Ana de Armas calls this ‘Friends’ character the ‘best English tutor’ in ‘SNL’ monologue

Ana de Armas began her “Saturday Night Live” monologue by giving a shoutout to the “Friends” character who helped her learn English.

During the April 15 episode, de Armas walked onto the Studio 8H stage and started speaking in Spanish, saying she was so happy to host the sketch comedy series.

“Just kidding. I speak English!” the first-time host said as the audience laughed. “But I didn’t when I first got to the U.S.”

She recalled moving from Cuba to the United States when she was 26 years old.

“I learned English the way everyone who comes to this country does — by watching ‘Friends,’” the now 34-year-old actor said.

De Armas joked, "Who would have thought that the best English tutor would be Chandler Bing?"

"I mean, look at me now. Could I be any better at English?" she said, riffing off of one of the iconic jokes in "Friends."

The “Knives Out” star said it was difficult becoming an actor in the U.S. because she did not fully understand some of the dialogue she had to read.

She said she signed up for a class called “How to Audition” where she had to act out a scene with the line, “I beg your pardon.”

The actor, who had never heard the idiom before, said she literally begged when she performed the scene.

De Armas then spoke about how far she has come since the funny moment, including being nominated for an Oscar for her portrayal of Marilyn Monroe in “Blonde” earlier this year.

She said 2023 has been “a magical year” and will continue to get better because she will officially become an American citizen in three weeks.

“I am proud to become a citizen because when I moved here everyone was so welcoming,” she shared. “When I did my first movie in the U.S. called ‘Hands of Stone,’ I got to work with Robert De Niro.”

While they were filming the sports drama, De Niro told her he had a trip planned to Cuba. The prolific actor said he wanted to meet her family and asked how to contact them.

“I get a phone call from my dad. He’s hysterical. I’m like, ‘Dad, what’s wrong?’ And he goes, ‘Robert De Niro just came to visit me at work.’ That was such a kind gesture,” she said.

Speaking of her father, de Armas noted in her monologue that he “would be proud” to watch her host “SNL.”

“I remember the first time my name was in the New York Times’ crossword,” she shared. “Everyone texted me, and they said, ‘You made it!’”

She continued, “And I thought I did. But then a couple months ago, ‘SNL’ called me and said, ‘Ana, we want you to host.’ And I was so shocked and excited that all I could say was, ‘I beg your pardon?’”

Throughout the night, she appeared in multiple funny sketches, including one with musical guest Karol G.

In the “Spanish Class” skit, the singer joined de Armas and cast member Marcello Hernandez to teach the Spanish alphabet.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com