When it comes to producing a live sketch comedy show on a weekly basis, Saturday Night Live has it down to an art. Despite some hilarious unplanned moments like Colin Jost being tricked into taking a shot at his wife Scarlett Johansson and practically the whole cast breaking during Ryan Gosling’s viral “Beavis and Butt-Head” sketch, SNL is largely a well-oiled machine where everyone is able to hit their marks on time. In order to do that, apparently there are some awkward-sounding quick wardrobe changes, and Kristen Wiig and Jon Hamm got real about being naked and seeing “all of the parts.”
Kristen Wiig was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012, and has been back several times as a host since then. In fact, the Bridesmaids star joined SNL’s Five-Timers Club with her latest appearance this April. Jon Hamm, on the other hand, has hosted just three times, so Wiig was far more prepared for the naked quick change they were about to endure during one of those tapings. In a conversation with Wiig for Variety, Hamm recalled:
I hosted three times in two years and then never again. The fun part of SNL — one time I was hosting, and we both had quick changes next to each other. And you’re like, ‘Get ready,’ and then we’re both naked. They’re literally tearing clothes off of you. You just have to go with it.
I find it so amusing that Kristen Wiig apparently tried to give Jon Hamm a quick heads-up that his clothes were about to come off, and I have to wonder if they didn’t warn him about that beforehand? There’s no doubt, however, when you have mere seconds to change out of one costume and into another and get back on set for the next sketch, there’s no time for modesty.
Kristen Wiig acknowledged the strangeness of it all, and even though she must have experienced the quick change numerous times over her seven-season stint, she was caught off guard during one of her hosting gigs when she supposedly caught an eyeful of Kenan Thompson. She said:
The last time I was back, I had a quick change. They were stripping me, and I looked over, and Kenan [Thompson] was doing the same thing. I was like, ‘Oh, we’ve seen each other.’
Jon Hamm agreed, adding:
All of the parts. It’s fine. It’s only awkward because you have to submit to it. You’re a total mannequin.
Being able to think of yourself as a mannequin is a pretty good way of alleviating some of the uneasiness that could naturally come with being stripped down by a crew in front of other performers.
Saturday Night Live has wrapped on all the hosts of Season 49, but I bet when when the team hits the stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza again this fall for its astounding 50th season, you won’t be able to stop yourself from thinking about what happened behind the scenes when a cast member shows up in a new costume after just a few seconds’ time. Until then you can relive the Top 5 sketches from Season 49 or any sketch from any show you want, as all 49 seasons are available to stream with a Peacock subscription.