Conan O’Brien Laments Being ‘Too Intense’ When He Wrote for ‘SNL’
Conan O’Brien was so busy writing comedy at Saturday Night Live that he forgot it was supposed to be fun. He left SNL earlier than he probably should have, he told Tom Hanks on his Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend podcast, because he was completely burnt out. “I wish I could go back in time,” he told Hanks. “People always say no regrets…”
No regrets? Hanks laughed. “Nothing but.”
Indeed, Conan has regrets. In particular, “I regret being so intense about that job. I was way too intense, and I think I robbed myself of some fun that I could have had,” he explained. “I did have a lot of fun, but I think I could have had more fun. I think I could have maybe written there a little longer if I didn’t make it such a grind for myself.”
Don't Miss
People have asked Hanks what’s so tough about writing for Saturday Night Live, and he gets that it’s not an ordinary job. “The creative atmosphere of (SNL) is the writer is on the floor producing the piece,” Hanks marveled. “That’s not standard stuff. A guy who wrote it with great passion is over there in between sweating bullets and vomiting out of anxiety. And he’s telling Sting how to do a comedy bit.”
Both men agreed that comedy responsibility is a double-edged sword — anxiety-inducing and completely empowering. “I had only worked about three years in television, but no one had let me near anything,” O’Brien said. “You get to SNL, you write a sketch and Steve Martin's going to be in it, and Lorne (Michaels) says, ‘Well, go in and tell Steve how it should be done and what you’re thinking. And then go talk to the props people about how the restaurant should look.’”
“I thought, I’m 26 — I’ve never been to a restaurant!”
Hanks, a 10-time SNL host, insisted that physical survival is a consideration when doing the show. “The last time I did it, I told everybody who was in charge of me, particularly wardrobe and stage manager people, I said, ‘I want you to understand that my goal on this week’s hosting duties is to take as few steps as possible.'”
Hanks wasn’t entirely kidding. “It’s a young man's game!” he said, remembering that on his first few hosting gigs, it was “just balls to the wall.” (No exaggeration — O’Brien remembered Hanks sleeping on a writers’ room table at 3 a.m. during one early appearance.) Lately, Hanks’ attitude has been more, “Take it easy, Tom.”
If Conan had followed that “take it easy” advice, he might have lasted longer at his most famous comedy writing gigs. Then again, he figured the shows were on the ropes as he headed for the door. “I remember thinking that at The Simpsons — like, this is going great. I bet they got a couple more years, but I think I’ll step off now. The same thing with SNL.” Somehow, both continue to chug along without O’Brien.
So burnout is why O’Brien left those gigs. Wait, said Hanks, did Conan quit, or did he get fired? That’s it, Conan said sarcastically, “Leno came and took my job at SNL.”
