B.J. Novak celebrates Mindy Kaling getting a Hollywood Walk of Fame star before Ben Affleck
'There are the old-school fans who say they still remember her from her acclaimed, experimental off-Broadway debut 'Matt & Ben,' which she co-wrote and co-starred in as Ben Affleck, who I believe does not have a star here,' Novak said before telling Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Steve Nissen, 'on behalf of the city of Boston, we'd like you to look into that.'
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While Novak went on to praise Kaling's credits as an actress, writer, and executive producer across so many projects, he joked, that at this point, people 'just know her from being famous.' He proceeded to opine about how 'fame is a unique job' that 'only exists in the minds of others.'
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'I'm talking about the job of fame itself, which is to be a character in other people's minds, to be someone they talk about and gossip about, someone they compare their friends to,' Novak said. 'It's a weird job. It's a special job. It can even be an important job. But it's never the job a person signed up for. It can't be.'
'Mindy respects and understands this in a very intuitive way, because in addition to being a brilliant and wildly successful showrunner, an incredible mother of three, a deep and caring daughter, and friend and mentor to so many, Mindy is also, in her spare time, I assure you, very superficial,' he jokingly added. 'She likes red carpet drama. She wants to know what really happened on the junket. She's actually kind of interested in who wore it better and has some opinions. She understands what fame means to people, because she's a normal person and it means something to her.'
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Before ending his speech, Novak got a little teary-eyed while noting all the people in attendance for Kaling's big day who've supported her over the years.
'Mindy, as I look around and see all these people from your life who have believed in you from the beginning, I'm just sorry that none of us doubted you because I know how much more fun that would make this for you,' Novak said. 'But we couldn't help it, we always knew you'd be famous, but we had no idea how beautifully you'd handle the job.'
Mindy Kaling attends her Hollywood Walk of Fame Star Ceremony on Tuesday.
Monica Schipper/Getty
Kaling later took the stage and thanked Novak, sharing a 'fun fact' that her daughter calls him 'Uncle Fo Fo.'
'I have no idea why that is, but he's such an important and integral part of my family that sometimes I forget the reason that I know him is because we work together professionally, and I'm as star struck by him now at age 29 as I was when I first met you at 24,' Kaling joked (both stars are actually now 45), before adding, 'I love you.'
Kaling continued, also joking about her love for recognition, calling the honor 'just incredibly nice.'
'I'm Hindu, and we practice cremation, which is a beautiful tradition that my ancestors have done for thousands of years, and so will I,' Kaling said. 'But also, I'm obsessed with legacy, so sometimes I get disappointed that I won't have a grave. But this is so much better than a grave.'
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'The Mindy Project' star also shared how grateful she is for her friends, fans, and family who've supported her, including her father, Avu Chokalingam, who was in attendance.
'Can you believe it, Dad?' Kaling excitingly said while looking at her father, later gesturing to the sky to honor her late mother. 'He and my mom encouraged me to be an artist by giving me the gift of autonomy.'
Towards the end of her speech, Kaling recalled watching NBC's must-see TV programming like 'Friends,' 'Frasier,' and 'Seinfeld' with her family, which is what inspired her to get into show business.
'My mom would come back from the hospital, where she worked really long days delivering babies as an OBGYN, and my dad would've just driven two to three hours back from his job site in Connecticut,' Kaling said. 'And despite how challenging the days were, we would all sit together at night and watch a sitcom.'
'I find it so powerful that kind of storytelling on TV, how it was able to bring us together when words failed us or just took too much energy,' she added. 'I think it's so remarkable how so many connections you can make by sharing laughs.'
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