Mike Myers explains how Conan O’Brien’s joke changed his approach to SNL sketch cuts
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When the sketches are cut, the heart hurts
Even comedy legends feel the pain of being rejected.
Mike Myers recently revealed how bad he felt when his Saturday Night Live sketches didn’t make the final cut.
“When my sketch was cut, I used to go into depression,” Myers confessed in a Variety interview to mark SNL’s 50th anniversary.
The Austin Powers star, who was part of the show from 1989 to 1995, would drown in sadness every time his creative work didn’t survive the cut of a dress rehearsal.
Dress rehearsal panic
The nervousness before the show was all too real for Myers. “Dress rehearsals make me nervous, and I feel nervous,” he admitted.
This restless feeling turned into happiness only when his sketch reached the live broadcast.
Conan’s game-changing perspective
Everything changed for Myers due to a casual comment from Conan O’Brien, who was a writer for SNL from 1988 to 1991.
Seeing O’Brien after working with a particularly difficult host, Myers noticed some change.
“Conan was absolutely distraught and when he saw that a sketch was cut, he said, ‘Perfect. Everything is going according to plan, “Myers recalled.
That sarcastic comment was a revelation: “Can you be like this? Don’t you need to be sad?”
O’Brien’s humor in the face of despair taught Myers a valuable lesson: “He taught me to say, ‘OK. It’s not the end of the world.”
Today’s artists feel the same.
Current SNL artists can relate to Myers’ emotional struggle. Sarah Sherman said to her companion Marcelo Hernandez, “You have seen my madness!”
Hernandez compared the competitive nature of the sketch selection to athletics: “I just smile and shake hands, but I like it when people are upset.
You’re competitive, and you get angry.”
Don’t fight with the captain
While cuts are painful in dress rehearsals, the group recognized that rejections are even worse in table reads.
Myers advised against challenging these decisions: I have seen people do this.
And then I become invisible. Too much stress! The captain has said, Go ahead.”
Growth with age.
Myers’ approach to feedback has matured over the years.
As a young writer, if SNL producer Lorne Michaels had asked if a sketch would work, Myers would have confidently said it could work.
Today, they will probably say, “If you are not sure, leave!”
This development shows how comedy icons like Myers also continue to grow and adapt throughout their careers – Learn to handle rejection with humor rather than heartbreak.