He’s a brilliant comedian. A talented musician. A spot-on impersonator. Jimmy has redefined and recharged late-night television with a genuine excitement and energy that gets under your skin.
That’s probably because watching you laugh might be the thing that makes Jimmy most happy. This explains this man’s unwavering mission to get me to break every time we do our send-up sketch of the Gibb brothers on SNL. Or why we jump all over each other’s sentences during any segment I’ve ever been a part of on his show. Jimmy’s lightning wit — mixed with a kindness you don’t normally find in comedy — is what makes you feel so comfortable having him in your home every night. And no matter where the joke goes, the audience feels like they are in on it too. That’s because Jimmy loves to share the moment.
Jimmy’s brain doesn’t stop either. He is constantly punching up jokes out loud or improvising when we are in the same room — no matter who else is around.
Picture this: I’m in the heart of an impromptu speech at my wedding reception in front of 150 guests, pouring it out to my lovely new bride. You could hear a pin drop. I paused for just a moment in between thoughts. And then there was Jimmy, shouting a joke from his seat, sparking an improv between the two of us that went on for a good five or 10 minutes and had all our guests roaring with laughter. Interrupting the groom’s speech at the wedding reception? Cracking jokes when your buddy is looking desperately for the words to say that he hopes his wife will remember forever? It turned into a moment that everyone there will remember forever. Anyone else would have bombed on that stage. And then I would have kicked their ass.
But this was Jimmy Fallon.
He just can’t help himself. And neither can we.
Timberlake is a six-time Grammy Award–winning musician
