Natasha Lyonne Really Wants to Play Columbo
Peter Falk played the perpetually rumpled detective Columbo, one of the most enduring characters in the history of television, off and on (mostly on) from 1968 all the way to 2003. The character spanned networks, formats, and generations. (And, for what it’s worthy, my grandmother was a huge fan.) Falk played Columbo through it all, but he passed away in 2011. In the years since, fans have asked for a revival of the character with a new actor in the lead role.
The most common fan casting for Columbo 2.0 is Mark Ruffalo, who definitely strikes a similarly disheveled figure as Peter Falk, and could easily pull off the character’s ingratiating inquisitiveness. But here’s a pretty fun idea: What about Natasha Lyonne, the star of Orange Is the New Black and her own Netflix series, Russian Doll? Lyonne has the accent, the attitude, and would wear the hell out of a beige overcoat. How about a gender-swapped Columbo?
Lyonne, for her part, is all in on this idea. When it was brought up on Twitter this week, she not only said she wanted the part she said she was ready to “fight Ruffalo for it.” “Me and you, after class, Warriors style,” she said, throwing down the gauntlet. Columbo fight!!
Ruffalo has yet to respond to Lyonne’s playful challenge. But filmmaker Edgar Wright suggested a pretty elegant compromise, just in case Ruffalo isn’t ready to let Natasha Lyonne take the Columbo mantle entirely.
Okay, that’s a show I would watch. My grandmother would have dug it too.
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