CNN
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Natasha Lyonne is recounting her journey to being cast as a rather unique character in the new “Smurfs” movie.
The “Poker Face” star stopped by “The Tonight Show” on Thursday and told Jimmy Fallon how she initially received the request to be in the new kids’ movie via email and jokingly responded that she sent a “reply all (saying) sure, who doesn’t (want to be in a “Smurfs” movie)?”
Lyonne went on to explain that the filmmakers later informed her that Rihanna plays the “adorable Smurfette, a hot little blonde number,” who is also rather famously the only female Smurf in the village of little blue creatures originally based on the Belgian comic from 1958.
Fallon replied, “Oh, Rihanna is Smurfette?” by way of confirmation, to which Lyonne responded, “Turns out, I’m not.”
“I’m a character called Mama Poot,” she continued, adding that the character they showed her was “a hairball with one bottom snaggle tooth, not even a top (tooth).”
“They’re looking at me like, ‘Isn’t this charming that you guys seem so similar,’” Lyonne said of the filmmaking team.
“I said, ‘Yeah, no, it’s definitely going to help me get dates, I’m sure,’” she joked.
Fallon then showed a picture of Mama Poot, attesting to the character’s cuteness, as the audience produced a mixture of ‘awws’ and befuddled laughter.
“And guys, it’s not about this, but I just want to remind everyone that I have a full set of real teeth. And I’m really proud of that,” Lyonne quipped. “Not Mama Poot, though!”
As for Smurfette Rihanna, there are no hard feelings, since Lyonne mentioned earlier in the chat that she “is a huge fan” of the singer/actor/fashion mogul.
“Do you have her phone number by the way, because we don’t seem to be in touch even though the movie is now complete,” Lyonne asked Fallon as an aside. “We’ll talk about that later.”
“Smurfs” is now playing in theaters.