Chloe Fineman gives a behind-the-scenes look at what went down ahead of Jean Smart’s debut guest appearance on the show’s 50th season premiere Saturday night live.
Fineman appeared in the October 3 episode Checking with Vogue, where she explained what the audience didn’t see when it came to the premiere of the sketch comedy on September 28. Noting that she met only Hacks star “briefly” before, the comedian said she was impressed by Smart’s commitment to the role.
“She’s awesome and really funny,” Fineman began. “She did a very unusual thing that I totally appreciated, which was she felt sick, so we have a rehearsal before the dress rehearsal, and she had this mask on. And the writers would say all her lines, and she mimed, I swear to you, about six hours and everyone went crazy.”
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Chloe Fineman (left) and host Jean Smart on ‘SNL’.
Will Heath/NBC via Getty
Adding that Smart “comes from the theater,” Fineman said she understands why the actress chose not to speak while preparing for her live performance.
“It is normal to be in a state of voice rest, [but] the meltdown that was happening,” Fineman revealed. “And I, like, just believed, she’s a genius. And then, not a word, then at the dress rehearsal, he has to sing, and that’s it. And it was flawless. It was perfect. It was perfect. It was perfect.”
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Fineman also shared that she received advice from Smart after they discussed the skit.
“You don’t really want to memorize, but Jean Smart kind of looked at me, and she said, ‘You don’t remember that?’ And I said ‘No,'” Fineman explained. “And she said, ‘Why not?’ And I said, ‘You know what? You’re right, Jean Smart.’ And she really made me go, ‘Oh, yeah. I should probably really put 100% more effort into this thing.”
“So I got up really early,” she added.
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Jean Smart.
Rosalind O’Connor/NBC via Getty
Chaos comes with the job, Fineman said, joking that it’s rare for the cast to get enough sleep during Saturday night prep.
“This Friday was crazy because — I wasn’t out in the cold — but I think people were leaving work on Friday at 1 in the morning, 2 in the morning, and then we shot this video for the Halloween Spirit, so my day on Friday was around 7 AM to midnight,” she explained. “And then I got up at 9 because you want to learn everything as best you can and what’s even in the show or what’s being cut.”
She continued: “The day is like that, leave the house at 11:30 in the morning and then come home at 4:30 in the morning.”
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Chloe Fineman at the New York premiere of “Despicable Me 4” on June 9, 2024 in New York City.
Dia Dipasupil/Getty
The Megalopolis the actress recalled working with Smart earlier, but joked that the interaction wasn’t too memorable.
“I worked with her for a day on Babylon the morning after she won the Emmy,” Fineman recalled, laughing. “I thought, ‘You probably don’t remember me.’ And she said: ‘No, I don’t have any’.”
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Saturday night live airs at 11:30pm ET on NBC.
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Source: HIS Education