Andy Samberg recalls wild first meeting Jason Momoa at SNL 50th afterparty

Andy Samberg says encounter with Jason Momoa at SNL 50th afterparty led to their upcoming film 'Protecting Jared'

Andy Samberg has shared details of his first meeting with Jason Momoa, revealing that the interaction played a key role in the creation of their upcoming film, Protecting Jared.

Speaking to People on the set of his Hellmann’s 2026 Super Bowl commercial, the 47-year-old actor and comedian recalled meeting Momoa for the first time at the Saturday Night Live 50th Anniversary Special afterparty last year.

“I had never met him and then last year at the SNL 50th after-party, I met him and he picked me up and swung me around in a circle like a rag doll,” Samberg told People. “We hugged and laughed.”

Samberg said he later relayed the story to longtime collaborators Rob Klein and John Solomon, who quickly saw potential in pairing the two actors.

“A week later they were like, ‘We have an idea for a movie for you and Momoa,’” he said. “They told it to me and I loved it, and we called him. We went and pitched it to him and he loved it. We took it out, and Netflix bought it.”

According to Production Weekly, Protecting Jared centres on William Ikaika, played by Momoa, a Hawaiian security guard who is forced to protect himself and Jared Bachman, portrayed by Samberg, a tech billionaire, during a kidnapping attempt. Official plot details have not yet been released.

“It’s going to be really fun. I’ve never done one exactly like this,” Samberg said. “I think it’s going to be on a scale that I’m really excited about also.”

Samberg was also recently confirmed as the star of Hellmann’s 2026 Super Bowl advert, filmed at Canter’s Deli in Los Angeles. The commercial features him performing a musical parody inspired by a Neil Diamond song.

“I was told that there was going to be a re-imagining of a Neil Diamond song for a spot, and it was for the Super Bowl,” he said.