Conan O’Brien — long before he himself became one of America’s favorite hosts — was on staff for three years as a “Saturday Night Live” writer, which he describes as one of the 50-year-old series’ most intense periods.
“I was in that state of mind, and I think [Robert] Smigel and [Bob] Odenkirk and Greg Daniels were like, ‘It’s life or death,’” O’Brien related on his podcast “Conan Needs a Friend” (via Entertainment Weekly). “And it feels like that’s kind of how everyone feels.”
Odenkirk expressed similar feelings in an interview with EW last month. “I was too hard on the show,” he said. “I had a lot of attitude when I got hired there, like, ‘This show could be better, this show could be ‘Monty Python,’ this should be more cutting edge, this should be more dangerous.’ And I was frustrated by it not representing purely my point of view. I wanted it to be me, my show.”
Related Stories
The air got a little lighter, however, whenever Adam Sandler joined the cast in 1990 (he’d remain until 1995). As O’Brien recalled, “He was like, ‘This is so much fun to be at SNL. Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. Yippee!’ And he had that, ‘I’m going to do Opera Man. I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that. This is great, guys!’” O’Brien was perplexed: “This is a possibility? You can like this?”
In previous episodes of his podcast, O’Brien has discussed similar “SNL” regrets. “I did have a lot of fun, but I think I could have had more fun. And I think I could have maybe written there a little longer if I didn’t make it such a grind for myself,” he lamented in 2024.
O’Brien parlayed his “SNL” stint into a lengthy career of his own, and he even came back from his own career rollercoaster at sketch show’s network NBC. After spending a couple years on “The Simpsons” staff, O’Brien returned to the network, hosting the long-running “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” He briefly hosted “The Tonight Show” in 2009-2010, only to be replaced by previous host Jay Leno in highly controversial series of events.
He would have a swift comeback, though, landing on Comedy Central on “Conan” with yet another talk series, the first in a series of acclaimed ventures. The road led O’Brien to the Oscars, which he hosted to raves in March (and utilized Sandler for an audience bit) and will host again next year. Of this O’Brien said, “the only reason I’m hosting the Oscars next year is that I want to hear Adrien Brody finish his speech.”
Sandler, of course, became one of the most prolific “SNL” alums. Just last week, “Happy Gilmore 2” premiered to big numbers on Netflix, the latest in a long line of audience favorites for the comedian. IndieWire recently compiled the definitive list of the “Uncut Gems” actor’s greatest roles.
