Tony Hale on Playing Beyoncé’s ‘Emasculated Sidekick’ in Verizon’s Super Bowl Commercial and Hiding the Role From His Daughter
variety.comSelome Hailu Beyoncé sent her fans a shocker on Super Bowl Sunday, using a Verizon ad to announce “Renaissance Act II” and drop two brand-new country songs.
But members of the BeyHive with a penchant for half-hour comedies got a two-for-one deal, as the pop star appeared in the commercial opposite an unexpected partner: “Veep” and “Arrested Development” star Tony Hale.
Hale has spent years of his career playing awkward, offbeat beta males overshadowed by powerful women: “It’s a forte of mine,” he says, reflecting on what his newest collaborator may have in common with Lucille Bluth (Jessica Walter, “Arrested Development”) and Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”).
At home as he felt at Yoncé’s side, though, he isn’t totally sure how much she knew about him in return. “We really didn’t have much time to chat,” he laughs. “I didn’t ask her, ‘Have you seen my work?'” Verizon first started hinting about a Beyoncé ad in the days leading up to the Super Bowl.
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