Jake Johnson may always be Nick Miller to New Girl fans, but his career has taken him from the Spider-Verse to Jurassic World and beyond. Now, he's stepping onto the pickleball court in the new Apple TV+ comedy The Dink, premiering July 24. But before that, he's sitting down with Mythical Kitchen for a tasty trip down memory lane.
In an exclusive sneak peek from the latest episode of Breaking Down a Career in 5 Dishes, Johnson joins host Josh Scherer for a chef's counter-style omakase experience. Each dish is inspired by one of Johnson's iconic roles—from Nick Miller to Peter B. Parker to sleazy publisher Doug Renetti from Minx—sparking candid conversations about the creative process behind his most memorable characters.
But the highlight of the clip? Johnson reveals how he accidentally inspired the hit Comedy Central series Drunk History. It all started one night when a tipsy Johnson told his friend, creator Derek Waters, a wildly inaccurate story about the death of Otis Redding. Waters was so entertained that he asked Johnson to reenact it on camera—but Johnson, then a union commercial actor, had to pass. The idea, of course, went on to become a six-season sensation, with Johnson eventually appearing as a guest.
“I was drunk, and I told him this story with so much confidence,” Johnson recalls in the clip. “He was like, ‘We have to do this again.’” The duo's drunken storytelling style later influenced a wave of similar shows, cementing its place in comedy history.
Breaking Down a Career in 5 Dishes expands on Mythical Kitchen's signature interview format, which has previously featured deep dives like Last Meals with guests from Tom Hanks to Gordon Ramsay. This new series blends personal and professional anecdotes over food, creating a relaxed setting for untold stories from the making of iconic films and shows.
Johnson's episode also touches on his upcoming film The Dink, where he plays a former tennis prodigy finding new purpose in pickleball at his father's country club. For more on that, check out our review of The Dink.
Mythical Kitchen, a spin-off of Rhett & Link's Good Mythical Morning, has become a YouTube powerhouse with over 7 million cross-platform viewers and 1.4 billion lifetime views. The channel has also appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Jennifer Hudson Show.
Johnson's episode of Breaking Down a Career in 5 Dishes drops Thursday, July 23 at 6 a.m. ET on the Mythical Kitchen YouTube channel. Watch the exclusive sneak peek above.
