For anyone wondering whether that was the real Bob Dylan who called into John Mulaney’s Netflix talk show last night: It wasn’t.
Tuesday night marked the third of six installments for Everybody’s in L.A., Mulaney’s very live, very loose, late-night-esque show. One of the standout elements of the format so far is when Mulaney takes viewer phone calls. Anything can happen on those calls, but last night yielded a most unexpected guest.
Sounding off on the episode’s call-in topic of helicopters, a twangy-voiced “Bob in Malibu” complained, “They spook my horses.”
“Bob, what’s your full name?” Mulaney eventually asked.
“Bob Dylan. I’m a recording artist for Columbia,” the caller replied.
No, that wasn't the real Bob Dylan who called into #everybodysinLA with @Mulaney last night. It was SNL's James Austin Johnson (aka @shrimpJAJ). Full story: https://t.co/jIDACSW2fD pic.twitter.com/GuSwthSvs8
— LateNighter (@latenightercom) May 8, 2024
As Mulaney revealed during the show’s goodnights, the Dylan impresario was none other than Saturday Night Live cast member (and Dylan fan) James Austin Johnson.
Johnson posted a video of his end of the call to Instagram. He was back in his office at 30 Rock where, as he noted in a caption, the SNL players were busy preparing for this weekend’s Maya Rudolph-hosted episode. “Calling in to Everybody’s In LA as Bob Dylan when I’m supposed to be writing stuff,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson seemed to put some writing into his bit for Mulaney’s show. In the clip, he can be seen reading from his notebook when “Dylan” rattles off the songbook-inspired names of his horses. And when Mulaney asked him where he was on the evening of the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase, Johnson-as-Dylan answered “Krakow, Poland”. While he was a month off on that one, he was clearly checking his notes.
Those who want more of James Austin Johnson as Bob Dylan are in luck. Johnson brought his impression to The Tonight Show back in 2022. He was also recently cast in the Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown—although in that case, it’ll be Timothée Chalet channeling Dylan. Johnson’s role in the film hasn’t yet been revealed.
John Mulaney Presents Everybody’s in L.A. has three nights left on Netflix, streaming live at 7 PM PT/10PM ET through Friday.
