Conan O’Brien Caught Tom Hanks Doing “Like Christ” in the SNL Writers’ Room

Conan O’Brien reveals the hilarious way Tom Hanks charged up as he prepared for one of his many hosting gigs Saturday evening live.

Hanks joined the comedian and former SNL writer on a recent episode of his podcast, Conan O’Brien needs a friend. O’Brien praised the Here star, who has guested on NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show a total of ten times since 1985.

“He showed up, caffeinated, ready to go, and said, ‘Hey! Hey, everyone. What do you have?’ O’Brien said.

“Most hosts hang around a bit. They feel the sadness, the despair, they smell the smells and leave. Then they come back refreshed when they read through,” O’Brien explained of the week-long writing process leading up to each episode of SNL.

Hanks stuck around, though. But even caffeine and enthusiasm couldn’t get the actor through a late-night writing session in 1988, O’Brien said.

“I came out and there was a giant table in the conference room, and you were sitting there, and you had been working on your own idea,” O’Brien told Hanks. “They had pushed all the tables together, and you were lying Christ-like on the tables, with a few pages in front of your eyes, trying to catch a few winks before you woke up and went back to work at three in the morning. writing went.

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“I’ve always heard that’s the great power of the hang,” Hanks said. “You got there, and all night Monday, and all night Tuesday, you’re going. Now they’re taking the host a little bit, but I wanted to go in and mix it up.

Hanks’ willingness to “mix it up” with the SNL writers – not to mention his uncanny power-napping technique – has paid off. Not only has he returned to the show several times over the decades, his Halloween sketch “David S. Pumpkin” is one of the show’s highlights.

At the same time, Hanks explained that he has learned not to be too insistent on putting out his own ideas.

“You say, ‘Hey, I’ve got some ideas for some sketches,’ and every writer says, ‘Well, that’s just great. You have ideas that deprive us of the opportunity to have our ideas read. How wonderful,” he told O’Brien.

His takeaway? “You’re the host,” Hanks said. “Focus on the monologue and then walk away. But it’s great.”