Before we knew Andy Samberg as the iconic Detective Jake Peralta in ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, he was a chief part of ‘Saturday Night Live’. After a considerable hiatus from the show, Samberg is returning to SNL this fall. This will mark a nostalgic ride that once included fun moments along with some flashbacks to the pressure of live television.
Andy Samberg acted with the show from 2005 to 2012. He has stepped into the spotlight once again by portraying Doug Emhoff, democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ husband, as part of the election sketches for 2024. Here’s how it unfolded and what Samberg said about it.
Andy Samberg Talks About The Stress Of Reprising His Role On ‘SNL’
After his comeback to ‘Saturday Night Live’, Andy Samberg opened up about his experience during a podcast. “It’s been fun, I’ve got to say,” Samberg said on ‘The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast’. However, not everything has been a sentimental journey, he clarified.
Going back to the high-powered fast-paced environment of SNL reminded Samberg just how intense things could be. “It’s been really fun going back, but again, also inheriting, re-inheriting, the stress of it and being like, ‘Oh, right, this is intense,‘” he chuckled.
He said it was a little more relaxed this time. “It’s a little more mellow, me and Maya [Rudolph, who plays Harris] have been talking about [how] it’s a little bit more mellow because we know why we’re there specifically,” he said.
“But that last show, I was like, if this ‘Beetlejuice’ thing doesn’t work, I’m just going to be here and not do anything. And that puts you right back in the feeling of being a cast member — of, you’re always at risk,” he added.
He was referring to this part of the October 19 episode, when Samberg played the spooky character as part of the open monologue with host Michael Keaton.
Andy Samberg Makes Comeback With Co-stars Michael Keaton And Maya Rudolph
During the performance, Michael Keaton mocked Andy Samberg’s role as he said, “Don’t you normally play Doug Emhoff in the cold opens?” and Samberg replied in his typical style, “Yeah, the writers couldn’t jam him in.”
As for the real Doug Emhoff, he has no problems with how Samberg portrays the second gentleman. “It’s good, it’s funny. It’s not quite me, but some of the lines are pretty good,” Emhoff said about Samberg’s version.
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For one, Emhoff believes Martin Short got his look slightly better, but he understood Samberg’s good intentions behind the take. “It’s one of many surreal things that I’ve experienced in this world,” he concluded.
