Over the course of 51 seasons, we’ve seen tons of funny people come and go from Saturday Night Live. One of those people was Bobby Moynihan, 2026 TV schedule star of the new NBC comedy The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins. The comedic actor spent nine seasons on SNL, from 2008 to 2017, and has since moved on to projects like NCIS: Origins and the Pixar film, Hoppers, which is currently tearing up the box office. But, he has revealed what it’s like to go from seeing SNL as the “dream” gig to considering a career move.
What Bobby Moynihan Said About Wanting To Leave SNL
No series that has lasted as long as Saturday Night Live has without hundreds, if not thousands, of performers wanting at least a shot at walking the halls of Studio 8H. The sketch comedy has launched the careers of dozens of funny people, like Bill Hader, Maya Rudolph, Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray and numerous others who’ve been able to return and guest host the show that made them famous.
During his time on the series, Bobby Moynihan was known for impressions like Guy Fieri, Jonah Hill, Alfred Hitchcock, and Danny Devito, and wild characters like Drunk Uncle. But, all good things must come to an end eventually, and he left SNL after a landmark year. When speaking at a TCA panel (via Deadline), though, he noted his love for the show and said:
I’m an unabashed fan of SNL and would have stayed there forever and ever.
“Forever and ever” is a long time, but the idea behind his sentiment is clear, and likely something that SNL Season 51 vets like Kenan Thompson (the longest running cast member ever) can understand. However, as many have said in the past, it’s a high-pressure environment that can lead to the cast not being as loose as they should be so they can have fun and be funny. Moynihan continued:
The day you get SNL you start worrying about your exit from SNL; it was always on my mind. It was 13 years of getting it, and then, one day you get it and then you start thinking ‘This is my life’s dream, what am I going to do after this?’ It’s always in the back of your mind.
That kind of stress sounds impossible to deal with on a regular basis, right? Who wants to spend years trying to get a specific job, only to land that very spot and then immediately worry about how long it will last and what you could possibly do after that will fulfill you?
The actor (who recently shared his hope that everyone currently starring on SNL has “a good therapist and good sleep”) noted that while the decision to leave was a difficult one he felt the need to “try and become an adult and move on,” and some of that seems to have been prompted by the Season 42 craziness during the 2016 election season, which apparently led to the legendary comedy feeling like quite a different show for the star. He explained:
I felt like I was on one show for eight years and another for one year. It was a completely different machine [that] last year; took on a whole different level.
Though he maintains that he’s “thankful” he had that experience, he also said it was “the hardest year easily” because of how often they had a plan for political coverage for the next weekend, only to have to throw much of it out and start again the day before the next live show. Luckily, that’s unlikely to happen for him going forward, and he can continue to enjoy success with more ease.
