Conan O’Brien reveals the hilarious way Tom Hanks filled up while preparing for one of his many appearances on Saturday night live.
Hanks joined the comedian and ex SNL writer on a recent episode of his podcast, Conan O’Brien needs a friend. O’Brien praised Here star, who has been a guest on NBC’s long-running comedy sketch show a total of 10 times since 1985.
“He’d show up, caffeinated, ready to go, like, ‘Hey! Hey, everyone. What have you got?’ O’Brien said.
“Most of the hosts, they hang around a bit. They feel sadness, despair, smell smells and leave. Then they come back refreshed during the reading,” O’Brien explained of the week-long writing process leading up to each episode. SNL.
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Tom Hanks in ‘SNL’ in 2006.
Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Hanks, however, stuck around. But even caffeine and enthusiasm couldn’t get the actor through one late-night writing session in 1988, according to O’Brien.
“I went out, and there is that giant [table] in a conference room, and you were sitting there working on your own idea,” O’Brien told Hanks. “They pushed all the tables together, and you were lying on the tables like Christ, with a few pages over your eyes, because you were trying to catch a few winks before you woke up and went back to writing at three in the morning.”
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“I’ve always heard that’s the great power of hangovers,” Hanks said. “You got there, and all night Monday, and all night Tuesday, you go. They kind of run the host around now, but I wanted to get in there and mix it up.”
Hanks’ willingness to “mingle” with SNL writers — not to mention his unusual napping technique — paid off. Not only has he returned to the show multiple times over the decades, his Halloween sketch “David S. Pumpkin” is one of the show’s standouts.
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At the same time, Hanks explained that he’s learned not to be too pushy about putting his own ideas on the air.
“You say, ‘Hey, I’ve got some ideas for some sketches,’ and every writer goes, ‘Well, that’s really cool. You have ideas that will rob us of the opportunity to have our ideas read. How wonderful,’ he told O’Brien.
His takeout? “You’re the host,” Hanks said. “Concentrate on the monologue and then leave. But it’s a great time together.”
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