Yahoo Lifestyle “Parks and Rec” star talks going 'ultra viral' for 'don't be suspicious' line: 'I don't think people even know that it's me'
Ben Schwartz does not think this is "the wo-o-o-orst."
Hey, TikTok! Money please!
According to Ben Schwartz, the biggest thing the actor has ever done in his career was Jean-Ralphio Saperstein on Parks and Recreation, given how quickly his "don't be suspicious" scene with costar Jenny Slate blew up on social media. Countless TikTok users continue to use an audio sample from this to accompany various videos, from pets trying to sneak a snack to people generally acting odd.
It was "the biggest thing that has blown up in the biggest way," in addition to something he didn't know was happening initially, Schwartz tells Entertainment Weekly. He recalls a friend telling him about how TikTok works with audio sampling.
NBC
Ben Schwartz and Jenny Slate in 'Parks and Recreation'"I was like, 'Oh! That's so cool. If I were a kid, if I were a comedian at the beginning, that'd be so fun. You could collaborate with people.' They go, 'But you're in one of them!'" Schwartz recalls. "And I go, 'What do you mean?' They showed me a dog slowly trying to steal some food. It was millions of these videos. That was one thing that became ultra viral that I don't think people even know that it's me doing the noise. They just think the sound is funny."
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In season 7, episode 12 of Parks and Recreation, titled "One Last Ride, Part 1," people gather for Jean-Ralphio's funeral, not knowing he faked his death for the insurance money so that he and his sister, Mona-Lisa (Slate), could open a casino in Tajikistan. As they attempt to sneak away from cemetery, the two knucklehead siblings tell each other, "don't be suspicious," which then quickly spirals until both of them turned the phrase into a song and dance. It was a moment, Schwartz says, he and Slate improvised.
"People, as a bit, sometimes will take GIFs of me and send them to me as a response to myself," he adds. "Sometimes I'll be like, 'Oh yeah, I can't make it. I'm so sorry,' and then 'don't be suspicious' or 'you're the worst'" — another popular Jean-Ralph GIF — "will come up. That's usually how I see it."
Schwartz will next be heard, if not seen on screen, in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, in theaters this Dec. 20. He also scored a role in Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice, the upcoming BenDavid Grabinski-directed film with Eiza González, James Marsden, and Vince Vaughn.
You might say he's currently..."flu-u-u-ushed with ca-a-a-ash."
