Rosamund Pike is no doubt celebrating her Golden Globe nomination and the British actor was in high spirits when she appeared on "The Graham Norton Show" Friday to tell a funny anecdote about learning a new skill during the coronavirus pandemic.
"I've got my kids homeschooling me," the "Gone Girl" star told Norton in a video appearance. "Because my kids speak Mandarin, and I don't."
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Pike, 42, explained that her sons Solo, 8, and Atom, 6, are bilingual because her partner, Robie Uniacke — who has four children in addition his two boys with Pike — thought it would be "exciting" to speak to them in a language he didn't already know.
"So he taught himself Chinese from the ground up," Pike explained. "Well, you could call it brilliant, or you could call it really stubborn, or you could call it a kind of desire for single parenting," she joked. "He's basically talking to them in a language I don't understand so I thought maybe lockdown was a good opportunity for me to catch up."
Pike also said she was aware of the irony that she currently lives in the Czech Republic, where she's shooting a TV adaptation of "The Wheel of Time," but is learning Mandarin instead of Czech.
When Norton asked Pike to say something in Mandarin, she revealed that she had asked her kids for something to try out on the show. Pike delivered the line and then revealed that it translated to, "the act of taking your trousers off to fart."
Pike laughed as the audience applauded, adding that she told her kids, "Well, that's perfect."
The mom of two explained the funny turn of phrase by ribbing fellow guest chef Gordon Ramsay, saying that if he went too far with a recipe, that would be like taking your pants off to fart.
"It's like butter on bacon," Norton agreed.
"That's a useful phrase," said Pike. "If you're going to know one thing in Chinese, that's not bad."
Earlier this month, Pike spoke in Mandarin on Instagram to share a message in celebration of the Lunar New Year.
"It’s Chinese New Year!" Pike posted along with a video message. "I have made an attempt at greeting all those celebrating tonight and welcoming the year of the cow. (Ha!) What I have attempted to say is : “Happy New Year! I hope this year brings prosperity! I am Rosamund Pike ( 裴淳华 -Péi Chúnhuá). I wish that behind your masks, you all wear a smile, and that all your cows produce calves!”
While Pike continues practicing her Chinese, you can catch her Golden Globe-nominated performance in "I Care A Lot" on Netflix.