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Bowen Yang says he never felt “that central” to Saturday Night Live.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n Yang said he left mid-season after Lorne Michaels asked him to mentor a new crop of players for season 51.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n The actor considered himself just “the seasoning” on the show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n Bowen Yang<\/a> enjoyed his time on Saturday Night Live<\/em><\/a>, even if he never felt “that central” to the sketch comedy show.<\/p>\n Yang shared his take on his 2025 exit from SNL <\/em>with Rachel Sennott during their Variety<\/em>‘s Actors on Actors<\/a> discussion on Monday. The pair discussed their comedy beginnings, the internet, and a surprise phone call from Lorne Michaels<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n When asked why he decided to leave SNL<\/em> mid-season, Yang told Sennott, “I was kind of resolute the season before, about leaving. 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.”<\/p>\n Sennott disagreed with that sentiment before Yang added that he really never felt like a main player<\/a> on the show.<\/p>\n “Well, I feel like there was a weird utility to me,” he continued. “I was like, ‘OK, I\u2019ve accepted this.’ I never played the dad or the straight-man teacher. I was always there as the seasoning, and I\u2019m like, ‘That\u2019s great. I\u2019m so lucky. I can\u2019t 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. And then Lorne called me while I was at the U.S. Open eating Coqodaq chicken, and he was like, ‘Listen, you should come back. These are the people I\u2019ve hired. It\u2019s 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\u2019m telling you, it would be very important.'”<\/p>\n Yang said that call felt like a big deal to him and cemented his so-called status on the long-running comedy juggernaut, which added featured players<\/a> like Tommy Brennan, Jeremy Culhane, Ben Marshall, Kam Patterson, and Veronika Slowikowska in season 51.<\/p>\n “It was the first time I felt someone who made so many things possible for me being like, ‘I need you.’ And I\u2019m like, ‘I\u2019m not going to turn that down,'” Yang explained to Sennott. “I felt good about it, and I was like, ‘Let\u2019s make sure to hire these writers.’ Our friend Jack Bensinger is there now. It was my one chance to till the soil.”<\/p>\n Yang left the show after seven seasons, following the Christmas episode with host and Wicked<\/em> costar Ariana Grande<\/a>, on Dec. 20.<\/p>\n “On my last day, the whole cast signed this cue card with little messages, and it all came full circle with what Lorne was saying to me,” Yang said. “Ashley Padilla, who was having one of the best seasons anyone\u2019s ever had, wrote \u2014 I hope it\u2019s OK that I\u2019m sharing this \u2014 ‘You taught me how to be at this show, how to behave and how to treat people, and thank you. I\u2019ll never forget that.’ That\u2019s the thing I\u2019m proudest of.”<\/p>\n Yang said he was a “f—ing mess, sobbing” at the table read for his last sketch \u2014 the “Delta Lounge<\/a>” bit in which he played an employee working his last shift<\/a> alongside Grande and pop icon Cher.<\/p>\n