The history of Saturday Night Live is rife with anecdotes from some of the funniest people in the entertainment industry, and it seems like nearly every famed cast member has stories about how stressful it can be trying to get material into weekly episodes. One might not think that issue would plague Mike Myers, one of the most bankable SNL vets to date, but the Shrek star said he used to sink into a depressed state over cut sketches, and he credits Conan O’Brien turning that feeling around.
Myers, who returned to SNL as Elon Musk for the 50th season's run throughout the 2025 TV schedule, took part in a Variety roundtable conversation with Colin Jost, Marcello Hernandez and Sarah Sherman. When the latter two cast members opined that dress rehearsals are likely easier on regulars than guest hosts, the Wayne’s World star voiced a differing viewpoint, saying:
I’m the opposite. Dress rehearsal bums me out and I get nervous. Then if the sketch gets in, I’m like, ‘OK!’ I’m way more psyched that it got in, that I’m going to be in the show this week. I used to go into a depression when my sketch got cut.
Technically, not every dress rehearsal sent Mike Myers into the emotional pits, since it wasn't every week where his sketch(es) got cut. But there were apparently enough instances that those less-than-savory feelings have remained with him all these years later.
Thankfully, Myers didn't have to feel the way for the entirety of his six-year run (1989-1995) on Saturday Night Live. The year prior, Lorne MIchaels brought Conan O'Brien into the writing staff, and though he only stuck around the show for three years, it was quite the historic and inspirational stint.
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Not just because he met comedians that he'd continue working with for his entire career, but also for inspiring those around him to be more jovial, off the cuff and willing to accept failure. Nobody in the late night world pulls off self-deprecation as successfully as Conan.
Which is indeed what helped bring Mike Myers out of his regular funk regarding SNL pitches. Here's how he put it:
Then one week, Conan [O’Brien] had worked with a very, very hard host who had put him through the wringer. Conan was just a mess and saw that a sketch was cut and he goes, ‘Perfect. It’s all going perfectly to plan.’ It got a big laugh, and I was like, ‘You can be that way? You don’t have to be depressed?’ He taught me how to say, ‘OK. It’s not the end of the world.’
It's not clear if Mike Myers is referring to the celeb widely dubbed the worst SNL guest host of all time and one of the least funny sketch performers — Mr. Steven Seagal — or one of the other infamously bad hosts that have been talked about over the years. Whatever the case may be, that horrible experience did have at least one positive ramification, in that O'Brien brushing it off his back inspired Myers to take a similar approach to temporarily failings.
Interestingly enough, Conan O'Brien left SNL in 1991 citing burnout from both working on the show and dealing with an engagement-gone-wrong in his personal life. But he's been a TV mainstay ever since, thanks to late nigth talk shows and streaming travel shows, so there's definitely value in being able to laugh through one's struggles.
For now, it's unclear who will be filling out the ranks of upcoming guest hosts and musical acts for Season 51, but stay tuned for more updates while also anticipating a certain ogre's return when the star-studded Shrek 5 hits theaters in December 2026.
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