Jay Leno was first seen in “The Big Leno” in 1977.Silver BearsHe declined the chance when it first presented itself to him.
“How I got the role still amazes me,”In 1996, the comedian wrote that he had written “My Chin: Leading with My Chin“Recalling that he was just hanging out at The Comedy Store, when a stranger approached, he said. “You have a good face for a movie. Would you like to be in a movie?”The man asked and offered to fly him to Switzerland. Leno assumed that the man was a male prostitute and offered to fly him out to Switzerland. However, the mysterious stranger gave Leno the number of a legitimate production company when they next met.
“Suddenly, I realized that he might be on the level,” Leno recalled. The star realized, once he rang that the director was Ivan Passer. “Like an idiot, I’d been blowing off a real director!” Leno explained. “He’d seen my act and thought I was right for the movie. Luckily, he still wanted me.”A mere week later, Leno was on his way to Switzerland to perform opposite Cybill Shepherd, Louis Jourdan and Martin Balsam.