Andy Richter Talks Becoming Caesar for 'Role of a Lifetime' With Super Bowl Ad (Exclusive)
When it comes to the Super Bowl, the game might be a lot of fun but the ads playing between the four quarters is an experience we have all come to love. With numerous companies taking top spots during the NFL showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, 2022 will see the return of Avocados From Mexico with a commercial in the first quarter starring comedian Andy Richter taking on the "role of a lifetime" as Caesar. Taking audiences back to Ancient Rome with Richter as the former Roman general Julius Caesar, the former late-night announcer tells PopCulture.com exclusively it was something he never imagined coming to fruition.
"To be able to say, I'm in a Super Bowl commercial for Avocados From Mexico in which I play Julius Caesar, is not a sentence I ever thought I would be uttering. But I'm very happy to be uttering it now," he laughed, going on to share how it was an "exciting" and "fun" experience. "It's a high-profile kind of thing to do. Although I have had friends who have been in Super Bowl commercials before, I mean, they made some nice money at it and stuff, but they're sort of the same people as they've always been, so I'm not expecting too big of a transformation — you know, between Super Bowl Sunday and the Monday right after."
When asked what made him want to partner with Avocados From Mexico, the comedian jokingly replied "because they paid me." However, beyond that most humbly, he is "really happy" to do a commercial for a product he is happy to sell "because avocados are delicious" to eat and incorporate in every meal. "They make things really good," he said. "They make good things even better. Put it in with anything pretty much and you're going to get a better end product. So, it was pretty easy to say yes to this. I mean, it's not like it's a petroleum company or something. It's just avocados and everybody loves avocados."
With the shoot taking place in Mexico City, Richter reveals it was a "pretty condensed" trip and "mostly work," which means no time for mojitos with little umbrellas in them. "Honestly with COVID and Omicron coming out and being so prevalent, it was not the trip that one would hope that it would normally be," he said. "I didn't do a lot of sightseeing, I didn't do a lot of, kind of going out and getting out into the crowds. Just because I wanted to make sure I was okay for this commercial. But the shooting of it was great. I think we were pretty close to one of the highest points in Mexico. We were at almost like 11,000 feet elevation."
Revealing how the site of their shoot was kind of like a "national park" with some very "piny woods," Richter said the spot chosen was perfect because it really looks like the kind of image you see in movies for Mexico. "It looked like Tennessee or something. It was high elevation and foresty and they just set us up in the middle of a campground with a big green screen that they projected the Coliseum on to and it was great. We had all kinds of chariots and lots of extras and Roman soldier stuff and big animals around, horses and cows and goats."
Despite not being Italian, Richter got the chance to dress up for the commercial in full Roman wardrobe, saying it was a lot of fun and the outfit was just "amazing." He adds all of it was "custom made by all these artisans" from Mexico. "Leatherworkers and costumers and all I guess was put together by hand," he said. "But it was an amazing costume and really, that in and of itself was pretty fun to get to dress up in fancy Caesar garb, with a cape. Every day that you get to wear a cape is a good day."
Sporting a breastplate too (which has its own Twitter as well), Richter admits he didn't take home anything from the set — partially because he has "too much Midwestern shame" to ask for such things. "No, I didn't pay for this, this is somebody else's," he said. "And frankly, I don't know when I'd be wearing that breastplate around. I'd stand out at the grocery store probably."
When it comes to the Big Game on Sunday, Richter confesses he is not a huge football fan despite being Midwest through and through with roots in Michigan, where he was born, and Illinois, where he grew up. "In one sense, yay for the Rams because I live here in Los Angeles and I've lived here for over 20 years," he said. "I'm from Chicago, but I live in L.A. But I also, and as I say, going into a football game — I'm not that invested in anybody. So, I usually go for the underdog. So, I'm kind of in a nice position where either team that wins, I'm going to be satisfied, in one way or the other. Which is exactly why most real football fans hate me."
The Avocados From Mexico commercial starring Andy Richter will premiere in the first quarter during the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 13. For all your Super Bowl 2022 news and more on Andy Richter, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest.
0comments