Billy Crystal, Tiffany Haddish talk mutual appreciation and her later-in-life Bat Mitzvah extravaganza

Billy Crystal and Tiffany Haddish star as unlikely friends in their new film Here Today. But in reality, the two comedians have long idolized one another. Crystal says that he remembers being starstruck by Haddish when she hosted Saturday Night Live.

"I was so blown away," Crystal said of that moment, calling her performance "fearless." "That happens to only a few people I've ever met."

Crystal was also an integral presence at Haddish's Bat Mitzvah in 2019, where he recited blessings over the Torah. Haddish discovered she had Jewish ancestry after reconnecting with her father, who is an Eritrean-born Jew.

Watch more from Crystal and Haddish in the interview above.

Video transcript

- Thank you for bidding on me in the auction. I am so flattered that somebody your age would be a fan of my work.

- I don't know who the hell you are.

KEVIN POLOWY: Billy, how did you first discover Tiffany? I mean, were you like a lot of folks and saw "Girls Trip"--

BILLY CRYSTAL: [INAUDIBLE]

KEVIN POLOWY: --and was like, oh my god, this woman is incredible?

BILLY CRYSTAL: No, I had not seen it, but I saw her host "SNL." And Alan Zweibel and I had just finished writing the script and going, well, if we get a chance to make it, who would be this person, you know? And then I saw her. And I was so blown away by how funny and charming and hilarious and fearless she was and the way the audience wanted to know her. You could-- you know, it was like they were drawn to her. And that happens with only a few people that I've ever met.

And we got her the script. And she wanted to meet and really loved it, was the feedback I got. But you never know until you get in the same room with somebody what that's going to be like. And then we had a great meeting, and here we are.

KEVIN POLOWY: Tiffany, in the movie, your character is not familiar with Billy's character, even though he's kind of a big deal. He's a veteran award-winning comedy writer. How familiar were you with Billy's actual career and all the things he's done over the years? Were you a big fan of his?

TIFFANY HADDISH: Yeah, very familiar with his work and was really excited. You know, it's so funny when you think about it. You're like-- when you meet certain people that you've looked up to, and they're like, yeah, I saw you on "SNL," or I saw you on this, and you're like, you watched me? Like, it's like, you watched that? That's so cool. And then just talking with him, I was just like, yeah, I'm ready to do this. Whenever you're ready, I'm ready. And-- 'cause she ready, you know?

- Want to have some laughs?

- Come on, queen. Smile, girl. Smile.

KEVIN POLOWY: A very entertaining bat mitzvah scene in this movie you guys attend together. And a lot of the laughs come from the fact that Tiffany's character is supposed to be sort of a fish out of water there or has, like, an outsider's view of this religious, cultural celebration. But Tiffany, you've actually had a bat mitzvah as an adult. Billy, were you aware of this? Was it a coincidence? Was it written in because of that?

BILLY CRYSTAL: [INAUDIBLE] it was written into the script, you know, that she would come to my dau-- granddaughter's bat mitzvah. And then she found a little doll, so she gets up and she sings "Piece Of My Heart"-- you know, Janis Joplin song-- we thought would be hilarious. And I could just picture it-- you know, getting these older people to dance and so on and so forth. And then once we met, and she told me about her background, I read her book, I went, oh my, this is real serendipity here.

KEVIN POLOWY: Yeah.

BILLY CRYSTAL: I mean, she knows this world. She did this. So it just plugged in. And we were in a Jewish community center in Brooklyn. And she just killed it. She just crushed it.

TIFFANY HADDISH: That was so much fun. It was so much fun. It was like it was 1999 all over again. You know, I've been doing bar and bat mitzvahs since '96.

KEVIN POLOWY: Yeah. Well, I mean, Tiffany, like, how off-the-hook was your own bat mitzvah?

TIFFANY HADDISH: It was the best party ever. It was the best. It was the most wonderful celebration. I mean, all kind of people were there. We danced. And, like, you could feel the love and energy in the room, like, all throughout the night. Billy was there. He gave my aliyah.

KEVIN POLOWY: Oh, yeah?

TIFFANY HADDISH: Like, it was-- muah. It was wonderful. Billy was talking to the dude I was trying to lock in while he was holding him up. And the man I'm with now came, you know, he got in my ear a little bit. So thanks, Billy.

BILLY CRYSTAL: Well, the guy I was talking to was Giancarlo Stanton, who's--

TIFFANY HADDISH: Yeah, that's who I was trying to get at.

BILLY CRYSTAL: --the-- number 27 for the New York Yankees

[INTERPOSING VOICES]

BILLY CRYSTAL: --so I was talking to him.

TIFFANY HADDISH: [CHUCKLES]

KEVIN POLOWY: [INAUDIBLE]

BILLY CRYSTAL: But the service-- ask Kevin, the service was beautiful. And she really totally studied and knew what she wanted to do, and learned the Hebrew, and read from the Torah. And she asked me to give her a blessing, which usually you do to people who are close to you and mean something to you. And the fact that she asked me was a big honor. It was a beautiful thing to experience.

TIFFANY HADDISH: Well, you mean the world to me, Billy. I love you.