Quiz Lady director Jessica Yu is opening up about Paul Reubens‘ cameo in the film, which marks the late actor’s final film role.
Paul died in July after a long and private battle with cancer. He was 70.
The actor best known for his role as Pee-Wee Herman appeared briefly in Quiz Lady, which released on Friday (November 3). The comedy stars Awkwafina, Sandra Oh, and Will Ferrell.
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The scene in question involves Paul driving up in a golf cart outside of the game show’s soundstage to surprise a superfan.
In a recent interview with EW, Jessica addressed Paul‘s cameo as himself and the film’s subtle nod to Pee-Wee Herman.
“We were really excited that he was going to come and play with us,” she said. “It was on our first day of shooting that we had him. I felt like it was such a good omen because the moment everybody knew that Pee-wee was on set, everyone’s spirits lifted. He meant so much to people, and he was just so delightful. Bringing this moment of magic to the film is such a lovely memory, but is now quite bittersweet. No one knew what he was going through at that time.”
Fittingly, Will‘s character in Quiz Lady loves bowties and displays every one he’s ever worn on a wall.
“The fact that we had bow ties being a motif in the film was tied to Pee-wee,” Jessica revealed.
Check out the trailer for Quiz Lady!