Natasha Lyonne was left totally ‘confused’ when her former American Pie co-star Jennifer Coolidge once mistook her for Hilary Duff years ago.
The actress, 45, recalled the awkward encounter while appearing on this week’s episode of the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
‘I remember once I dropped out [of the spotlight] for a while because I was writing all those novels, and Jennifer Coolidge saw me at the Chateau Marmont,’ she told host Josh Horowitz.
‘And I had straight hair, and she thought I was Hilary Duff. I was so confused.’
Lyonne was so thrown off by Coolidge’s error because her style — both personal and professional — differs entirely from 37-year-old Duff’s.
Duff is a bubbly blonde who previously reigned on the Disney Channel while Lyonne has long been a tough, raspy-voiced indie darling who takes on ‘edgy’ film and TV roles.
Natasha Lyonne (left) was left totally ‘confused’ when her former American Pie co-star Jennifer Coolidge (right) once mistook her for Hilary Duff years ago
One thing Lyonne and Duff do have in common is that they’ve both previously starred in comedy films with Coolidge.
Lyonne in the raunchy R-rated flick American Pie (1999) and Duff in the rom-com A Cinderella Story (2004).
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‘I was like, maybe I’ve become too well. You know what I mean?’ Lyonne said of her thought process at the time of the mix up. ‘Because whatever I’m projecting is something I’d rather scratch real quick — I have lost my edge.
‘Hilary seems like a lovely person, and sometimes I’ll look at pictures of her and be like, “I think maybe this is a good thing. I think they mean this kindly.”‘
As to ‘how deep into the conversation’ she and Coolidge got before she realized she wasn’t Duff, Lyonne said ‘not ver far.’
‘Jennifer moves quickly. She was sort of like, “Oh, I thought you were Hilary Duff,” and I was like, “I’m not,” and it was over.’
Lyonne concluded the story by joking: ‘But yeah, I would rather be mistaken for, like, Keith Richards or something.’
Lyonne’s appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast comes amid shooting for the highly-anticipated second season of her Peacock series Poker Face.
Lyonne (left) was so thrown off by Coolidge’s error because her style — both personal and professional — differs entirely from 37-year-old Duff’s. Duff (right) is a bubbly blonde who previously reigned on the Disney Channel while Lyonne has long been a tough, raspy-voiced indie darling who takes on ‘edgy’ film and TV roles
She plays Charlie Cale in the gripping multi-part series Poker Face, which was created by Knives Out director Rian Johnson.
Lyonne’s character uses her finely tuned truth-discerning abilities to investigate a murder, but then becomes the prime suspect after casino boss Sterling Frost Jr. is shot.
The season one finale, which was released in March 2023, saw Cale outsmart the men chasing her following Sterling’s death as she went back on the run.
The mystery-comedy received a 99% approval rating from critics on film and TV review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes.
Johnson wrote and directed several episodes of the first season, and Lyonne also directed one.
While Poker Face is her latest project, Lyonne is best known for her roles in Netflix’s Orange Is The New Black and American Pie (1999).
She got her start as a child actor in the early 1990s, including staring in the family-friendly flick Dennis the Menace (1993).
Soon after, she nabbed a role in the indie cult classic Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) with Oscar-winners Alan Arkin and Marisa Tomei.
One thing Lyonne and Duff do have in common is that they’ve both previously starred in comedy films with Coolidge. Lyonne co-starred with Coolidge in the raunchy R-rated flick American Pie (1999)
Duff starred as Coolidge’s mistreated stepdaughter in the rom-com A Cinderella Story (2004)
The following year, she landed the lead role in the queer comedy But I’m A Cheerleader, which follows a cheerleader (Lyonne) whose parents send her off to a gay conversion camp.
While Lyonne has appeared in a long list of beloved films, she’s dominated TV over the last decade after her memorable role in Orange Is The New Black in 2013.
In 2019, Lyonne co-created the short-lived Netflix comedy series Russian Doll with Amy Poehler and Leslye Headland.
Lyonne starred as the main character, game developer Nadia, who finds herself being forced to relive the night of her 36th birthday over and over again.
The show was massive critical success, with season one earning 14 Primetime Emmy nominations
It was renewed for a second season that aired in 2022 but there’s been virtually no word about a potential season three.
Co-creator Headland gave a disappointing update on the show earlier this year, telling Collider that she hasn’t ‘heard anything from Netflix about it.’
However, she gave fans hope by saying a third season isn’t totally out of the question.
‘I was like, maybe I’ve become too well. You know what I mean?’ Lyonne said of her thought process at the time of the mix up. ‘Because whatever I’m projecting is something I’d rather scratch real quick — I have lost my edge’; seen in October 2024
‘No, I think there is [a chance]. 100%. Yeah, I definitely think there is. I just haven’t heard anything about it,’ Headland told the outlet in March.
As for her personal life, Lyonne was last romantically linked to Saturday Night Live alum Fred Armisen.
The couple are believed to have split in 2021 after six years together.
Lyonne confirmed the breakup to The Hollywood Reporter in 2022.
She jokingly shared that they broke up over differing opinions about adding a swimming pool to the LA home they once shared.