Leslie Jones on Getting the Call to Join ‘Our Flag Means Death’: “They Had Me at ‘Pirate'”

Saturday Night Live veteran Leslie Jones is famous for her bombastic, larger-than-life personality, infusing infectious enthusiasm into each of her memorable characters. Since leaving the New York late night institution, she’s appeared in a variety of roles, often asked to play parts she’s already known to be quite good at: the goofy, cackling comic relief. In her latest venture, as the pirate overlord Spanish Jackie on HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death, she’s still wickedly funny but has more of an opportunity to showcase a darker, more transformative side to her acting.

Jones spoke with THR about the joys of taking on the guest role, not only for the opportunity to don an 18th century ensemble and wig, but for the chance to step outside of the type of fare she’s so commonly typecast within.

Tell me about the audition process for this role.

I think it was just a straight-to-offer kind of deal. I talked to the creator, David Jenkins — they had me at “pirate.” They said “pirate” and I was like, “Oh, I’m in.”

When you read the script, what was your first impression?

I was more excited, because [before] reading the script, I didn’t even know if I [would] be interested in the show itself as much as the role. Then when I started reading, I was like, “Oh, this is a really good show.” And the way that they have Spanish Jackie set up — she has 20 husbands, the fake hand … That’s like giving candy to a baby.

I’ve read interviews where you’ve said when getting cast in projects, people are looking for you to play a version of yourself, and with this show, that wasn’t the case. How did you create this character, and what were your conversations with the directors like?

It’s always really weird that people have a Leslie Jones persona. I didn’t even know that that’s something I did … that’s just who I am. I’m still an actress. I’m still a comedian, I still know how to perform. It doesn’t mean that I’m going to be that person every time. It’s almost like the industry finds these little ingredients and then they want to use it in everything. You remember pumpkin spice? Pumpkin spice is every-fucking-where. They get a little bit of that and they want to put it in everything.

I remember [the producers] being like, “We love Leslie Jones, but we do not want Leslie Jones here. We want Spanish Jackie.” That’s so freeing to a person like me, because this is what I’ve always been telling everyone: “Leslie is who she is. But I’m also still an artist.” So if you write this role this way, and direct me this way, I’m going to do what you need me to do. That’s what I do. I’m really good at what I do. So I just need to be directed that way.

Talk to me a little bit about your scene partners, like Fred Armisen. I know you two had done a bit of improv together on this set. I’d love to hear more about that, but also about some of your other scene partners and what it was like working with them.

He’s a comedic genius. There’s not enough I can say about Fred Armisen. He’s just the cat’s meow. I love working with him. He’s so easy. And he’s so quick. And he’s smart. And he’s just hot. You know? When they told me that he was going to be one of my husbands, I was like, “Come on, y’all are just giving apple pie out for free.” We were doing things that they wouldn’t expect us to do, we were subtle in places that they didn’t expect us to be, it’s just something we always wanted to do. Any chance Fred and I get to work together, we go for that chance because we love working together anyway. There’s a reason I have [his character] so close to me. I said, “There’s a tender side to us.” The fact that he comes up and calls me “baby” and I’m like, “You can’t call me that in public. I’m Spanish Jackie.” I’m sure behind closed doors she devours him.

Vico [Ortiz], who plays Jim — you talk about someone ready to conquer their position in this industry. Vico is amazing. When we had the fight scene and I got to know them … They brought expressions out of me that I didn’t even know I had. Wow. And in life, I have them over all the time.

Was the vibe on set just so much fun, hanging out as pirates?

It felt like I was with real actors. Oh my God. Stede [Bonnet, played by Rhys Darby] was just so … I loved him. Did you know that was his real hair? That’s not a wig. I’m telling you right now, that was the hardest I ever laughed in a long time, when he told me that was his hair.

What other types of characters or roles or genres are you interested in doing?

As far as somebody who had such a dream of doing [this] for her life, I mean, what little girl didn’t pretend [all the time]? I acted out everything in my room. I keep thinking of this story when I was in sixth grade, and we had this parade, and we had to make these floats. And we chose Hansel and Gretel. Now we made this gingerbread-type house, and we were going to have to be in a parade. When it came time to pick the parts, I thought, “I’m definitely going to be Gretel. I’ve got to be Gretel.” Everybody voted me to be The Witch. I was devastated. I ran all the way home crying. I ran in the house and I was like, “Mom, they want me to be the witch. It’s so mean.” And my mom was like, “What? They want you to be the witch?” And I’m thinking she’s about to go off. And she goes, “Are you kidding me? That’s literally the best role. It’s like Hansel, Gretel, Witch. You’re literally the main cast.” She lost it. She was running around the house, like, “I’m going to make your costume!” She made my costume. We rehearsed. She was like, “You’re going to be the best witch.” And I literally won best character for the parade.

I always think about that, because I want to play a villain. That would be great, to play a villain. Like, if I had to do some Marvel stuff, I would want to be the bad person, or a serial killer. I would play the shit out of [a serial killer]. That was my major in college, criminal justice. I want to play those types of things, that evoke emotion, stuff that you’re not going to regularly see from me.

Are there any TV shows or performances that you’ve been especially addicted to this season that you really think deserve recognition?

Roar on Apple TV+. HBO Max’s Station Eleven. Bel-Air should get some love, it’s on Peacock. You know, the Fresh Prince remake? That should get some serious love. I don’t know if these shows are shows that people look at, but I love all the emergency shows. HBO’s Gentleman Jack. There are so many shows. What I hope to see in the awards is stuff that actually reflects the things people watch. I hope that it’s more diverse.

Interview edited for length and clarity.

This story first appeared in a June stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.