Jimmy Kimmel delivered a memorable cameo in Season 4 of HBO Max's Hacks, where he not only played a cutthroat version of himself but also wrote some of the episode's best lines. The late-night host impressed the cast and crew with his humor during the filming of the fifth episode, 'Clickable Face.' His contributions added sharp wit to a confrontation scene involving Jean Smart's Deborah Vance and Kristen Bell.
Cameo Details
In the episode, Deborah Vance desperately tries to book Kristen Bell for her struggling late-night show, only to clash with Kimmel in a Hollywood parking lot. Kimmel's character asserts dominance, declaring, 'K.B.'s not doing your show... Everyone knows that when she has a new project, she does my show first. I got full custody when Conan (O'Brien) died.' This quip, along with a vulgar joke about Jimmy Fallon, was improvised by Kimmel on set.
Jean Smart praised Kimmel's performance, telling USA Today, 'My hat is off to [Kimmel], because he kept saying, 'I'm not an actor, you guys. Don't expect much.' He was kind of nervous, and then he was just a riot.' Showrunner Paul W. Downs confirmed the lines were Kimmel's originals, noting, 'We would never [write that],' regarding the Fallon joke.
Kimmel's character boasts about switching to an Android phone to match Bell's 'green bubbles' and investing in her 'gluten-free energy bars for Africa or something.' He also references the end of 'The Late Late Show with James Corden,' joking that Corden 'got a little too friendly with Jennifer Aniston' and faced issues with 'disturbing and illicit materials' on his computer, forcing him back to England.
Behind-the-Scenes Insights
During a real appearance on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!,' the host admitted to nerves, saying he 'didn't memorize any of [his] lines beforehand.' Smart called it ad-libbing, though Kimmel joked he was just forgetting them.
Interestingly, Hacks Season 4's penultimate episode features Deborah quitting her show over network censorship, mirroring Kimmel's own real-life hiatus in September 2025 after Republican backlash to comments about Charlie Kirk. This parallel highlights tensions in late-night TV. Hacks streams on HBO Max.