Top 30 SNL Sketches That Broke the Whole Cast

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most hilarious acts on “Saturday Night Live” that made it impossible for the actors to stay in character.

#30: “Uncle Ben”

In 2020, controversy erupted over the branding of Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben products, which seemed to perpetuate racial stereotypes. In response, both characters were retired. “SNL” picked up on the hot-button topic and created an amusing sketch with Maya Rudolph as Aunt Jemima and Kenan Thompson as Uncle Ben, being fired from their jobs. The two comedians’ tongue-in-cheek satire leveled up when Dave Chappelle appeared, seemingly as Allstate Insurance spokesperson Dennis Haysbert. From the moment the camera pans to Dave, he’s already breaking character, which only gets worse when Pete Davidson enters the scene as Count Chocula. Chappelle starts going off-script, breaking the fourth wall, and making everyone around him crack up. Watching this was a true delight.

#29: “Brothers”

Host Liev Schreiber teamed up with some of the funniest “SNL” stars for this overwhelmingly chaotic sketch. Beck Bennett and Kyle Mooney play two brothers meeting their new neighbors, the Campbells, for the first time. The problem is, they’re extremely rowdy and need to be disciplined. The only thing that puts them in their place is a good old hose down from their dad, played by Liev. Throughout the sketch, Kenan Thompson and Aidy Bryant, who play Mr. and Mrs. Campbell, and Cecily Strong, who takes on the role of the boys’ mother, can hardly hold back their laughter. Liev, however, manages to stay in character even as the brothers break a wall. By the end, the cast seemed relieved to have gotten through it.

#28: “Africa Tourism”

For this act, host Adele joined Kate McKinnon and Heidi Gardner to play divorcées, all named Joanne, advertising a trip to Africa. Peppered with innuendos, the act was basically daring the Grammy winner not to laugh. She doesn’t make it far before she breaks, and it inevitably makes Kate and Heidi give in too. While it was infinitely amusing to watch the ladies struggle, the sketch itself got mixed reactions from viewers. Critics condemned it for the apparent fetishization of African men, especially as the timing coincided with the Nigerian ‘End SARS’ movement. Nevertheless, it remains one of the most popular “SNL” sketches ever.

#27: “The Farbers Meet the Coneheads”

Half a century has passed since “SNL” first graced our TV screens, and yet, OG icons John Belushi and Gilda Radner are still two of the funniest cast members of all time. In this sketch, they play Larry and Bobbi Farber, who invite their peculiar neighbors, the Coneheads, over for dinner. What ensues is comedy gold, to say the least. However, what no one expected was that a hair dryer would freak the guests out so much, they’d be compelled to jump straight through a glass window. The highlight is when Jane Curtin, as Prymaat Conehead, stumbles, and Radner can’t help but laugh, which, in turn, makes Belushi break. We’ll never get tired of this one.

#26: “Locker Room Motivation”

Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning’s turn as an “SNL” host in 2007 came with some unforgettable acts. One sketch in particular, which starred the Sheriff alongside Will Forte, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Jason Sudeikis, and Kenan Thompson, became a fan-favorite. In it, Forte plays a basketball coach giving his players a pep talk, but in dance form. However, the background music isn’t “Eye of the Tiger” or “The Final Countdown”. Forte’s pick is “Casino Royale” by Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, and he’s freestyling a goofy routine to it. While Coach dances away, the rest of the cast breaks uncontrollably, trying and failing to hide their grins. As a bonus, Manning later joins the dance, bringing the house down.

#25: “Black Jeopardy”

This sketch had a star-studded main cast, and yet none of them could resist the urge to break character. In “Black Jeopardy”, we had Kenan Thompson hosting the show as Darnell Hayes. Joining him were Leslie Jones as returning champ Shanice, Tracy Morgan as a contestant, Darius, and – here’s the kicker – Eddie Murphy as Tracy Morgan. Right from his first line, Murphy makes it virtually impossible for the cast to stay in character. However, surprisingly, he’s the one who breaks first. Leslie cracks up next, and the real Tracy follows closely behind. Of course, Kenan isn’t immune either, especially not when Tom Hanks shows up as Doug. While the skit is hilarious, it is the cast’s genuine amusement that makes it even more enjoyable.

#24: “New Wife”

Who knew watching Larry David fire off a series of queer slang would be this entertaining? In this sketch, the “Curb Your Enthusiasm” legend plays Vincent, a hotshot throwing a party to celebrate his newlywed status. His wife, Candice, played by Cecily Strong, is what he calls ‘gay-famous’. Vincent is so smitten, he has not only adapted to her lifestyle but also embraced it. So, when a group of partygoers, played by Beck Bennett, Kate McKinnon, and Chris Redd, are confused by his new lingo, he grows increasingly frustrated. Right when David is on the verge of breaking, Kate pushes him further, sending the “Seinfeld” co-creator into a full-blown laughing spell. He could barely get his lines out! Moments later, everyone had broken character.

#23: “Short Shorts for the USA”

Will Ferrell plays a walking HR violation in this skit, and the audience loves it. The episode aired in October 2001, during a dark time for America. So, “SNL” did what they do best – offered healing through laughter. For this segment, they took us into an office, where employees were told to express their patriotism through their attire. Dale, played by Ferrell, shows up in a USA-themed cropped top and a thong. Patriotic? Sure. Traumatizing? Most definitely. Everyone, from host Seann William Scott to Horatio Sanz, Rachel Dratch, Seth Meyers, and Amy Poehler, broke character. What threw them off harder was how much more revealing the costume was on air compared to the dress rehearsal. Scott later admitted that the sketch continues to haunt him.

#22: “Beavis and Butt-Head”

This sketch went viral and for good reason, too. It had Heidi Gardner playing Bobbi Moore, host of a NewsNation town hall discussing AI with an MIT professor, played by Kenan Thompson. The conversation starts out serious, before it is derailed by two oddly familiar audience members. Enter Ryan Gosling looking suspiciously like Beavis, followed by Mikey Day resembling Butt-Head. As soon as Heidi saw Gosling, she broke just a little. However, when her eyes met Day’s, she lost all control. Her laughing fit lasted well over twenty seconds, and even when she managed to say her line, she couldn’t stop tittering. Later in the sketch, when Ryan and Mikey sat side by side, they made everyone break, including each other.

#21: “Renaldo and Alexi”

Put Fred Armisen and Bill Hader in the same sketch, and you know it’s going to be a riot. Unfortunately, this one didn’t make it out of the dress rehearsal. After all, the two just couldn’t stop breaking. Their characters, Renaldo and Alexi, were foreign doormen in Manhattan who kept narrating Christmas tales to people, but in the oddest ways. Fred and Bill, with their exaggerated international accents and animated gestures, cracked each other up so hard that at one point, they weren’t even trying to get back into character. Things got worse … or, better, when host Jamie Foxx and “SNL”’s very own Vanessa Bayer walked in, and all four stars broke at the same time.

#20: “Cast List”

This sketch, which was cut for time, sees a group of excited teens awaiting the posting of the “Bye Bye Birdie” cast list by their theater teacher, Will Ferrell’s Mr. Koenig. The whole cast’s energy perfectly captures the “theater kids wanting to know who gets which part” energy of every high school ever. Mr. Koenig’s imperious attitude and vague hints about who may or may not have gotten a part are also pitch perfect. However, when Ferrell steps in front of the list to block it from view, practically everyone gets the giggles. And they have a hard time shaking them through the rest of the sketch! We were already laughing, but seeing everyone else lose it never fails to take us out.

#19: “Gaps Girls at the Foodcourt”

The Gap Girls, played by Chris Farley, David Spade, and Adam Sandler, appear several times during the show. However, this occasion sees the trio frequently struggling to hide their laughter. Their use of ‘90s Valley Girl speak is hilarious throughout, but there are a few moments in particular that cause them to break. The first is after Farley drops the falsetto and tells Spade’s character Christy to lay off him about eating all the fries. The next major break is when Sandler’s Lucy gets emotional over Christy’s boyfriend treating her badly. They may be interested in hot goss, but the Gap Girls’ giggles are even hotter.

#18: “New Military Weapon”

The United States military is always looking for the next big thing, and this sketch sees a bizarre new asset that they’re developing. Host Simu Liu plays a major who reveals the weapon to a senator and cabinet secretary: Dog Head Man! It’s literally a dog’s head and neck, on a man’s body. The real pup’s adorable, and its shenanigans lead everyone, particularly Cecily Strong, and Mikey Day, who’s the scientist in charge of it, to break at some point. While the moral and ethical implications are horrifying, as a sketch, the results are undeniably cute and funny.

#17: “Corksoakers”

At a winery in Italy, a group of tourists are shown around. The two owners, played by Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz, introduce them to a special part of the process - cork soaking. The suggestive sounding words are used liberally throughout for one of the most innuendo-laden sketches ever made! Amazingly, Fallon isn’t the biggest offender here. Instead, it’s host Janet Jackson, who can barely make it through her lines without breaking (though she’s not alone). And given the elaborate and hysterical puns, we really can’t blame her. We’d be real “cork soakers” if we did.

#16: “Scared Straight”

This recurring sketch always features plenty of actors breaking. It sees Kenan Thompson as Lorenzo MacIntosh, a criminal attempting to convince others not to engage in big-time offences, usually joined by the episode’s host. However, Thompson’s up close and personal approach, as well as Lorenzo’s use of movie plots frequently leads to his audience laughing instead of being frightened. Plus, some of the hosts being the opposite of hardened criminals makes it hilariously tough to take anything they say seriously. The Betty White installment certainly comes to mind. Needless to say, the cast breaking always makes the sketch 1000x better!

#15: “Dr. Beaman's Office: Test Results”

One of Will Ferrell’s lesser-known characters is Dr. Beaman. Here, this bizarre, alleged medical practitioner sees a couple, Tom and Kathy, who are eager to hear about their recently born son. Rather than tell them immediately, Beaman rambles on the phone, insults them, and even claims their child is a witch. It’s incredibly absurd, even by “SNL” standards. However, it isn’t until Tim Meadows comes in as a consultant, Dr. Steven Poop, that the actors break. His performance of “the Robot” completely sends Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell. Can you blame them? Chris Parnell keeps it together though - he’s no vondruke – whatever that means.

#14: “Girlfriends Game Night”

In this sketch, a group of girlfriends get together for a game night. However, one of them, Genie, brings her much older elderly husband, Horace, with her. The near-expressionless old coot is played to perfection by Bill Hader, and things get extra awkward when his special medication kicks in, prompting Jeanie to attempt to capitalize on it right there. Amazingly, the actors largely keep it together through all this. But once Hader has to move Horace’s wheelchair around, bumping into the table, pretty much everyone breaks. It’s the kind of silly thing that can only happen in a live performance, and the actors all find it just as funny as we do.

#13: “Career Day”

There have been several school career day sketches over the years, but only one of them has Adam Driver as Abraham H. Parnassus! The ancient oil tycoon gives a stirring speech on crushing your enemies to the kids, and repeatedly demanding his son, Mordecai, look at him. Pete Davidson, who plays Mordecai, often has difficulty fulfilling his request, since he’s too busy laughing. Some of the rest of the class and teacher also seemingly struggle to stay stone-faced at various points. Driver’s towering, over-the-top performance is spectacular, so we can hardly blame the actors for breaking before they break for Capri Sun.

#12: Stefon

Arguably Bill Hader’s most iconic “SNL” character, Stefon became a frequent “Weekend Update” fixture. Although ostensibly charged with recommending destinations to tourists, Stefon instead lists off wild and often bizarre establishments. Usually scripted by John Mulaney, who appears alongside Stefon on one occasion, these appearances are famous for Hader breaking. Him hiding his face behind his hands to conceal his laughter never gets old. Mulaney’s last-minute changes to the script often resulted in Hader hearing jokes for the first time as he said them, explaining his frequent laughter. Stefon’s appearances may often just feature Hader breaking (though the anchors aren’t immune), but the cumulative breaks are enough to earn him a spot on our list.

#11: “Extremely Stupid”

This iconic sketch sees host Candice Bergen’s Fern meet with her friend Lisa, played by Gilda Radner. Fern proceeds to mock Lisa for her malapropisms and decision to pour milk in her purse instead of drink it. However, Bergen then messes up a line herself, calling Radner by her own character’s name. This makes Bergen lose it entirely, unable to contain her laughter as Lisa does a PSA in defense of stupid people. Radner largely does a great job staying collected, with Lisa’s smile arguably helping her out – but Bergen is half the sketch’s cast, so it counts! It just goes to show that whether you’re extremely stupid, or just play dumb on TV, you’re bound to find this one funny!

#10: “Jeffrey’s with Sean Hayes”

This early 2000s sketch sees Sean Hayes and Jimmy Fallon as two workers at a fashion store called Jeffrey’s. Rather than assist their customers, the duo instead spend their time lobbing insults at their choice of clothes. While Fallon gets the giggles at Horatio Sanz’s comebacks, both of them lose it when their supervisor, played by Will Ferrell, rolls up. And, to be fair to them, if Ferrell pulled up in that outfit and pulled out a cell phone that small, we’d have a hard time containing our laughter too.

#9: “The Love-ahs with Barbara and Dave”

This entry in the recurring sketches featuring Roger and Virginia Klarvin, better known as the “Love-ahs,” sees the couple in a hot tub joined by a man named Dave and later by their friend Barbara Hernandez. Like most of their scenes, this one has the couple speaking in bizarre accents and making wildly sexual small talk with a stranger. And of course, while Jimmy Fallon will laugh at the drop of a hat, the fact that Will Ferrell was reportedly doing things with his foot under the water probably didn’t help Fallon stay in character! His laughter is infectious and soon enough the Love-ahs and Barbara are giggling too. And isn’t laughter a true expression of love?

#8: “Matt Foley: Van Down By The River”

When a father and mother discover their children, Brian and Stacy, have been using substances, they hire Matt Foley, a motivational speaker, to talk to them. Enter Chris Farley at the top of his game! Foley motivates the kids by describing how horrible his own life is, with a particular emphasis on how he lives in a van down by the river. The larger-than-life Farley’s over-the-top performance has both David Spade and Christina Applegate struggling not to laugh as he gets in their faces, lifts Spade up, and crashes into the coffee table. This sketch is the first of many Matt Foley appearances and it’ll make you laugh whether you’re in it, or you live in a van down by the river!

#7: “Close Encounter”

Another debut of a recurring sketch, this one sees a trio of alien abductees interviewed by scientists at the Pentagon. While the first two, played by Cecily Strong and host Ryan Gosling, describe a wonderful experience, the third, played by Kate McKinnon, had a different kind of abduction. Her description of urinating in front of a bunch of gray aliens, and the weird things they do to her has to be heard to be believed! Gosling especially is smiling throughout, though even the scientists played by Aidy Bryant and Bobby Moynihan are less than government professionals. McKinnon’s character may not have been dealing with the best of the best, but her performance here gives us a transcendent experience.

#6: “Lisa from Temecula”

At a birthday dinner for Shayna, the spotlight is quickly stolen by her sister, Lisa from Temecula. Along with her insistence that Paul, Pedro Pascal’s character, is “hoping for some butt,” her order of an extra-extra well-done steak proves distracting for everyone. As actress Ego Nwodim saws on the piece of meat, the table cartoonishly jumps around; spilling food and drink alike. Pascal breaks first, as his character has a story to tell, but the rest of the table isn’t far behind, including Nwodim. Much like Lisa’s steak, the comedy here is extra well done, so they couldn’t help but laugh.

#5: “Super Showcase Spokesmodels”

On this fake game show, a contestant played by Vanessa Bayer loses out on showcase prizes when she gets a question wrong. Bill Hader’s host has the showcase models, Shonda and Vonda, played by Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig, show her what she didn’t win. Shonda and Vonda’s absurd accents make it difficult for Wiig and Rudolph to get through their displays of various products made by ridiculous generic names with straight faces. Wiig having to drive a golf cart around adds even more hilarity and Hader gets the giggles. Only Bayer keeps it together. Sounds like she could use some laughs - by Laugh Guy.

#4: “Gus Chiggins, Old Prospector”

At a military briefing for the Afghanistan Conflict, the soldiers are all puzzled during roll call, when it becomes clear that one of them is an old prospector. The prospector, Gus Chiggins, proves distracting, given his old-timey sayings and numerous noisy pans. Eventually, their commanding officer reveals that Gus is really a character actor, but that just raises more questions. Will Ferrell’s goofy old-man voice is too much for even this gathering of comedic actors and practically everyone breaks at some point during the sketch. Gus doesn’t need to do any panning - because this sketch is straight-up gold!

#3: “More Cowbell”

Speaking of Will Ferrell breaking everyone, this is one of the most famous “SNL” sketches of all time for just that reason. In a recording session for Blue Öyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” fictional band member Gene Frenkle, played by Ferrell, goes ham on playing the cowbell during the song. Far from being upset about it, producer Bruce Dickinson, played by Christopher Walken, just wants to hear more of it! Ferrell’s enthusiastic performance and tight t-shirt, as well as Walken’s deadpan delivery of increasingly ridiculous lines, leave everyone else struggling to keep the laughter in! And for the record, we’ve tried to get doctors to prescribe more cowbell for fevers, but no luck. They think they know better than the Bruce Dickinson?!

#2: “The Californians”

This recurring soap opera sketch is guaranteed to have multiple actors break character! The over-the-top drama of soap operas paired with dialogue mostly centered on southern California’s roads and freeways, which is delivered with nearly incomprehensible valley girl accents is a recipe for hilarity! The sketch’s most recurring actors Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and Fred Armisen are the most frequent cast to break, though they’re far from the only ones. Just seeing them make goofy faces in the mirror is enough to get us rolling, so it’s impressive they make it through any of the dialogue!

#1: “Debbie Downer: Disney World”

The very first appearance of the eponymous Debbie Downer, this sketch sees the character join a family reunion at Disney World. Despite the happy surroundings, Debbie can’t help but bring the mood down with dire commentary on world events. However, in contrast to Debbie’s grim remarks, actress Rachel Dratch and everyone else in the scene can’t stop breaking! Part of this was due to Dratch messing up a line early, setting everyone off, but the frequent “wah-wah” sound effects were used for the first time in the live show, catching the actors all off guard. Host Lindsay Lohan claims she ran offstage because she couldn’t keep it together. We can’t blame her!

Which “SNL” sketch do you wish you were a part of? Tell us in the comments!