Mike Myers went into depression when SNL sketches were cut
Mike Myers used to "go into a depression" if his sketches were cut from Saturday Night Live.
The 62-year-old star was a writer on the comedy series from 1989 to 1995 and has made occasional appearances over the years since, and he hated the dress rehearsal before the live show because it left him feeling "nervous" and deeply unhappy if his skits didn't make it through to the final programme.
He told Variety: "Dress rehearsal bums me out and I get nervous. Then if the sketch gets in, I'm like, 'OK!' I'm way more psyched that it got in, that I'm going to be in the show this week.'
'I used to go into a depression when my sketch got cut."
However, the Austin Powers star learned a new perspective from Conan O'Brien, who was one of Saturday Night Live's writers from 1988 to 1991.
He said: "Then one week, Conan had worked with a very, very hard host who had put him through the wringer.
"Conan was just a mess and saw that a sketch was cut and he goes, 'Perfect. It's all going perfectly to plan.' It got a big laugh, and I was like, 'You can be that way? You don't have to be depressed?'
"He taught me how to say, 'OK. It's not the end of the world.''
And Mike insisted he wouldn't have tried to fight for an axed sketch to be included.
He said: 'Never. I have witnessed people try it. That's when I go invisible. Too much tension! The captain has spoken, move on.'
But he has fought for certain jokes, though these days he'd go with the judgement of showrunner Lorne Michaels.
He said: 'When I was younger as a writer, if Lorne Michaels asked, 'Do you think you can make that work?' I'd say, 'Yes, I think I can.' Whereas now I think I'd be more likely to say, 'If you're not sure, let's not!''
Mike returned to SNL for the 50th anniversary special earlier this year, and less than two weeks later, he made his first appearance on a regular episode in 10 years when he played Elon Musk in the cold opener.
And the Wayne's World star is having "so much fun" playing the billionaire businessman.
He said: 'It's so much fun. Colin [Jost] and the crew write the Elons, and all I do is I add a little this and a little that, and mostly, I cut. A lot of people don't like to cut. I love to cut.
"If you've got eight jokes, three of them are OK and the five of them are strong, let's just go with the five!
'I've had so much fun doing it. When I did the 50th anniversary, I had a moment going, 'Do I know how to do this?' And I was like, 'Oh, of course, I know how to do this. I did this for six years.' "
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