This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Bobby Moynihan: Hello, I'm Bobby Moynihan, and welcome to The Theatre Podcast with Alan Seales.

[0:12] Alan Seales: Hi, everyone. Welcome to a very special episode of The Theatre Podcast. I'm your host, Alan Seales, and this is now officially episode 400, a milestone I never actually had any intention of reaching, but I guess, not I guess, I definitely am so glad that I did. I have been podcasting for, wow, almost seven years now, and in that time, I've met so many incredible guests. I've heard a ton of unbelievable origin stories, gained a ton of valuable advice, but most importantly, have stumbled into a community of listeners and theatre lovers so passionate about keeping this industry going and bringing arts to the masses. You are my people. I continue to thank you for listening, whether you've been here since the first episode with Ariana DeBose or, you know, you just drop by from time to time to listen to your favorite performer.

Just thank you. Thank you for listening. I wouldn't keep going without your support, without you. So, with that said, let's get on to this episode's guest, Bobby Moynihan. He is someone I've admired for a long time, not just for his nine unforgettable seasons on Saturday Night Live, but for his warmth, his wit, and grounded insight into the world of comedy and beyond. And in this conversation, we go deep into his early days growing up in Eastchester, New York, and even to how like UCB, even with Amy Poehler, this was before she even joined SNL. He joined UCB with Amy Poehler and then made his own dream of joining SNL come true, which literally shaped his entire path. He shares some behind-the-scenes stories of SNL, of course, like being called into the 50th anniversary show 12 hours before taping and opens up about the anxiety and the pressure and, you know, the joy of life in sketch comedy.

He's also a father. We talk about that. The evolution of comedy in the digital age and his favorite lane of all now is voice acting, whether it's creating the animated series Lofi, writing his children's book Not All Sheep Are Boring, or just voice acting characters in movies like Inside Out 2 and If. Bobby just proves he won't stop stopping. So make sure to follow me on social media, leave a rating and a review on Apple or Spotify or wherever you're listening now. Get the video version of this episode on Patreon or Spotify. And now, everyone, please enjoy episode 400 with Bobby Moynihan.

[2:42] Alan Seales: Today's guest is a beloved comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist best known for his nine seasons on Saturday Night Live, where he created unforgettable characters like Drunk Uncle and Anthony Crispino. He's brought his comedic flair to everything from Girls to Documentary Now and Me, Myself and I, and he's become a major voice in animation with films in roles in films like If and Inside Out 2 and shows like Pupstration, The Bravest Knight, Lego Star Wars, Summer Camp Island and Lofi, which he also created and wrote. He's even a published author, having co-created a children's book called Not All Sheep Are Boring, and I can commit, not all sheep are boring in this book. Whether he's on screen behind a mic or in the writer's room, he's got such a blend of unique heart and hilarity to everything he touches. I love watching everything he does. Bobby Moynihan, welcome to The Theatre Podcast.

[3:30] Bobby Moynihan: Thank you so much. I'm done after doing that.

[3:32] Alan Seales: And that's it, your entire career.

[3:36] Bobby Moynihan: Thank you so much for having me. I've been, okay, I gotta say, like, I've been a huge fan of yours. I was just telling you this before we started recording, and I saw, gosh, what was it?

[3:47] Alan Seales: I forced you to say it again.

[3:49] Bobby Moynihan: You forced me to say it again. Okay, my arm, let go of my arm.

[3:52] Alan Seales: There we go.

[3:52] Bobby Moynihan: Okay.

[3:53] Alan Seales: Thank you.

[3:53] Bobby Moynihan: Thank you. I was, I moved to New York about 18 years ago, and one of the first things I ever did was become a regular at ASCAP shows at UCB.

[4:02] Alan Seales: Yeah, same.

[4:04] Bobby Moynihan: Obvi. And so, I would go back to see you and the rest of the crew, Chris Gethard and everybody else was so freaking funny. And then, literally a year later, you show up on Saturday Night Live, if my timing is right. And I'm like, nobody deserves it more. So, nobody that I've interacted with has deserved it more than you have.

[4:29] Bobby Moynihan: That's very sweet of you to say. I still can't believe it.

[4:32] Alan Seales: Well, talk about how you got into where you are now. Like, let's back up to Little Bibby, Little Bibbity Boo. And so, you grew up in Eastchester, New York?

[4:44] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, I grew up in Eastchester, New York, small little town. Um, yeah, it's adorable. It's still there.

[4:52] Alan Seales: Were you the class clown? Are you the introvert that, like, came out of your shell doing this sort of stand-up?

[5:01] Bobby Moynihan: No, people in town, they didn't call me Bobby, they called me Watchme. Because that's what I would say. I would just say, watch me, and then do something crazy. And now I have an eight-year-old and a two-year-old, and they do the exact same thing.

[5:16] Alan Seales: Are they both exactly like that?

[5:19] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, I'm screwed. They're both funnier and stronger than I am.

[5:24] Alan Seales: I have an eight and a ten-year-old, and my ten-year-old takes after my wife, performance anxiety introvert. My younger one just will walk in the room just being like, I'm doing a walk. You gotta look at me now. Dad, dad, dad. I'm like, what? Is that how I am? I'm so sorry, rest of the world.

[5:42] Bobby Moynihan: I've been a performer my whole life, and I married a performer as well, Broadway performer, and our kids are not shy.

[5:51] Alan Seales: Well, yeah, so you've been in the area this whole time, and I think you live in LA now.

[5:56] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, I lived in New York my whole life. My first time not sleeping at home was orientation for college. I was very, very sheltered. I didn't go on a plane. My first time in a plane and a hotel room was with the UCB Touring Company.

[6:13] Alan Seales: Really?

[6:13] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, like in my 30s. Yeah, my parents didn't travel. We did not vacation. They just worked.

[6:23] Alan Seales: Wow. Well, so you've got all of these lanes that you fit into very well, writing and performing in multiple different venues.

[6:30] Bobby Moynihan: Some better than others.

[6:34] Alan Seales: Some better than others, but they all fit. Like, when you were a kid, though, did you want to do one thing, or did you just need the attention? Speaking for myself, I crave the attention no matter where I got it.

[6:47] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah. I mean, like, yeah. I don't remember a time where I didn't want to be on Saturday Night Live, and I have videos of me as a little kid in a suit coming out of the bathroom, handheld VHS tape video camera, going, Bobby Moynihan, and pretending I was doing my opening credits, and so nerdy. This SNL jersey behind me, if you can see it behind me, I got for Christmas from my mom a couple years before I got SNL. She was like, yeah, when you get it, have everybody sign it. And I was like, smart! Genius! I will do that! I was like, hopefully I'll get it someday, and I did, and I got it signed by everybody for 10 years. And like, it doesn't make sense to me. I just, I don't remember, that was the only thing.

And when I, it was like, I went to college, I went to UConn, University of Connecticut for acting, and like, the second I was done with that, I came back to New York. I was in an off-Broadway, an off-off-off-off-off-Broadway show, and I was walking back to Grand Central Station, and I saw the UCB symbol, like the, you know, the eyes, and I walked in, and the next day, I signed up for classes, and like a month later, Amy Poehler got SNL, and I was like, I'm staying right here.

[8:16] Alan Seales: Huh. Well, yeah, so she, because she was one of the original co-founders of Upright Citizens Brigade, right? Right?

[8:23] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, I worked as a bartender, like, when she was still like, around, and they, like, you know, like, right before she got SNL.

[8:30] Alan Seales: What is the tiering structure like at UCB? Because I've known some people who have gone in there and taken, you shake your head.

[8:34] Bobby Moynihan: Well, I just think it's very different from, when I, when I first started, there was 25 people there, and they're all legends, and they're all working now, and then it became, I kind of was there from the, I came in at the tail end of the first theater, and then when they moved to the new theater, we were, like, the last herald team at the old theater, like, you know, so I kind of saw the changing of the guard, and then once it started to get to, like, tiers of classes, that's when I was gone.

[9:05] Alan Seales: Yeah, I wondered if you-

[9:08] Bobby Moynihan: Or not gone, but just not, I was on SNL, and I was just panicking.

[9:13] Alan Seales: Well, what do you mean by that? I know you've talked about it, but I want to hear what you're talking about now in retrospect, looking back on those nine years, I guess, was it just a constant nine years of panic when you were, when you were going with the week?

[9:26] Bobby Moynihan: Yes. Yes, 100% yes. Yeah, it was auditioning for a show you're already on every single week, and every single day was like going out on a date with a new writer or somebody, like, please like me, please help me write. It was a very needy time. I'm a very different person now, and I look back on those times as some of the best, and then I want to also go apologize to people and go, that wasn't me. But like, yeah, it was crazy.

[9:56] Alan Seales: How many people, though, go through this that we wouldn't think about? I've talked with Hater too who's said-

[10:01] Bobby Moynihan: Every single person who's on that show. I mean, Andy, well, no, no, not every single person. The only two people I think who somehow were just completely unaffected. I never saw them anything other than pleasant or tired was Kenan Thompson and Fred Armisen.

[10:26] Alan Seales: Why?

[10:27] Bobby Moynihan: In my time there.

[10:29] Alan Seales: What are they on?

[10:30] Bobby Moynihan: Well, Kenan's just, Kenan just is sketch comedy. He's been doing sketch comedy since he was born, so like he just, it's not a, he just, he's also a guy who's got a great set of parents and family. He's got good family values, and he knew that it didn't matter as much to Kenan. He was already famous when he got to SNL, or not even that that mattered, but like he was already, he had already lived a full entertainment life before he got to SNL.

[11:02] Alan Seales: So he retired into SNL.

[11:04] Bobby Moynihan: Pretty much. I mean, like, and also could do that, he could show up on Saturday and not do dress and still nail it every single time. If you just gave him a sketch to, he's no different at the read-through than on, than on air, other than like he knows it because he's done it before, but at the read-through, it's the same. He's just, he is sketch comedy, and Fred's just crazy. Fred just like, Fred just is comedy, and like he just, I never, I just, he is just one of the other people that like, sometimes I would be like, hey Fred, like, does this ever bother you? And he'd be like, nope! And I'd be like, okay, great! And I should have listened to him more, um, because he was just really good at that. But like, I don't know if you saw the 50th, uh, thing that, that Andy did, the, the, uh, the Lonely Island guys did the everyone in SNL has anxiety, and like that, there's a reason why he made that.

[12:00] Alan Seales: Oh god, oh yeah, the, the, uh, I've been listening to the Seth Meyers and Lonely Island podcast.

[12:05] Bobby Moynihan: Oh yeah, best. Right, right, and so like, I love a behind the scenes things, that's partially why I started this podcast now, six-ish years ago anyway, and because I want to get in behind the scenes, and to hear them talk about the fact that they shoot, all the, all the shorts are shot, uh, you know, within like, negative two hours, they have way less time than they want, everything is, you know, nothing's really set, I, with the script, I didn't know, I didn't know I was gonna be in the 50th till 12 hours before? I'm serious!

[13:04] Bobby Moynihan: It's a show week. It's a show week again after 10 years. And it was, except it wasn't a week. It was like three days. And then all of a sudden, they were like, don't go to that hotel. You're staying at this hotel and come here for rehearsal. And then 10 minutes later, I was in that. And then you might be in this other thing and then go shoot that digital short. OK, you got cut from the digital. And it was chaos for three days. And then I did it and came home and went, aah, aah, aah.

[13:28] Alan Seales: Do your kids now? Can you do your kids look at your clips online or is this an 8 year old? I mean, like a 2 year old. But

[13:35] Bobby Moynihan: No, some of the cartoon stuff, but not SNL yet. I think it's like the 8 year old has mentioned Saturday Night Live because others have mentioned I like, well, what happened was of the week of the fifth, the week after the 50th, everyone at drop off was calling me drunk uncle. So little children calling me drunk uncle at drop off. So my kid was like, why are they saying that? Well, now you got a shower. Yeah, I explained it before I showed her a picture.

[14:05] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, for another time. This is when your father thought it was funny to make fun of racists and terrible people. Well, that's, yeah, I still think it's funny. Comedy is rooted in a lot of stuff that has to be slightly offensive or it's not funny, but it was kind of the whole point. But explaining that to the nuance to an 8 year old, I'll wait.

[14:30] Alan Seales: Yeah, yeah, I don't think I could do that either with my 8 year old anyway. So speaking of kids, did you write Not All Sheep Are Boring for your children?

[14:39] Bobby Moynihan: Um, sure. No, I only had one child at the time. And it was during the pandemic and I was kind of looking for stuff to do. And I was writing. And they said, you ever think about writing a children's book? And I was like, no. And then like a week later, I was putting my daughter to bed and said something about counting sheep to fall asleep. And I trying to make my daughter laugh was like, why is it sheep? Like, we just kind of started talking about why is it sheep? And I was like, because they're really boring. Like, started thinking about why specifically sheep were boring. And that made me laugh. And then this came. Well, I enjoy it. My kids are a little too old for it. I do. I am going to read it for them. This came yesterday. So I am going to read it for them. It's very short.

[15:31] Alan Seales: Put them to sleep. It's such a cute book. And the illustrations are perfect.

[15:34] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, Julie Brozac is amazing.

[15:37] Alan Seales: Doc. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely amazing. But I guess with all the lanes that you were doing, back to my original question, I guess all the lanes that you are very good and partially good when you were a kid, all you want to do is SNL. But like, why then after nine years, leave that? And then what took you to your next sort of path?

[15:59] Bobby Moynihan: I think probably voicing animations. I mean, I don't think I realized that the only thing I wanted was SNL. I obviously did other things. I did like school plays like I did other stuff like I tried taking some stand up courses and realized immediately that stand up wasn't necessarily for me. And like once I found improv, I went like this. I like this. I like when eight people can look at each other on stage afterwards and go, did we just do that? Did that all come together? Guys, nice work. Some of those nights were amazing where we would do a show and it would all come together in the end and we would just look at each other afterwards like, I knew what you were going to say before you said it.

It was just finding those people and then getting SNL was like, we all wanted it. We all auditioned and I was sitting next to Donald Glover and Jordan Peele and that's not lost on me. It's all very different now when I think about it because back then it was a blur, but now I go like, man, we were all just 15-year-old idiots and now everybody I knew is working. Some of them are just prolific artists and have made beautiful, beautiful things. It's crazy. SNL, nine years, I left because I thought I had to. I would have been Keenan easily. I would go back now if they asked me. Not with this body and mind after doing the 50th. I don't think I could do it anymore, but at that time, if Lauren had been like, Bobby, you're great.

If he had just said, just leave whenever you want, I'd still be there now easily. I loved it. I love everything about it. I miss it. It was the idea of having an idea on a Monday and then doing it on Saturday when the world's best people in their field help you with it. It was very fun. Ever since then, nothing's been the same and I'm miserable. No, it's great. Everything's great.

[18:10] Alan Seales: I live in my dungeon. You have such a collection of swag from every character you've voiced. Is that what's behind you?

[18:21] Bobby Moynihan: No, I wish. Well, in one of the cases. No, I just have a collecting problem.

[18:29] Alan Seales: What do you collect the most back there? I see some Boba Fett helmets up there.

[18:36] Bobby Moynihan: I got a lot of helmets. That right there is my Jedi Bob. I played Jedi Bob and they gave me one. I put that there. I collect everything. I have too much. I collect...

[18:48] Bobby Moynihan: Holy cow. He is moving his camera to show other walls. This is insane, dude.

[18:54] Bobby Moynihan: I'm moving it right now. There's Muppets.

[18:58] Alan Seales: Wow.

[19:02] Bobby Moynihan: All the other Muppets are down there.

[19:03] Alan Seales: Is anybody else allowed in there or is that your own space?

[19:06] Bobby Moynihan: This is the only room we stay in. No, the eight-year-old and the two-year-old, I'm shocked at how good they are in here.

[19:12] Alan Seales: Yeah, I guess they're like, we don't want to make daddy mad. We've seen him before.

[19:20] Bobby Moynihan: It's also like I enjoy collecting things. I do, but also they're just really responsible with it. I think maybe because they see me with it. I don't know. I don't know. They're really good with it.

[19:36] Alan Seales: Don't go anywhere. We're going to take a quick commercial break.

[19:39] Bobby Moynihan: All right, everyone. Now we're back. I was watching some of the behind the scenes of Lofi.

[19:46] Alan Seales: Yes. America's favorite.

[19:48] Bobby Moynihan: America's favorite. I think it's so well written, but the characters in it, I mean, the voice actors are incredible. And you've worked with some of the most amazing people on the planet. So looking back, is there anybody that you work with now or you have worked with that surprised you so much in a positive way of like, holy crap, this person is actually really amazing?

[20:14] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah. Well, it's always that. It's the surprising ones. When I was at SNL, I have a very distinct memory of them, of being like, who's hosting next week? And then being like Adam Levine and me being like, oh, I don't care about Adam Levine at all. We'll figure something out. I'm taking that week off. If I don't get anything on that week, it's okay. And then he was great. He was really nice. He was really kind and funny. And I went like, oh, I'm a piece of shit. And he just had a great time and he was really down to do anything. And that just kind of knocked me into like, just because you may not know a lot about somebody yet doesn't mean that you can treat them a certain way. Bruno Mars showed up and I was like, oh, great. Another musician. And he knocked it out of the way. It was one of the funnest weeks we had there just because he is a party. His entire family, I learned, I was like, I'm going to be closer with my family because of Bruno Mars.

[21:40] Bobby Moynihan: Really? Yeah. Most of his family is in his band and it was a party. It was a constant party with them. And even if it wasn't, they would be like, hey, it's OK. Everything's going to be great. And I was like, maybe you're right. There was a lot of stuff like that. And then there was, you know, the ones that that sucked also where you went like, oh, I can't wait to meet this person. Then you're like, oh, no.

[21:50] Alan Seales: Yeah. Like like Jost, he's probably he's the worst guy. He I would say without exaggeration. And I mean, this may be the most important person in my entire Saturday Night Live career. Colin Jost easily does.

[22:05] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah. Yeah. Colin, Seth, like there's a couple of people like that, just like the writers, the people who would write and perform. Well, I think Seth was kind of half like like the dad that everyone wanted Lauren to be. I think when he was there, like it was just like he would give advice and he was kind. And but Colin, for me, was just like I learned about writing. I learned about being a good person. His whole family, too, is is absolutely wonderful. I did a movie with Colin called Staten Island Summer and spent a summer in Staten Island barefoot at a pool, the pool that he like grew up at with his mom and dad just hanging out. And they're wonderful. And I had like the best time of my life.

I was a lifeguard for many, many years. So I was very, very comfortable in a pool complex. And it was one of the best summers of my life because I just I just watched Colin create this insane thing and kind of went like, oh, like, I didn't think I could do this. And look at him. He's doing it like like, like, and I just learned so much from him. And he was always so kind to me. We wrote The Drunk Uncles together. Anthony Crispino is somebody that went to his high school who I met at that pool. And I have a picture. I have a picture with the real Anthony Crispino, who is nothing like the characters, just the name. But yeah. And then like the reason I was in the 50th is Colin. I truly believe that.

I feel like Colin helped a lot of people have an experience to remember for the rest of their lives during the 50th. I know that for me and Cecily doing that thing together with Colin on Update, like, I don't think it could have gone more perfect. And I will forever be grateful to him for that.

[24:02] Alan Seales: Well, then how did you get into, like, the voice animation and starting to get your own stuff picked up your own and diving into your own writing projects?

[24:10] Bobby Moynihan: I needed money. No, I just know that's a good reason. No, very early on, very, very early on, a girl named Jackie Clark. She's a she was a UCB improviser. She's a hilarious writer, amazing performer in her own right. Very, very early on, like at UCB, like before anyone was really working, she got a job writing on a cartoon and was like, hey, do you want to do this? And I was like, what? Like, what are you talking about? And like, that was kind of like my and like I did it and it aired and I was like, oh, my God, like I just it blew my mind. And then I think and like I sought it out. But I think what happened next really was like, I got a couple here and there. But then I think from I think I just got a call out of the blue that was like, hey, my name's Mike.

[25:07] Bobby Moynihan: I'm directing Monsters University, and I saw a specific sketch on SNL, and I thought your voice was funny. Do you want to come in and read these couple lines? And it was for like this one-eyed crab guy and like I did it, but I improvised a bunch of stuff and like they let me improvise for a little bit. And they used some of that and it was like all of a sudden, I was in a Pixar movie and then after that it was like, hey do you want to think, you know, it was like it's kind of like SNL but I would go to meetings before SNL with people and look in their face and tell them how passionate I was and tell them all like I will work for you, I will do whatever and they would go, thanks, bye. And then I would see those same people after SNL and they would go, so what TV show do you want to do?

And it was like, oh, like it was, you know, it was once you are cosigned by someone like Lorne or Pixar, it was like other people went, oh, okay, if he can do that, then maybe he can do this and it was extremely helpful. And many cartoons later, I seek it out. It's my favorite, the voice, the cartoon.

[26:18] Alan Seales: Oh yeah, is your favorite?

[26:19] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, yeah, if you told me I was never allowed to be on camera again and all I had to do was voice work, I think I would say thank you.

[26:25] Alan Seales: You should like go back and pitch some animated shorts to SNL or something. It's like get back in there on the creative side.

[26:30] Bobby Moynihan: I think they got it under control.

[26:40] Bobby Moynihan: Lawrence, my Alan, we don't need Bobby. That's the thing about us. I know like it's like there is a part of me that wants to go back like my, if my dream had come true, if I could pitch my dream, which by the way, I think I did to Lauren many, many, many years ago was that the 50th season would just be all-star season. Like so it would be like Bowen Yang, David Spade, Lorraine Newman, Jay Pharoah, like one and one episode. It's just a whole mix of all SNL people working together for a season or like something like that.

[27:17] Bobby Moynihan: Like that, wow, that was always my dream, but just because I wanted to work with all the SNL cast members. But like when you say that thing about the cartoon, like after the 50th, there is definitely part of me now that sees it as an adult who is not a child who wanted it so bad and interesting. I see it now where I go like now that's for the new, that's what, you know, who should be making cartoons as these new kids and they should, you know, I'll make cartoons and do something with them. But like, but if they called me to do anything, I would be there in a second, obviously.

[27:49] Alan Seales: That's interesting.

[27:50] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, going back to the Seth Meyers Lonely Island podcast again, like all of the Lonely Island came out, I'm guys 20-something years ago. I mean, you were on with them and I forget how old I am now at this point.

[28:02] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, it's crazy. I love that podcast because I'm a fan of them and the show. I called Andy, I haven't talked to Andy in years. I called Andy when Sushi Glory Hole came out and I was like, I'm a member, I'm listening to this song in the car 15 times. I know the lyrics like I'm in high school listening to comedy songs again. Like it was so right. I was like, I missed Lonely Island. Like I was like, I can't, like I really, I became a fan again.

[28:30] Bobby Moynihan: Like, and that being said, listening to your old boss and three of your friends talk about stuff you were in, I'm like, oh God, please don't mention my name. I get terrified because I'm like, I don't want to hear that they hated me, but I've dated. That's my own hang-ups, but like I haven't, I listen to that constantly and I love them all. I haven't heard anyone say a single negative thing about anything you've done and I'm not saying this to like blow smoke up your ass at the murders except the murder.

[29:01] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, well, I haven't, I'm seriously, you're one of those people, like I said at the intro, just you bring such an authenticity and a genuine feeling of fun and enjoyment to what you're doing.

[29:13] Bobby Moynihan: I think the fun part is right, so much the authenticism in the genuosity, is that a word? Are slowly coming out at age 48? I'm realizing.

[29:23] Alan Seales: Well then, looking back now, if you were gonna redo that chapter of your life, if Mad TV, SNL, any of these other sketch shows, right? Like if you're gonna redo this, what would you want to go back and would you change anything about how you went through it?

[29:39] Bobby Moynihan: I mean like there's no, like I mean I wish I could have hit myself in the head with a bat and just said enjoy it, don't panic as much. The day I got the job was the day, like, you know, like anything after that was candy, you know what I mean? Like it was, it was like I have no, yes, I think about that more than I should. I think, yeah, I think I would just try and be more genuine to myself because I was lying to myself. I was terrified and just telling myself like you're okay, you're fine. And like I wasn't like, and maybe I, you know what I would do? I would just go to therapy. I would go to therapy day one instead of waiting until after.

[30:27] Bobby Moynihan: I feel like SNL needs to have an on-site therapist. Oh, somebody at SNL, one of the producers at SNL told me once like you should go to a therapist and I remember being like livid and now I wish I could shake her hand and go like I was wrong, I'm sorry. But yeah, 'cause like I just didn't know. I was just scared and trying to do it on my own and I shouldn't have.

[30:52] Alan Seales: Well, okay, so you were scared on your own, needed attention as a child. What I'm trying, I guess what I'm trying to get at, let's see what you were saying was when you listen to Seth and the Lonely Island guys talk, you don't want to hear your name. What is it? Are you constantly fighting that devil on your shoulder that's like I'm still not good enough?

[31:08] Bobby Moynihan: Oh sure, but also like there's part of me that knows, no, there is definitely a part of me that knows Lorne Michaels thinks I'm funny and Seth Meyers thinks I'm funny and like I want to just cap it right there. Does that make sense?

[31:33] Bobby Moynihan: Yes, like I love Andy, I love the Lonely Island guys. They don't have to think about me ever again.

[31:43] Bobby Moynihan: I guess, yeah, I was trying to be funny. I love listening to that, but it is crazy to hear people talk about like something you were in 20 years later when you wish you could have asked them at the time or like they're going like I don't remember what this happened and I'm like, well, this is exactly what happened. Like, you know, like or I remember it 'cause I was so, I couldn't believe I was in Throw It On The Ground. Like some of those first couple digital shorts, like when I first got to SNL, like I remember going into Andy's office and being like, what's this thing you're looking at? He goes, it's called YouTube. They just put our video on it.

[32:24] Bobby Moynihan: And like it was the first time I saw YouTube and like I was like, what do you mean? Like, and it was like, yeah, we did the, you know how we had to, like, and all of a sudden it was on thing the next day and it was like that was a, when I first started that was a thing. And like I remember a couple episodes into my first show, the makeup guys like Louie and Josh who are Emmy Award winning, like, you know, whatever, freaking the fuck out because it was the first time the show was in HD and you could see the bald cap lines and the wig lines and they were like, oh no, like they freaked out and they had to get better, they had to get better and figure out and like there was a lot of like I came in at the beginning of a lot of stuff and when I left SNL, like everyone when I started there had been there for 35, 40 years pretty much and by the time I left, me and Keenan were like the oldest people there and it was shocking and strange and weird and it was a very, very different place. And now it's completely different after the pandemic and like it was not, now and now I don't know what I was saying anymore.

[33:33] Bobby Moynihan: So old.

[33:35] Alan Seales: What do we do? Is this a podcast?

[33:37] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, this is this is one. Are you this one then video talkie things?

[33:42] Alan Seales: Yeah, no.

[33:43] Bobby Moynihan: I'd love, I love that the evolution that's come through and like SNL and everything that you've created and been a part of shaped so much of the zeitgeist of my teens and my 20s and 30s and now into my 40s.

[33:58] Alan Seales: They're still like social media.

[34:03] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, like everything, you know, you wanted to be on it. I who I don't know any actor who didn't want to be on it. You know, everyone's like I want to do that.

[34:09] Alan Seales: I think it's easier to show up and do some sketches and then I know the pressure was it easier to do improv at UCB or other places or easier to do SNL in it?

[34:19] Bobby Moynihan: And I assume SNL was more tough because it was definitely easier to show up at midnight with nine of your friends while you were hammered and make dumb shit up and then leave afterwards and not get yelled at or hate yourself.

[34:33] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, definitely easier to do it on SNL, of course.

[34:35] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah, of course.

[34:35] Bobby Moynihan: But I also remember showing up at SNL and being like you guys want to do improv or sleep in the studio and they were like we're tired.

[34:44] Alan Seales: Well, what sketches, is there a sketch that you've had that you never got on that you were so passionate about?

[34:50] Bobby Moynihan: I mean, I'm able to put on, yeah, hundreds. I mean, yeah, there were definitely a couple. I mean like the one that comes to mind is a sketch I wrote for the Jane Lynch episode.

[35:01] Bobby Moynihan: Why? Yeah, well, he got on for the Jane Lynch episode to dress. It was called Party for Burl. Jane Lynch was my wife and she was throwing me a surprise party, but I, the whole, it wasn't a birthday party, it was a party because I had reached, I had finally reached my goal weight of 900 pounds.

[35:26] Bobby Moynihan: So they had built this body on a chair and it was just like my head sticking out of it and I just sat in the chair, but everyone else in the room and my wife was completely normal and going like, hey Burl, are you excited? And I never, the only thing I said and I said it maybe 60 times in the sketch, I just went, yeah. So they'd be like, you having a good time? You know, you want some more cake? Yeah, and that's all I did and it was just that and I thought it was the funniest.

[36:05] Bobby Moynihan: And it got to dress and it finally made it to dress and it got enough laughs and it got into the show and I was literally floored. I was like, this is a bad idea. This is gonna be one in ten years where I'm like, why did I do this? And then my, the only time this ever happened in my nine years on the show, it was up on the board. It was the sketch right after update and I remember because that's my favorite spot to be in because I feel like it's when people go like, okay, we're back and I really enjoy that or the last sketch of the night.

[36:39] Bobby Moynihan: And it was the first sketch after update and like notes were, you know, Lauren's given the notes and we're about to get notes on that sketch and one of, I believe it was Jeff Blake, one of the interns came over and just took the card off the wall and put another card on that said The Susie Orman Show, which had been cut, was Kristen Wiig as Susie Orman and Jane Lynch just looked at me and went like, I'm Susie Orman's friend. I want to do that one and I was like, I'm gonna murder Jane Lynch.

[37:08] Bobby Moynihan: And then Jane Lynch ended up doing a Broadway show with my wife many years later and I still held a grudge. She's very kind and she's very nice, but I would always go like hello with riveted teeth. But if I saw her today, I would run away and not tell her that story.

[37:27] Bobby Moynihan: Well now that it's politely recorded, yeah, I've said it maybe on 10 podcasts. I'm sure she either knows or doesn't care. Jane Lynch, come on here. I love you Jane, you're a very talented lady. Is that a word, rebuked?

[37:40] Bobby Moynihan: I think I like Susie Orman less than I like...

[37:47] Alan Seales: Yeah, I get it. I mean, who do you bring in now when you're looking for collaborative partners? Like when you're creating now, what type of person are you looking for?

[37:59] Bobby Moynihan: Now?

[38:00] Alan Seales: Yeah.

[38:02] Bobby Moynihan: Kind and fast. SNL, that was like a big, to be honest, that was a huge wake-up call. After taking work after SNL, like one of the first jobs I got after SNL, I was like a total, total asshole. Because I was like, what is taking so long? I was like, we can do this makeup. I was like, I've done this in a commercial break. Or it was like, it didn't matter. We don't dilly-dally. It's almost 11:30. The show's got... So it was like, I was so used to working at such an insanely crazy breakneck pace at my tiredest and forced to perform at the highest level while being exhausted that other jobs kind of were easy. And I would get like, we got to take six hours to shoot this thing? Are you kidding me? We got it in the first take. Or I kind of had to train myself to just not be at SNL anymore because it was so... Everyone who works at that place is at the top of their game.

[39:15] Alan Seales: Do you see people behind the scenes just quietly crack?

[39:18] Bobby Moynihan: I mean, yeah. I'm sure there's like...

[39:20] Alan Seales: And in front of the scenes and during the scenes and yeah.

[39:26] Bobby Moynihan: I mean, crack emotionally, not crack laughter.

[39:29] Alan Seales: Oh yeah. No, I knew what you meant. Both, both. Yeah. Sometimes they're exactly the same. Because I've seen, I mean, you see people coming in and there's like, Reddit, Reddit, the ultimate authority on all things internet and truth.

[39:44] Bobby Moynihan: I'm so glad that like, I miss that. I don't, yeah.

[39:47] Alan Seales: I mean, yeah, but there's an SNL subreddit that I follow and everyone's posting sketches. And I think, you know, someone's posted a drunk uncle the other day. Like there's people's favorites who are just constantly rotating through, but there's gossip. There's all this gossip about like, well, this person came in there, like what happened to them? All of a sudden they're gone and nobody said anything. And they went straight from, they're not featured, but they went straight to full-fledged cast member. And there's all this crap behind the scenes that I've...

[40:12] Bobby Moynihan: Yeah. I was like that for many, many years with SNL.

[40:16] Alan Seales: Like before you joined?

[40:17] Bobby Moynihan: Oh yeah. And probably while I was on it and still now. Yeah. I mean, like I love the show and I love, I mean, it's, it, I don't know. I don't remember who said this, but maybe it was Lauren, somebody like, like, and it's like the Yankees, like, especially in New York. Like, it's like, that's my team. I root for them. I want to know what's going on. Like, it's like my guys, like, you know, like, and it kind of people try it and people treat SNL the same way, but they're also like, when I go to New York, I haven't been back to New York. I love going to New York cause a cab driver would just go, morning! And I'm like, that's the best. Like, especially when I was on SNL or they would be like, drunk uncle, you, you suck.

I got a rest in peace ass Dan in the middle of a crowd. I never saw the person's face and it was the best thing that's ever happened to me. Uh, uh, I like obscure references and like, that's all, that's all great. And, and, and in New York, they, it's like, they have ownership over SNL and, and, and, uh, I haven't been on it for 10 years. So no one knows or cares. I know you you're mine, but I, but I respect your privacy. So I'm only going to say hello once. And then you can go your own way. I, I had a man walk up to me and go, Hey, tell Keenan, he sucks. And I went, no. And he went, fuck you. All right.

[41:40] Alan Seales: All right. So we're going to take a quick break for a few commercials.

[41:45] Alan Seales: All right, everyone. Welcome back to the episode. Uh, let's see. Um, uh, we're going to wrap up here with a little game called plot in 60 seconds. Got it. And it requires a little bit of musical theater knowledge of popular musical theater. We talk so much about musical theater. I know.

[42:04] Bobby Moynihan: Well, of course, now, now's your chance to shine. So, uh, you give me a number one through 17. I got a list of 17 popular musicals that will mean that you pick a musical and then you have to give me the plot to that musical in 60 seconds or less one through 17 is rough. My lucky number is 19.

[42:20] Bobby Moynihan: That hurt me. Uh, I'm going to pick eight though. It's one of the lost numbers. Yeah. I go lost numbers.

[42:25] Alan Seales: Oh, I love lost. You're a lost fan.

[42:30] Bobby Moynihan: I know you're a lost fan. Yeah. Yeah. I have the, uh, those are all lost props and I have the fish biscuit machine from lost in my garage. Did you work with Matthew Fox when he came to SNL? Were you, were you there for that?

[42:40] Bobby Moynihan: No, I wish. No. Uh, no, I did play. I played Hurley though. And I'm good friends with Jorge. Oh man. Such a cool dude. This is a great cast too. All right. Um, David Lindelof, you listening to this?

[42:52] Bobby Moynihan: Oh, what is that? Whoa. That's the fish biscuit machine in my garage. I donated to, I, yeah. Cancer gets lost. It's a charity. Uh, the, uh, cancer charity that, uh, everyone's big lost fans and they had an auction and I, I out of the kindness of my heart, I donated money to acquire lost props.

[43:15] Alan Seales: I get that. I would do that too. That and battle star Galactica. Those are two that, Oh, interesting. I know nothing about it. Weirdly enough.

[43:28] Bobby Moynihan: Oh dude, with the sci-fi world that you live in, not the original, the remake with J James Edward, almost you got a Edward James, Edward James, almost, almost, almost got that right. Edward James almost got that right. You got to watch that version of it.

[43:46] Alan Seales: The best. Yeah. I hear it's great. Okay. So, uh, you gave me lucky number eight, forgotten number eight. We're going to go with the sound of music. Go 60 seconds. Uh, the sound of music is a, is a beautiful story of, of when, of, of just a lot of white people.

[44:03] Bobby Moynihan: I feel like after a great start. Yeah. Julie Andrews, the incomparable Julie Andrews as, uh, Maria Von Trapp, someone Von Trapp. And there's a bunch of kids running around. I played one of the kids on Saturday night live. Don't remember the name, but their kids did something in a mountain and they sing about it a lot. And then a man is a Dick Van Dyke or is that no, that's, that's Mary Poppins. I was in a Mary Poppins sketch too. And I screwed that up. Bill was Dick Van Dyke. Uh, most of my memories are from children. I played on a television show 15 years ago. Uh, sound of music. The hills are alive with the sound of music. She's spinning around on a hill and then everyone dies. The and womp womp. All right. One. I probably wouldn't invest in that one, but I'll, I'll give you, I disagree. You would invest, you would invest in millions. White people die the musical and probably do great right about now.

[45:13] Alan Seales: Okay. Three standard closing questions to wrap up the episode. First one is just what motivates you.

[45:19] Bobby Moynihan: What motivates me? Oh, I don't know. I just, what's next. If I find it funny to find out what's next, because usually it's, it's an insane thing. So my life has been like, what's next? No way. What's next? No way. Maybe that. I like that. I like that.

[45:38] Alan Seales: Okay. Uh, so I'm going to ask this next question as a two parter. The standard way I ask it is what advice would you give to your younger self and younger people listening out down, starting out down a similar path? That's the, that's the first one. And then the second part of this is what advice would you give to people starting out on SNL?

[46:02] Bobby Moynihan: Um, uh, to myself, I, I would, the, the most important, I would tell myself, there is one person in your life that you should never, ever lie to. And that is yourself. And there's one, there's only one person in your life that you should help. And that's your future self. And that's mostly because of the movie, the substance I saw. And I went like, got it. But, uh, true. I think I would tell myself that as a child. Um, and as far as SNL goes, I, I now know I would, I, I have no advice. I have none. I used to want to give advice to new people on SNL. My advice is get a therapist and enjoy it. You did it. You're on SNL. And from this moment on, you will be Saturday night lives blank for the rest of your life. And, uh, that's not a bad thing at all. So enjoy it and have a blast. And, uh, when your sketch gets cut, um, just save it and sell it somewhere else.

[47:10] Alan Seales: I was wondering about that. Legally, do you own your sketch if it doesn't get on air?

[47:18] Bobby Moynihan: No, I think they own all of like, if I, like, if I wanted to write a party for Burrell movie, I think they could technically say no, like, I don't think they would also, I would probably ask him first anyway. Um, but like, yeah. But like when we first got SNL, like, it was like, give us a list of your characters just in case anything hits. And I just sat there for a week and made up new characters just in case thinking like, and like drunk uncle, I just wrote drunk uncle Mike, I think, uh, down, uh, uh, and then, and then spent the first two years of my SNL career going to that list and going, what dumb name did I make up? All right, let me write something around that. I like that.

[48:00] Alan Seales: All right. Last show, hardest one. If you can only see one show for the rest of your life that I see the last show last question, hardest one. If you can only see one show for the rest of your life, you can see it as many times as you want. What would you say? Just one show? Like, like meaning like I can only X wow. Um, wow. I have, like, I mean, like, like, Oh, I, it might be SNL just because like, I was such a fan anyway. And also there's so much stuff, like you could watch music and you could do all that stuff, but like to pick like, you know, like I'm trying to think of like my favorite TV show ever and like, like lost, but I've seen it so many times that I have it committed to memory. I'll say either lost or SNL. If you're going to pick a musical theater show.

[48:45] Bobby Moynihan: Oh boy. Oh, that's a hard one. Might be jelly's last jam.

[48:55] Alan Seales: Ooh. I like that. That was like my favorite growing up. I still love it more than anything. I think maybe jelly's last jam, or at least that was the first one that came to mind or starlight express. Cause I never saw it. Go out to London and see it now.

[49:10] Bobby Moynihan: Oh no. I don't like traveling. I don't like seeing things. I'm an old man. I am drunk uncle now, except I'm not racist.

[49:21] Alan Seales: Uh, well then where can we get you online on the social media? Where do you play that game?

[49:25] Bobby Moynihan: Oh boy. Um, my father's voice has come out of my head for the last 10 minutes. Um, I'm on blue sky, uh, Bibby Moynihan. I spell it with Bibby, B I B B Y uh, on Instagram, all that stuff. All that stuff. And then I make sure everyone gets, oh yes. Not all sheep are boring. Exclamation point. There's some really interesting sheep in this book. Yeah. They're alone. That's right. I'm on a Instagram, Tik TOK, Facebook. I gotta be on the places, leave a reading review wherever you're listening now. Um, thanks to jukebox, the ghost for the intro and outro music that we are hearing right now. And Bibby Moynihan appreciate you, man. This has been great. Thanks ma'am. What a blast.