Taika Waititi forgot he was on The Simpsons: 'What's that?'

D'oh!

Taika Waititi appeared on an episode of The Simpsons in 2023, but he doesn't always remember his time on the long-running cartoon. "I'm in The Simpsons. I play myself in the Simpsons, no acting required," the filmmaker told Entertainment Weekly in a video interview.

Waititi said that playing himself in the episode "Murder, She Boat" fulfilled a lifelong goal. "I'd always dreamed of being on The Simpsons, and I've loved The Simpsons ever since I was a kid, and I got to play The Simpsons," he said. "I remember being excited, and then someone sent me, just last week, they sent me — where's my phone? — they sent a picture of it from the TV, and I was like, 'What's that?' and they went, 'You were on The Simpsons,' and I was like, 'Oh damn! I was on The Simpsons, that's right.'"

That's not the only project Waititi has forgotten about acting in. Elsewhere in the video, Waititi struggled to recall his involvement in the 2019 comedy series Year of the Rabbit, which starred his What We Do in the Shadows collaborator Matt Berry. "Year of the Rabbit! What'd I do on this?" he asked. "I mean, this is Matt! Oh, I remember. I remember. I distinctly remember."

Waititi's only recollection of his time on the show's third episode, "Gangs," came from his wardrobe and props. "It's a big, funny mustache," he said. "I can barely — I think it was a like a top hat, and an accordion. That's the only memory I have."

He continued with praise for the show's star. "Matt Berry is an icon," Waititi said. "He's one of my favorite people, and favorite actors. He's one of the funniest people I've ever met. And that's all I'm going to say about that. Anything with 'Rabbit' in the title, I'm there."

The Jojo Rabbit filmmaker also briefly discussed his other voice performances. "Oh my God, what is with the rabbit themes in all my stuff? Okay, Save Ralph, I play a rabbit," he said, reflecting on the 2021 stop-motion short. "It's an incredible film about vivisection and animal cruelty. This film really touched a lot of people, and it's a really sweet character. And I voiced this character in lockdown. I did a month of lockdown, okay? That's basically, ask anyone in jail, it's the exact same thing. Anyway, in that period, I voiced this character."

Waititi later reflected on his supporting voice performance in Pixar's Lightyear in 2022. "So, I play a character called Mo in this film. Again, voice work. Voice work! " he said. "And this film is fantastic, with a great adventure. Also, I love the twist towards the end. Do you guys wanna know what the twist is? He's the bad guy," he continued, gesturing toward Buzz Lightyear himself. "That's my memory of watching that movie. I was like, 'What?!'"

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Watch the full interview with Taika Waititi above.