Billy Crystal Reveals the SurprisingWhen Harry Met SallyLine That Fans Quote Back to Him (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Billy Crystalsays there’s a moment fromWhen Harry Met Sallythat fans have been quoting back to him lately — and no, it’s not the obvious one.

The movie’s memorable Katz’s Deli scene arguably features its most famous line: “I’ll have what she’s having.” In fact, Crystal and costarMeg Ryaneven recreated the iconic rom-com moment fortheir new Hellmann’s Super Bowl ad.

“There’s a T-shirt,” Crystal, 76, tells PEOPLE. “It’s sweeping the nation. Yeah, I hear them talking.”

“I went through this when I was onSaturday Night Liveand people were saying, ‘You look marvelous’ a lot, which was a big thing then,” he recalls, referring to his impressions of Fernando Lamas on the late-night sketch show.

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in ‘When Harry Met Sally’ in 1989.Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

He adds that his reaction to hearing these catchphrases usually depends on “whether it’s the right time or not.”

“If I’m having a tough time or some moment and I don’t want to be disturbed,” he says. “If it’s in a restaurant, I’m in a discussion or someone will tap you on the shoulder and go, ‘I’ll have what you’re having.’ It’s like, not now, not now. I appreciate it, but please not now.”

“When people want to have what I’m having and the wink I get from strangers, it’s just so sweet,” says the actress, 63. “It’s just so sweet that there’s this affection for that scene.”

Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in Katz’s Deli in 1989’s ‘When Harry Met Sally’.Castle Rock/Nelson/Columbia/Kobal/Shutterstock

In the original scene, Harry says he doesn’t believe any of the women he’s slept with have ever faked an orgasm, and Sally proceeds to offer a convincing demonstration right in the middle of the restaurant. “I’ll have what she’s having,” deadpans a fellow diner.

In their new Hellmann’s ad, the pair reunites the movie’s title characters at the New York City deli, where Harry tells Sally, “I can’t believe they let us back in this place.”

“Why?” Sally asks, to which he responds, “Hello …” “Nobody remembers that,” Sally insists.

The duo bite into their sandwiches, but Sally admits hers “isn’t doing it.”

Ryan says she felt the love for the scene while filming the commercial at Katz’s in December.

“There were so many people in there and they’re all in on the joke,” she says. “And we all wanted to be in on the joke, the extras. And you could just feel the affection that this has grown with people and just really felt nice.”

source: people.com