Saturday Night Live alum Kristen Wiig reveals she had ‘breakdown’ on show after hitting creative wall

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Kristen Wiig, the comedian, reportedly became very upset while working on Saturday Night Live because she was struggling to come up with new ideas.

Kristen Wiig, now 52, was a cast member on the show from 2005 to 2012, where she was known for her hilarious performances.

Despite leaving the show, she made a significant impact, earning four Emmy nominations and receiving many offers to reappear as a guest star.

Even though Kristen Wiig appeared to handle it easily on TV, she still found it challenging to constantly come up with new and original sketches each week for the show.

Kristen Wiig recently shared on the Las Culturistas podcast with Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers how challenging it was to constantly create fresh characters.

She recalled auditioning twice, and being thrilled when she was called back the second time, feeling she’d given it her all and portrayed every possible character. Later, after three seasons on the show, she experienced a moment of panic, realizing she’d exhausted every vocal performance she had.

Bowen, having recently left Saturday Night Live after six years on the show, said he felt the same way back during his second season.

Wiig said working with other people helped her overcome the creative block. 

I’ve definitely been there. It’s like, when you’re feeling stuck, there’s always that initial hurdle. But honestly, it’s amazing how much encouragement from others helps – people asking you to try new things, even if it’s just a ‘maybe’ from you at first. Sometimes it clicks, and you actually do it, but it’s okay if it doesn’t always work out. The best part is, you just keep exploring and finding new passions and opportunities.

Kristen Wiig started by developing her characters through their voices, and then she began using a different approach to build them out further.

Then, character development expanded beyond just dialogue. It started to involve physical actions and how characters moved as well.

I came up with the song ‘Don’t Make Me Sing’ while just standing around like this,” she explained, gesturing to her waist. “I thought, ‘Let’s create something based on this pose,’ because I was feeling stuck and needed a new idea.

Bowen complimented Wiig’s portrayal of Rebecca LaRue, noting she impressively improved after a shaky dress rehearsal and delivered a great performance on the show.

He said he was really surprised by the dress, and didn’t think it came across well. He then questioned what the team had done while broadcasting.

‘It’s probably because it didn’t play. I was like, “I’m gonna go for it,”‘ she said. 

‘But you figured it out! Within 45 minutes to an hour! That’s incredible,’ Bowen said.

‘I don’t remember that,’ Wiig said. 

‘It’s my top three characters that you’ve done on the entire show,’ Rogers said. 

Since leaving Saturday Night Live in 2012, Kristen Wiig has appeared in several films, including the 2016 remake of Ghostbusters, Downsizing (2017), and Wonder Woman 1984 (2020).

In 2020, she married comedian Avi Rothman after four years of dating.

That same year, they welcomed her twins, Shiloh and Luna, via surrogate.

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2026-01-28 19:07