“Saturday Night Live” pulled out all the stops for its 50th anniversary special, celebrating five decades of the sketch comedy staple with some of the biggest stars from the past and today. As the three-hour ceremony continued, guest after guest was trotted out for sketches, musical appearances and audience segments commemorating the extensive history of the show.
Not every “SNL” cast member was able to make it back. Bill Hader, who has openly discussed his battle with anxiety during his “Saturday Night Live” tenure, talked to Seth Meyers about how this very struggle kept him from appearing for the 50th celebration.
Hader’s former collaborator Andy Samberg tried — unsuccessfully — to lampshade this in a sketch about anxiety.
“You were very open and honest, sorta after you left ‘SNL,’ about the anxiety you had when you were working there,” Meyers said to Hader on “Late Night with Seth Meyers.” “And then, for the ‘SNL 50th,’ you know, I think people were obviously at first disappointed you weren’t coming, but that was the reason, and, you know, I sorta celebrated your choice, and then Andy did, basically, a short about the fact that everybody had anxiety at ‘SNL.’ Was that sorta edifying? Were you like, ‘Oh, yeah, good.’”
“Yeah, well, Andy called me and was like, ‘Hey, so we’re doing this short about how, you know, anxiety, everybody had anxiety, and so it’s me calling you, and dah dah dah dah,’” Hader said. “When he told me about it, I was like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do that.’ He’s like, ‘Why?’ and I’m like, ‘Because I’m anxious!’
“I was like, ‘I don’t want to do it,’” Hader laughed. Ever the impressionist, he then did a high-pitched mimicry of Samberg’s voice, saying, “He was like, ‘Come on, maaaan! What do you mean? No!’” You can watch the clip below.
Hader has only hosted “SNL” twice since his 2005-2013 time as a cast member. He hosted in 2014 with musical guest Hozier and in 2018 with musical guest Arcade Fire. Outside of “SNL,” he’s had a successful career as both an actor and a filmmaker.
His primary claim to fame is “Barry,” which Hader created, starred in, wrote for and directed significant stretches of. Hader was nominated for numerous Emmys for the series. He won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series twice. Though he’s had a few cameos, Hader has not hosted “SNL” since “Barry” started.
The sketch in question was a digital short in which the Lonely Island star sang about the frequent anxiety faced by stars throughout “SNL” history. Joining Samberg in the 80s-style pop song was Bowen Yang (standing in for Hader).
Still, Hader has been one of the most vocal cast members in “SNL” history regarding the frequent anxiety faced during production of the show. Though Hader said this didn’t affect everyone.
“You and [Amy] Poehler were just, like, ice in your veins,” he said to Meyers. “You guys went out there, and I was, like, trembling, anxious, and you guys went out, I remember, and something went wrong, and you went, ‘Well, something went wrong. Oh, something went wrong!’” Hader shrugged, mimicking Meyers.
“I was like, ‘You can just do that?!’” Hader laughed. “I could just in the middle of a thing go, like, ‘This sucks! I’m gonna go home!’ I’m like, ‘Oh, man, I wish I could do that all the time. That’d be great.’”
