Beck Performs "In the Night" on The Tonight Show and Recalls Turning Down a Zoolander Role

Beck performed his new ballad "In the Night" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, 20 October, and used the interview segment to admit he once passed up a part in a major comedy.

A ballad is a slow, emotional song, and this one was staged with a dozen orchestral string players and a light haze of stage fog, according to Rolling Stone. The song comes from Beck's album Ride Lonesome, which was released shortly before the broadcast. The show's NBC.com page lists the performance clip with a date of 10/20/26, and the programme's official YouTube channel posted it under the title "Beck: In The Night."

Guest Sacha Baron Cohen joined the performance. He played cello in a spot at the back of the string section, supporting Beck on stage, as Billboard reported.

The bigger talking point came in the conversation with Fallon. Beck said he had turned down a role in Zoolander, Ben Stiller's 2001 fashion comedy. He told the show that a cast member had said Owen Wilson's character, Hansel, was partly based on him. Beck said he "stupidly said no" to the offer, and that the producers then cast David Bowie instead, as Billboard quoted him saying.

Bowie did appear in the film. He played a version of himself and judged a walk-off between Derek Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller, and Hansel, played by Owen Wilson, according to Far Out Magazine, which interviewed Wilson about working with him.

For viewers, the night offered two things at once: a new song sung with a full string section, and a rare public account of a Hollywood role that went elsewhere. Late-night slots like this one often pair musical guests with a chat, and this episode followed that pattern. The performance clip is now available on the show's own channels for anyone who missed the broadcast.