If you’re remotely familiar with the sitcom, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, it’s relatively safe to assume that you probably fell in love with Andre Braugher’s Captain Holt. The same can be said for those who worked alongside him, as Andy Samberg, who played detective Jake Peralta, revealed what it was like to work with the late actor and the moment he knew they had “kismet.”
When Samberg joined Good Hang with Amy Poehler, the two SNL alumni chatted quite a bit about Brooklyn Nine-Nine (which is available to stream with a Peacock subscription or Netflix subscription). The conversation hit on Braugher’s passing in 2023 and how much the Jake actor misses and loves his late co-star. As they remembered the veteran actor, Poehler probed about what he was like, since they’d never met, and Samberg confirmed he was as much of a joy offscreen as he was on by saying:
He was [playful and fun] and just a good person, like so deeply moral and kind and pleasant and smart. We all absolutely loved him. I miss him a lot.
Add my name to the list of people who miss Andre Braugher’s presence. Though I did love Samberg’s on-screen romance with Melissa Fumero’s Amy Santiago, his relationship with Captain Holt is also ultimate TV relationship goals, in my opinion. And clearly, I’m not wrong based on the Lonely Island member’s thoughts here.
After that, Andy Samberg jumped into their working relationship, noting how the two clicked instantly. Along with it, the Palm Springs star revealed Braugher landed the gig from one meeting and equated it to a golden stamp of approval from the show’s legendary creatives. In his words:
Our dynamic worked immediately. It’s one of those things where you’re just like, ‘Okay, this is kismet. I don’t know how to explain it.’ Because they — [creators] Mike [Schur] and [Dan] Goor — cast him from like, a meeting. They just did like a Zoom or something with him.
Frankly, I’m not surprised by this based on what I know about the Captain Holt actor. Braugher’s stellar body of work absolutely speaks for itself, making him an easy pick for someone so humorously dry. That, and Samberg can essentially run with any type of bit or scene partner.
The Brooklyn Nine-Nine lead then expounded on the subject matter, citing a specific instance that showcases the special spark between them that worked for the world, too. Though he couldn’t explain specifics, he knew it was a kismet moment:
We showed up for the first table read before we’d even shot the pilot. [Andre] walked in, and we had a very pleasant hello, and then we started reading it, and as soon as we started reading it, like the first scene, which is he comes out and I’m goofing with him and being a dummy and he’s being stoic, and it just — you know how it is sometimes with creative stuff, where you’re like, ‘I don’t care how this came to be. It’s working, and I’m so happy.’
The Fox-turned-NBC series still stands as one of the most rewatchable shows because of this magic. As a fan, I couldn’t imagine any cast member being swapped out for someone else, but that’s especially true for Peralta and Holt.
What’s even crazier about all this is that Samberg revealed the only bump in the road they experienced while working together was that Braugher didn’t initially trust himself to do comedy!
To be fair, he came up through Juilliard and dramas, so I can see the hesitancy. But I think it’s safe to say a lot of us are thrilled he worked through that quickly. Whatever helped Andre Braugher in that moment, it too must have been kismet, because the world needed him to work alongside Andy Samberg.
