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By Joshua Rich
Joshua Rich
Joshua Rich is a staff editor for EW.com

As the NYPD's worst driver in Taxi, Jimmy Fallon partners with crabby cabbie Queen Latifah to nab some badass Brazilian babes. EW chatted with the Saturday Night Live alum — now shooting the Nick Hornby adaptation Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore — about his first lead movie role.

Ann-Margret plays your mom in the movie?

Dude! It was like, forget about it! I was hoping that she would mention Elvis once, as we're getting makeup on or something. She didn't. But, dude, that lady is so cool. We extremely bonded. And she rocked it out.

There aren't exactly a lot of female cabdrivers in New York City. How many have you had?

Yeah, I know. I've had probably two in six years. Maybe it's time for a change.

How are you behind the wheel?

Terrible. I'm probably the worst driver you'll ever talk to that's a guy.... The more airbags the better.

What stunts did you do in the movie?

Just, like, dragging people from car to car, going, like, 90 miles an hour down the street. Which seems like nothing — but it's pretty exciting.

What other challenges did you face?

I was doing SNL at the time, so I had to come back and forth. I'd come to New York on a Thursday, write jokes for ''Weekend Update'' on Friday night, do the show Saturday, finish at 1:30 a.m., then take a [flight]at 5 in the morning back to L.A. to shoot Taxi on Sunday. It was like James Bond.

How are you feeling now that SNL is in the past?

I had a great ride, it was fun. I know I'm going to miss it...bawling my eyes out, wishing I was doing ''Update'' jokes with Tina. But it's a strong cast, the show will go on, and I'm going on. The show is best when it changes. If you're still watching the Coneheads, after a while it's going to get stale.


Posted Oct 15, 2004 | Published in issue #788 Oct 15, 2004 | Order Article Reprints