Zoey Deutch has become one of Hollywood’s busiest stars, but one of her funniest recent stories has nothing to do with red carpets or box office numbers. Instead, it involves a hot air balloon, Jon Hamm and an unexpected phone call to Amy Poehler. While appearing on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Deutch recalled the first time she filmed a scene with Hamm for their upcoming comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. The film follows a woman whose fiancé decides to cash in on their so-called “celebrity sex pass” agreement, sending her on a mission to track down her own celebrity crush, played by Hamm. Before landing on its current title, the project was reportedly called I’ll Take the Hamm, which gives a pretty good indication of where the story is headed.
But it wasn’t the plot that caught fans’ attention.
According to Deutch, her very first scene with Hamm took place inside a hot air balloon. As the two actors floated high above the ground preparing to shoot, she noticed Hamm was glued to his phone.
Naturally, she assumed it must be something important.
“We’re a foot away from each other and he’s on the phone,” she recalled thinking. Not wanting to interrupt, she simply let him continue the conversation.
It wasn’t until weeks later that she discovered who Hamm had actually been talking to.
While scrolling through social media, Deutch came across footage from Amy Poehler’s podcast Good Hang and suddenly recognized the setting. Hamm hadn’t been handling some urgent Hollywood business. He had simply been recording a podcast interview from inside the hot air balloon.
The realization left her amused, especially because she had spent the entire time wondering who could possibly require such an important call during filming.
The story also led Deutch to another strange discovery. For some reason, every hot air balloon experience in her life has involved famous leading men.
Before sharing one with Hamm, she previously rode in a hot air balloon alongside Glen Powell after the pair worked together on the beloved Netflix rom-com Set It Up.
As bizarre celebrity coincidences go, it’s certainly a specific one.
The actress is currently enjoying a major career moment. Alongside Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, she has several projects arriving within the next year, including Netflix’s romantic comedy Voicemails for Isabelle, which has already generated strong audience reactions and helped fuel growing online chatter about Deutch becoming Hollywood’s newest rom-com queen.
With multiple films on the horizon and stories like this making the rounds, it’s easy to see why she remains one of the industry’s most charming and relatable stars.
And if she ends up in another hot air balloon with a famous actor anytime soon, fans may start thinking it’s become a career requirement.