- 10 hours ago
Even the most unflappable performers on Saturday Night Live have their limits! Join us as we look back at those incredibly rare moments when the cast members famous for their iron wills finally cracked, letting out a laugh or a smile that viewers rarely ever saw. From subtle smirks to full-blown giggles during iconic sketches like "Debbie Downer" or "More Cowbell," these are the times even the pros couldn't help but break character and share a moment of genuine hilarity with the audience.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00We may never know how many people perished.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the rarest and most memorable instances of generally
00:14unflappable SNL actors breaking.
00:1745!
00:18Yeah, alright. We're really gonna start trying you as adults.
00:23Number 20, Aidy Bryant, Inside the Beltway.
00:26Okay, wow! I forgot about that last part. But we all must acknowledge that the Mueller report is but one
00:34stain on an already tarnished presidency.
00:37Obviously, a lot goes on behind the scenes with costumes and such for an SNL sketch, but it hasn't all
00:43been behind the scenes.
00:45Just ask Aidy Bryant. She was a member of SNL for 10 seasons, but this moment sticks out for its
00:51unique hilarity.
00:52During the political sketch called Inside the Beltway, Bryant's dresser comes into the shot and touches the comedian's arm, seemingly
01:00signaling it's time for a wardrobe change.
01:03Uh-oh, not now!
01:04In rare fashion, Bryant cannot resist laughing.
01:08Wow, just appalling! I don't think I've ever heard any man talk like that.
01:14It's revolting. It feels like a real turning point in the Trump candidacy.
01:19Mm-hmm.
01:20No, he gonna win.
01:23And she would go on to deliver what was designed to be a serious line without much seriousness at all.
01:29That mishap was just too funny. And it honestly made the sketch funnier, too.
01:34I believe that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.
01:43Here, here, here.
01:44Number 19, Dana Carvey, Court TV.
01:47DNA is genetic material. Is this, uh, this is complex stuff, right, Bob?
01:52Yes, sir.
01:53In his seven seasons at SNL between 1986 and 1993, Dana Carvey provided countless memorable moments as the church lady,
02:03Garth, and others.
02:05Oh, no, he's dying! Everybody clear!
02:07Ka-choo!
02:08And at an impressive rate, he was able to not only stay in character, but thrive.
02:14But when you're on SNL, it's really hard not to break at some point.
02:19And Carvey did that during a sketch called Court TV, where he plays Johnny Carson as a defense attorney at
02:25the O.J. Simpson trial.
02:26In the heat of the moment, grabs a knife and just sort of loses control.
02:32Oh, I didn't just...
02:36Yeah, interesting premise for sure.
02:39It's obviously a serious courtroom setting, where you'd expect more sternness.
02:43But on multiple instances, Carvey cracks a smile and even laughs.
02:48Bills!
02:59Bill's tailback.
03:01Bill's tailback!
03:02Still, his ability to recover is exceptional.
03:06All things considered, it's not even that big of a break.
03:09May you be sequestered for a week without counting sweatpants.
03:14Yes!
03:15Number 18, Amy Poehler.
03:18Debbie Downer Disney World.
03:20There may not have been a more mood-dampening character Amy Poehler could have imagined performing alongside when she joined
03:27the cast in 2001.
03:28With that costume on, he's probably in the early stages of heat stroke.
03:36Debbie Downer sure proved a challenge for her and everyone else in the famous Disney World sketch in 2004.
03:43Poehler, like her castmates, could not maintain her composure.
03:47Beaky of heat, if this greenhouse effect keeps up, we'll all be living underwater.
03:57You can tell she's fighting laughs as she's playing with her food at the table.
04:02But the reason we're talking about it is because throughout her eight-season SNL tenure,
04:07she so often did keep her cool when it wasn't easy.
04:28Debbie Downer got her this time, though.
04:31Number 17, Jason Sudeikis, Scared Straight
04:34His most noteworthy break came towards the end of his SNL career.
04:39Jason Sudeikis was first a writer before becoming a cast member in 2005.
04:44In this 2012 sketch called Scared Straight,
04:47he plays a police officer welcoming in Lindsay Lohan and Kenan Thompson's characters
04:52to talk to some teens who are in trouble with the law.
04:55That's why I've invited two representatives from the Scared Straight program to come talk to you punks.
05:00McIntosh, you want to get in here?
05:01All right, all right, all right, on your feet!
05:05Uh-huh.
05:06And I said sit down!
05:08That's right.
05:09Or I said on your feet!
05:12Lohan and Thompson's funny shenanigans pose a challenge for Sudeikis.
05:16He lets a subtle smile out a few times, but believe it or not,
05:20the most notable break doesn't come until after Lohan and Thompson leave the room.
05:25Sudeikis jumps and sits on his desk, but by the sounds of it, knocks something over.
05:30You kids finally learned your lesson, huh?
05:33No?
05:40Sometimes a random accident is the tipping point of laughter.
05:4945!
05:50Yeah, all right.
05:50We're really going to start trying you as adults.
05:55Number 16, Norm MacDonald, Across the Bar, Silent Flirting.
06:00The Weekend Update segment is perhaps what his SNL career is most remembered for.
06:05Hey, Kevin, can you give me a little room here?
06:07What?
06:08I'm trying to do this whitewater thing, you know, you're kind of close.
06:11You're sitting exactly where all the update correspondents sit, Norm.
06:14Oh, is that right, huh?
06:15Well, that works out good for you then, doesn't it?
06:18But before that, Norm MacDonald did plenty of impressions and sketches,
06:22becoming known for his steady deadpan delivery.
06:25However, Kevin Nealon really tested him in a 1994 sketch in which a man and woman
06:30silently flirt with each other across the bar.
06:33MacDonald sits next to Nealon, who hilariously and ridiculously mirrors the woman's every nonverbal move.
06:40Eventually, that move is kissing the person next to her.
06:43You know what that means.
06:45Pucker up, Norm.
06:50He tries to act mad, but breaks ever so slightly.
06:54Once Nealon kisses him again, it's just so absurd that Norm can't help but laugh.
07:10They were two of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live.
07:14Gilda Radner and John Belushi were instrumental in catapulting the sketch comedy to pop culture mainstay.
07:21Among the multiple roles in which they gave us laughs was the Farbers.
07:25What do you say?
07:26Hi, I want a drink.
07:27Most certainly.
07:27We would enjoy consuming mass quantities of any substance you have to offer.
07:31Yes, I dig liquids.
07:33Oh, well, come on.
07:34Come on, Prime Man.
07:36Come with me to the kitchen.
07:37I just remodeled.
07:38In a 1977 sketch, the married couple meet the famous Coneheads.
07:43After a, let's just say, interesting interaction in the living room,
07:47the Coneheads dive out the window at the sight of a hairdryer.
07:51The window shatters and Radner bursts into laughter.
07:54Belushi follows suit.
07:56Good thing this happens towards the end of the sketch.
07:59Of course, these comedy legends were able to finish their final lines.
08:03Larry?
08:05Yeah, buddy.
08:07Do you think hairdryer means something bad in French?
08:12No, no, I bet.
08:13Number 14, Nassim Pedrad, First Date.
08:17She joined the cast in 2009 and arguably has been underrated for what she did on SNL.
08:23Maintaining her composure while not breaking in comical situations is one of those things.
08:28You know, I'm actually pretty hungry.
08:30I think I'll have the steak.
08:31Emma, I'll have one of your finest steaks, sir.
08:34And you know, I'll do the salad.
08:36Look at me.
08:37I'm like, I'm a tiny bird.
08:40But in a 2012 sketch with Seth MacFarlane, in which the two are on a blind date, it was
08:46nearly impossible for her not to break.
08:48Throughout a series of silly and excessive impressions from both, Pedrad does quite well
08:53to stick to the part.
09:02It'd sure be hard for the rest of us to internalize our laughter in this situation, but once Bill
09:08Hader splashes some water on her, a smile becomes inevitable.
09:12Would you like some more water?
09:14Oh, sure.
09:14We'd love some more water.
09:17Hell no.
09:17Now y'all making fun of Gail?
09:19Yeah, this is how I talk.
09:21I'm sorry.
09:36I'm sorry.
09:37Maybe did he do some great things from then until his departure in 1979.
09:42One of Dan Aykroyd's many celebrity impersonations was U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
09:47Mr. President, our first call this week comes from Mrs. Edward Hobrat, or maybe it's Hobrate.
09:52That's Horbath.
09:53Mrs. Edward Horbath, excuse me, of Maple Trace, Kansas.
09:58Hello, Mrs. Horbath.
09:59Hello, Mr. President.
10:01How are you today?
10:02Very fine.
10:03Could you turn your radio down, please?
10:05In the Ask President Carter sketch, he fields phone calls from the public, but these are
10:10not questions you'd expect a man in his position to be answering.
10:14Aykroyd is clearly aware of how random and comical it is that he is answering these questions.
10:19If you reset it at the three mark like it says in the assembly instruction, I think you'll
10:22solve any clogging problems in the machine.
10:24Ah, thanks, Mr. President.
10:26By the way.
10:27Honestly, only letting out a few minor cracks through it all is actually pretty impressive.
10:32You know, I'm against drug use myself, but I'm not going to lay that on you right now.
10:35Just mellow out the best you can, okay?
10:36Okay.
10:37Okay.
10:38Well done, Mr. President.
10:41Number 12.
10:42Phil Hartman.
10:43Tonto, Tarzan, and Frankenstein Thanksgiving Greetings.
10:47Frankenstein, thankful for...
10:51Fire!
10:52His castmates called him glue because of how important he was to holding things together
10:57throughout his eight seasons from 1986 to 1994.
11:01This man was Mr. Reliable.
11:03People may remember him as Chef Eugene or the unfrozen caveman lawyer.
11:08Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I'm just a caveman.
11:14I fell in some ice and later got thawed out by some of your scientists.
11:19But he appeared even more often as Frankenstein's monster.
11:23Mimicking the facial expressions and sounds of the iconic character, Hartman proved he
11:28was the one for the job.
11:29In a Thanksgiving segment, though, he breaks ever so slightly while standing in costume
11:34alongside John Lovitz as Tonto and Kevin Nealon as Tarzan.
11:39You're thankful for fire?
11:40Are you sure about that?
11:42Frankenstein, not thankful for fire.
11:44Frankenstein, fear fire.
11:49Will Ferrell, The Lover's Hot Tub
11:52Not laughing in the presence of Will Ferrell is a tall task.
11:56Surely many of his SNL castmates between 1995 and 2002 could attest to that.
12:02But even he could break.
12:04Look no further than The Lover's sketch, where he and Rachel Dratch play a loving couple who
12:09sure know how to make other people feel uncomfortable.
12:12Hands groping, fingers fluttering, thighs twitching in the anticipation of lovemaking that will
12:21take place in this hot tub in less than 12 minutes.
12:28I'm getting kind of pruney.
12:30I'm out.
12:30In the hot tub, with characters played by Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore, Ferrell does the
12:35best of the group at maintaining his composure.
12:38However, the hilarity of it all gets to even him eventually, particularly after Dratch lets
12:44out a laugh.
12:45Somewhere in the distance, we heard the pounding of native drums.
12:59Was it in our mind?
13:03We don't know.
13:07Hey, they say laughter can be contagious, but few can recover like Will Ferrell.
13:12Nothing pleases me more than seeing two new lovers take off for the night mist.
13:18During his 11-year tenure on SNL, Fred Armisen introduced several iconic characters that never
13:29failed to leave the audience, as well as his fellow cast members, in stitches.
13:34I'm just kidding!
13:37But despite the chaos that often surrounded him, Armisen somehow typically managed to
13:42keep his composure intact.
13:44That is, at least, until this season 38 sketch.
13:48Look at him angrily and say,
13:51What are you doing?
13:53What, you just gonna walk in here?
13:56What, you just gonna walk in here?
13:58Bill Hader plays a doctor who swears he's found an unconventional method of treating short-term
14:03memory loss through theater.
14:05But the results are far from impressive.
14:07Hader barely keeps it together during the sketch, and ultimately drags Armisen down with him
14:13when he tries feeding him his line.
14:15Perhaps Armisen forgot he was not supposed to break character.
14:18Common mistake.
14:19You're not my landlord.
14:20No, no, no, no, no, that's your line!
14:23Oh, yeah, yeah.
14:24Hey, where's my ring?
14:25Number 9.
14:27Mikey Day
14:27Try Guys
14:28On SNL, Mikey Day often plays the straight man, and it's a role he fully commits to.
14:34He rarely breaks character, even when surrounded by others who are struggling to keep a straight
14:39face.
14:40However, parodying a group of YouTubers proved to be his kryptonite.
14:44In this sketch, Day plays one of the Try Guys reacting to their former member's cheating
14:49scandal.
14:50You might see Ned in Sweetgreen Presents The Try Guys Try Salad With Bugs On Top.
14:55This experience is uncharted territory for Day, and the audience can't seem to get enough
15:00of it.
15:01Hey, this is too traumatic.
15:03This interview is over.
15:05Number 8.
15:06Kyle Mooney
15:06Neo-Confederate Meeting
15:08You'd have a hard time finding a sketch in which Kyle Mooney full-on breaks into a fit
15:13of laughter.
15:13He was that good.
15:15That ID is merely an illusion that I use to get senior discounts.
15:20Over his 9-season run, Mooney became known for his eccentric characters and his close
15:25partnership with fellow cast member Beck Bennett.
15:28When the two appeared together in this Season 44 sketch, it was Bennett who achieved the rare
15:33feat of getting Mooney to break.
15:35We're not sure if it's the ridiculous mustache hanging on for dear life or Bennett's southern
15:39accent, but something somehow gets Mooney to crack a smile.
15:43Vermont?
15:44No, sir.
15:45What I'm talking about is a place purely for Caucasians.
15:48If we were up against Beck Bennett and Adam Driver, we'd probably crack in the first 10 seconds.
15:54Number 7.
15:55Beck Bennett
15:56Sexual Harassment Charlie
15:58Throughout his tenure on SNL, Beck Bennett never quite got the recognition he fully deserved.
16:04Oh, I didn't know you were going to read that out loud.
16:06While most performers tend to stick to a specific niche, Bennett proved his exceptional versatility,
16:12excelling at virtually everything.
16:14But unfortunately for him, and fortunately for us the audience, he slipped up in this Season 43 sketch.
16:21Playing a corporate executive addressing workplace misconduct, Bennett falls victim to a case of
16:27the giggles when he confronts Kenan Thompson's Charlie.
16:31What?
16:32Come on.
16:33Claire's, we're still in there?
16:36Yeah.
16:39Nonetheless, it's still pretty impressive that this was his only notable slip-up in 8 years.
16:45Number 6.
16:46Melissa Villasenor
16:47Girlfriend's Game Night
16:49In this sketch, Villasenor plays one of the titular girlfriends whose fun night is ruined
16:55when one of her pals attempts to conceive with her elderly husband in full view of everyone.
17:00The elderly husband is portrayed by Bill Hader, complete with a bald cap, motorized scooter,
17:06and his signature high tendency to break character.
17:09When Hader accidentally backs into Villasenor, she is propelled across the stage and into a fit of laughter.
17:21You know what?
17:22You should be ashamed of yourselves.
17:25This one is...
17:26Villasenor certainly isn't the only casualty here.
17:30However, since the others are regular culprits already, their reactions aren't so surprising.
17:37Number 5.
17:38Kenan Thompson
17:38The Muppet Show
17:40When you think of SNL cast members who rarely break,
17:43Kenan Thompson probably isn't the first name that comes to mind.
17:47The long-tenured performer may slip up sometimes, but he is skilled at concealing it,
17:52either by establishing that his character is naturally giggly or having the cameras cut away just in time.
17:58Neither of those factors came to Thompson's aid in this season 46 sketch,
18:02in which he plays a bouncer at a live performance of The Muppet Show.
18:06He later loses it completely while attempting to intervene in a chaotic situation involving one of the disruptive Muppets.
18:13Drink some water, man, and cool off.
18:16Hoo!
18:17Hoo!
18:18Number 4.
18:19Heidi Gardner
18:20Beavis and Butthead
18:22Sir!
18:23Sir!
18:26All it took was one glance at Mikey Day in his butthead costume to leave Gardner in hysterics.
18:32Contrary to popular belief, Gardner had already seen Day in full butthead garb during dress rehearsals.
18:39Yet, in the battle between her composure and Day's convincing costume, the latter still emerged victorious.
18:46Look, they even sitting like they do on the show!
18:49Number 3.
18:50Taryn Killam
18:50Weekend Update
18:52Jebediah Atkinson on Holiday Movies
18:54During a Weekend Update appearance as Jebediah Atkinson, the cranky 1860s newspaper critic,
19:01Killam stumbled over one of his jokes, causing him to crack a smile.
19:05Shortly after, he broke character again, this time after a poorly received quip about the
19:11virgin birth.
19:11Ugh, and the dullest Christmas story of all, the story of Christ's birth.
19:18Ohhhhhhhhhh!
19:19I'm thinking I probably shouldn't do this one after the audience went full bitch over the
19:24Snoopy joke and every other one sings!
19:26It seems even the harshest critics deserve grace sometimes.
19:31Number 2.
19:31Vanessa Bayer New Girlfriend
19:34In this Season 41 sketch, Bayer plays a woman meeting her friend's eccentric new girlfriend
19:40Regine for the first time.
19:42Armisen plays Regine and his over-the-top antics prove to be too much for Bayer, who initially
19:47begins laughing but tries to hide behind Beck Bennett.
19:50However, she is put on the spot when she has to deliver a line and barely manages to get
19:55it out intact.
20:02Judging by the audience reaction, it's clear everyone was excited to witness the typically
20:07unbreakable Vanessa Bayer finally break.
20:18Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's Adia, Songs from Iran, reimagining
20:24Persian melodies as modern rock, metal, and pop songs.
20:27Check out the full track and album below.
20:30The cradle of hearts where stars align
20:34Together we stand in your sacred light
20:38Against all darkness we rise and fight
20:47Now this is the SNL alum who was known for never breaking character.
20:52Chris Parnell was so good at maintaining his composure even in the most absurd scenarios
20:57that he earned the nickname the Iceman.
20:59Who are you?
21:00Why, I'm Thaddeus G.I. Friday!
21:05World famous railroad tycoon and owner of this current establishment!
21:13Surely anyone who could survive the chaotic More Cowbell sketch without cracking deserves recognition.
21:18Why don't you lay down that cowbell right now?
21:21With us.
21:23Together.
21:24However, Parnell's facade wavered ever so slightly in this ridiculous Season 26 sketch set at TGI Fridays.
21:32At first, he seems unfazed despite Will Ferrell's shenanigans.
21:36But upon closer inspection, you can see Parnell crack a slight smile two or three times.
21:44Brownie salads for everyone!
21:51It's as close as he ever came to laughing on camera in eight years.
21:55Which of these SNL cast members do you never get tired of watching?
21:59Let us know in the comments!
22:00See you in the comments!認
22:02environment I
22:02can see you in the comments rebound on my screen. And
22:04maybe not from the comments are near DropExables. It
22:05we just have a report on your list diet. To
22:05find me F2 SWEHD participants will be a compelled to follow up southern!!! I
Comments