Back in 2015, “The Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon had his mind blown when Nicole Kidman informed him that he had unknowingly blown a date with her. And, on Tuesday night, “The Last of Us” star Isabela Merced made sure he hasn’t forgotten.
Merced plays Dina in the HBO series, which airs its season 2 finale on Sunday, May 25. During her appearance on the show, Fallon noted that, like many, he played the video game that the show is based on, calling it “one of the scariest video games ever played in my life.”
“Was that the game you were playing when you bombed your date with Nicole Kidman?” Merced shot back.
The joke stunned Fallon, earned an audible “ohh” from the audience, and earned the actress a quick kick-drum from the band, which delighted her to no end. Once he recovered, Fallon jokingly tried to end the interview.
“It’s a pleasure meeting you, we’re out of time,” he rushed out. “We’ll be right back. We got a great ‘Tonight Show,’ one of the best shows we’ve ever done.”
Merced cracked up at that, but wasn’t deterred, asking Fallon if “The Last of Us” was indeed the game he was playing on the now infamous date (it wasn’t, according to the host. He claims it was Mario Kart).
In case you’re unfamiliar with the lore here, Kidman herself visited “The Tonight Show” back in 2015, and compared memories with Fallon of their first meeting. While Fallon remembered it as just a casual thing, Kidman admitted that she had a crush on him, and came to his apartment thinking it was a date.
At one point, she revealed, Fallon did indeed “put a video game on,” prompting the host to once again try to cut the story short, hiding in embarrassment.
You can watch that original exchange below.
