Comedian Melissa Villaseñor says Owen Wilson ruined her ‘SNL’ impression of him: “It’s over”

Owen Wilson has one of the most distinctive voices in Hollywood. Although he is a talented actor in his own right, it is his unique Southern accent that has made him instantly recognizable. Although Wilson didn’t always appreciate it, his behavior inspired countless impressions, with one of the best coming from former Saturday night live cast member Melissa Villaseñor.

Over the course of six seasons on the NBC sketch show, Villaseñor became an audience favorite, largely because of her antics on Weekend Update and spot-on celebrity impersonations. From Lady Gaga to Dolly Parton, the comedian has an undeniable chameleon-like ability to embody her celebrity counterparts.

So naturally, when Wilson came to a Studio 8H hosting gig in 2021, fans expected a silly, on-point message from the Villaseñor actor. The actress perfected her wrinkled face and pursed lips by practicing on the Just for Laughs stage, Latin comedy studio Más Mejor and even her own YouTube channel.

But, the moment SNL the credits began to roll, the moment never arrived.

It wasn’t until a recent appearance on Fly on the wall podcast, hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade, that Villaseñor shared what really happened: Wilson just wasn’t feeling it.

“He was the host and I asked if we could do an Owen impression together,” she said. “He was like, ‘I feel like it’s done. I feel like people, it’s over. He didn’t want to do it.’”

During his time on 30 Rock, Spade infamously portrayed Wilson, ridiculous facial prosthetic and all. Carvey, who mentioned dinners with Zoolander actor, SNL creator Lorne Michaels and former cast member Kevin Nealon recalled a similar encounter.

“It came up in conversation and he didn’t like it when people did it, so I said, ‘Okay, I won’t.’”

Even without Wilson’s blessing, Villaseñor hasn’t stopped perfecting her other celebrity-inspired pieces. On the podcast, she impressed Carvey and Spade with her portrayals of Kristen Wiig skydiving and Sandra Bullock toppling dominoes.

After becoming the first Latina to do the SNL main cast in 2016, she left the show in 2022 for mental health reasons, for Weekly entertainment.

“I was struggling…I always felt like I was on the edge of a cliff every week,” she said. “And I thought, ‘I don’t want to do this to myself anymore.’”

Recently Villaseñor has been working on a solo podcast Laughing to myself, in which she tells stories, does impressions and sings – more of the same from her SNL days.

Saturday night live is currently in the middle of its 50th season, premiering new episodes at 11:30/10:30c on NBC and Peacock.