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'SNL' Star Heidi Gardner Explains What Made Her Break During Viral 'Beavis And Butt-Head' Sketch
Each weekend, we tune in to watch the most ridiculous sketches, written and performed by the absurdly talented cast of Saturday Night Live in what is usually a flawless delivery of insanity made for viewing audiences, with cast members remaining stoic and professional.
But let's be honest... we love a good break.
When Will Ferrell made Jimmy Fallon and Sean Hayes break their character at SNL— (@)
The April 13 episode's complete meltdown by Heidi Gardner was no exception.
Some, in fact, are bold enough to claim it rivals Debbie Downer at Disney for the top spot.
Apparently, that's what you get when you put Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day in prosthetics to immerse them in real life Beavis and Butt-Head.
Don't get us wrong, we definitely wouldn't be able to hold it together either, but SNL star since 2017 Gardner absolutely lost it when she saw Day in all his prosthetic and exposed gums glory.
In the sketch, the two couch fishers attend an AI NewsNation town hall livestream, complete with their blue and grey T-shirts (albeit different bands) and iconic hairdos.
At one point, Beavis, played by Gosling, was asked to move as his blond pompadour was distracting to the interviewee. But he is replaced by Butt-Head, i.e. the “man with the gray shirt and exposed gums.”
As soon as Gardner caught her first glimpse of Day fully in character, it was all over.
She absolutely could not contain her laughter, and soon, everyone around her was in stitches, as well.
Check it out for yourself below.
Beavis and Butt-Head - SNLyoutu.be
Yesterday, Gardner spoke to Vulture about the sure-to-be legendary break, noting:
“I’m still trying to figure out what exactly happened to me.”
Gardner revealed she left her breaking days behind her when a continuous streak of breaks during one particular Groundlings sketch resulted in a "stern talking-to."
"That cured my breaking, which happened before I got to SNL. It had been coached into me that I couldn’t break, so I just didn’t, really, after that. It was long before Lorne Michaels."
Or so she thought.
The actor and comedian revealed this sketch had been in the works for about five years but never made it to a dress rehearsal until last week.
That was the first time she saw the costumes, but the technical aspects of the blocking of the sketch took her attention away from the ridiculousness of it all.
"There was a lot of working out the blocking that took away from how funny the sketch was actually going to be."
"I remember thinking, 'Oh, this is way more technical than I thought.' Ryan was already giggling at this point, but yeah, I didn’t get a total sense of what it was going to be."
And while she knew the prosthetics were funny in dress rehearsal, she was not aware of Day's exposed gums and teeth, though she still got a giggle during rehearsals.
But Gardner also said she did everything in her power to prepare for the live show.
"I recovered and tried to tell myself in between dress and the live show, 'You can’t laugh like that again.'"
"I was trying to imagine seeing him in my head so I was prepared for it, but I just couldn’t prepare for what I saw."
"I really tried. I even saw Mikey out of the corner of my eye seconds before I went live. I saw the red shorts. I knew I couldn’t look over there again."
"Mikey even told me later that he was bending down and hiding himself so I wouldn’t see him."
Despite her efforts, we all know what happened.
"Mikey does seem to turn his head just a little bit and bug out his eyes."
"It’s like he’s doing a subtle acknowledgment. That was new. Maybe the fact I was trying to give myself pep talks contributed to it."
"Mikey and I sit next to each other during table reads, and he makes me laugh a lot. It’s easy for us to mess with each other."
"Something in the way he moved on live television felt like when someone messes with you to make you laugh."
And though the break was unintentional, people on social media believe the moment will go down as one of the funniest in SNL history.
Gardner told Vulture that the audience's warm welcoming of the break certainly helped.
"It was so nice."
"Time moves so fast or so slow when you’re off the rails with something on the show."
"I was thinking to myself, 'You need to recover from this.'"
"I had coached myself for so many years to not break. Being a perpetual people-pleaser rule follower, it was nice that I broke the rules — unintentionally, of course."
"I can’t help what I saw, but people were okay with it. Not only okay with it but encouraged it. That’s all the feedback I’ve gotten since."
But she said the real "heroes" were the ones who kept their composure.
"I feel like they’re the No. 1 heroes there."
"They must have had the same coaching at some point as I did. I hope all of them get a moment where they can completely lose it in a sketch and be supported after."
And though the sketch went completely off-course, Gardner said it's a moment she'll never forget.
"I hope, for those guys and their portrayals of Beavis and Butt-Head, that it helped how shocked I was by how funny they were."
"And I hope it helps people think of the sketch."
"I’ll never be able to shake looking over my shoulder and seeing what I saw."
"That’s really special."