Newly married comedian JIMMY FALLON was saved from a life of celibacy by a childhood crush on actress ELIZABETH PERKINS.

The star - who wed longterm partner Nancy Juvonen on Saturday (29Dec07) in the Caribbean - dreamed of becoming a Catholic priest until he watched Perkins in 1988 movie Big and fell in love with the opposite sex.

Fallon says, "Growing up, I wanted to be a priest.

"I was an alter boy and I served Mass at 6.45 in the morning - I liked the smell of Catholic church in the morning. Then in seventh grade, I decided I did not want to give up sex because I got a huge crush on Elizabeth Perkins, who was starring with Tom Hanks in Big."