less from the consummate professional behind "D**k in a Box" (see on YouTube) and "Mona Lisa" (also on YouTube).