Bowen Yang is shedding light on his sudden departure from “Saturday Night Live.”
During a recent discussion with Rachel Sennott for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series, Yang revealed that he had decided to leave the NBC sketch show the season before publicly announcing his exit.
“There was a lot of uncertainty about what the show would look like after Season 50. I was like, ‘I think the show is in a great place without me.’ I never felt like I was that central to it, to be honest,” Yang told Sennott, which she disagreed with.
He went on to explain that he felt “there was a weird utility to me,” adding, “I never played the dad or the straight-man teacher. I was always there as the seasoning, and I’m like, ‘That’s great. I’m so lucky. I can’t believe I have a steady job in comedy. I will cherish it for the rest of my life.’ And I just felt like it was the right time.”
However, according to Yang, a conversation with creator Lorne Michaels, who reminded him of how vital he was to the show, convinced him to change his plans and stay until the middle of Season 51.
“Lorne called me while I was at the U.S. Open eating Coqodaq chicken, and he was like, ‘Listen, you should come back,’” the actor recalled. “‘These are the people I’ve hired. It’s a lot of new kids, and a lot of people left. You should be there to set an example for them, at least in the first half of the season. I’m telling you, it would be very important.’”
“It was the first time I felt someone who made so many things possible for me being like, ‘I need you,’” Yang continued. “And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to turn that down.’ I felt good about it … It was my one chance to till the soil.”
Looking back on his last day at “SNL,” Yang said the cast signed a cue card with heartfelt messages that came full circle with what Michaels had told him.
“Ashley Padilla, who was having one of the best seasons anyone’s ever had, wrote — I hope it’s OK that I’m sharing this — ‘You taught me how to be at this show, how to behave and how to treat people, and thank you. I’ll never forget that,’” said Yang.
“That’s the thing I’m proudest of,” he continued. “My last sketch — I hope the footage never makes it out, of me at table read, because I’m a fucking mess, sobbing — the thing that broke me was just saying, ‘The thing I love most about this place is the people. Look how hard they work.’ I’m between Ariana Grande and Cher, and I look out, and it’s basically every single person who works at that show.”
Yang added, “I’d never seen that before for anyone else’s departure. I was like, ‘Oh, this is the most rewarding snapshot I can ever internalize in my life. I don’t think I’ll ever encounter this ever again.’”
Yang confirmed his departure from “Saturday Night Live” in December following several reports, revealing the news in an Instagram post where he wrote, “i loved working at SNL, and most of all i loved the people.”
“i’m grateful for every minute of my time there,” he added. “thank you to lorne for the job. for the standard. and for bringing everyone at work together. they all care deeply about people in the room, any room, enjoying themselves. i can’t believe i was ever included in that.”
During his final episode, the “Wicked” star bid farewell to the show in a meta sketch alongside co-star Ariana Grande and musical guest Cher, portraying an airport employee working his last shift.
Yang was among several “SNL” cast members who departed last year, alongside Heidi Gardner, Ego Nwodim, Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker and Emil Wakim. While all of their exits were confirmed ahead of Season 51, Yang’s was marked by an especially heartfelt on-air sendoff.
Since then, the long-running sketch comedy series has added several new faces to the cast, including Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane and Veronika Slowikowska.
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