Actress Mila Kunis accepts an award onstage during Spike TV's "Guys Choice" Awards on June 4, 2011.
Sgt. Scott Moore summoned all the swagger he could muster and suavely asked Mila Kunis to his Marine Corps ball. In his wildest dreams did he think she’d say yes?
But thanks to a little prodding from her Friends With Benefits costar Justin Timberlake, Mila agreed to accompany the Afghanistan-based Marine to the ball in November. Timberlake saw the YouTube video (watch it below) and during a Fox News interview last weekend prodded the actress to fulfill her patriotic duty. Albeit reluctantly, Kunis agreed.
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The snappy 19-second video posted by Sgt. Moore last week contained little more than a simple plea for Kunis to attend the ball with him. Like any carefully-considered date plan, it included the time and place, wrapped in a cool and confident invitation. “So take a second to think about it and get back to me,” he concluded the video.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0om2ApQPvqI&w=450]
Later, Sgt. Moore – but you can call him Scott – posted the plea on YouTube, letting the video fly freely in the Internet ether. And it evidently found its way onto the right computer screens. Timberlake played matchmaker as he convinced Kunis to accept the date. Well, maybe he was a bit shameless about the process, even begging her: “You need to do it for your country.” But we’re sure Sgt. Moore isn’t complaining, because he snagged himself a belle for the ball.
After her initial shock subsided, Mila seemed to warm up to the idea, later tweeting, “I’m so happy to be going to the Marine corps Ball!” Time to get the tux pressed, Sgt. Moore.
Nick Carbone is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @nickcarbone. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.