Andy Samberg is shedding light on his challenging decision to leave “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) in 2012. In a candid conversation on Kevin Hart’s Peacock show “Hart to Heart,” the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star, now 45, revealed that his departure from the iconic sketch comedy show was driven by a need to prioritize his physical and mental well-being.
“For me, it was like I can’t actually endure it anymore,” Samberg confessed. “Physically and emotionally. I was falling apart in my life.” The intense schedule at SNL, which required long hours of writing for the live show and creating new digital shorts weekly, took a significant toll on him. “Physically, it was taking a heavy toll on me, and I got to a place where I hadn’t slept in seven years,” he explained. “It’s basically like four days a week you’re not sleeping, for seven years. I just kind of fell apart physically.”
Samberg joined SNL in 2005 and quickly became a standout performer, particularly through his work with the comedy trio The Lonely Island. Their digital shorts, such as “Lazy Sunday” and “I’m on a Boat,” became viral sensations in the early days of YouTube. Despite his success, the grueling demands of the job led him to a breaking point.
In 2012, Samberg announced his departure from SNL, telling Entertainment Weekly at the time, “It wasn’t a decision I made lightly or quickly. I will miss everyone there.” Reflecting on his decision with Hart, Samberg noted that he didn’t want to leave the show, as the ability to bring an idea to television within days was “intoxicating.” However, he felt compelled to step away to regain his mental and physical health, a choice he described as “very difficult.”
Samberg also shared that when he confided in others about his reasons for leaving, they understood immediately. “Everyone was like, ‘Oh, same,'” he said. “No one was like, ‘What?’ Everyone was like, ‘Oh, yes, yes. This is just what happens.’ Like, you hit a wall. We’re not built to operate that way.”
Another factor in his decision was the departure of his Lonely Island collaborators, Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Samberg felt he couldn’t continue making digital shorts, especially songs, without them. Amy Poehler, who had left SNL before him, also gave him the confidence to walk away after he appeared in a guest role on her sitcom “Parks and Recreation.” She told him that the lifestyle outside of SNL was “pretty comfortable.”
In 2013, Samberg took on the role of Jake Peralta in the sitcom “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which ran until 2021. The show was co-created by Mike Schur, who also co-created “Parks and Recreation.” Two years after leaving SNL, Samberg returned as a host in 2014.
Samberg previously discussed his departure on “The Opie & Anthony Show” in 2012, describing SNL as his “dream job.” He explained that although he could have stayed another year and enjoyed it, he felt internally that it was time to move on. “I think I could have done another year and had a great time, but for whatever reason, just internally, inside, I felt like it was time,” he said. “I can’t really explain it.”
During his recent interview with Hart, Samberg elaborated on the toll the SNL schedule took on him. “We were writing stuff for the live show Tuesday night all night, the table read Wednesday, then being told, ‘Now come up with a digital short,’ so write all Thursday, all Thursday night, don’t sleep, get up, shoot Friday, edit all night Friday night and into Saturday. So it’s basically like four days a week you’re not sleeping, for seven years. So I just kinda fell apart physically.”
Samberg also discussed how the departure of Schaffer and Taccone left him in charge of the digital shorts. “I was basically left in charge of making the shorts … I never pretended like I could do without them,” he said. “We made stuff I’m really proud of in my last two years, but there’s something about the songs that I can only do with Akiva and Jorm. It’s just how it is, we’re just a band in that way.”
He sought advice from former SNL cast members like Amy Poehler before making his decision. “I had talked to [Amy] Poehler and other people that had already gone. I was like, once I go, when I have an idea, I can’t just do it,” he said. “The craziest thing about working there is once you get going, if you’re just in the shower and you have an idea, that shit can be on television in three days, which is the most, like, intoxicating feeling.”
Despite SNL executives asking him to extend his contract, Samberg felt he needed to leave to regain his health. “They told me straight up, ‘We prefer you would stay,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that makes it harder.’ But I just was like, I think to get back to a feeling of like mental and physical health, I have to do it,” he said. “So I did it, and it was a very difficult choice. It was hard. I didn’t like leaving.”
Ultimately, it was the grueling schedule at SNL that led Samberg to leave. “Physically, it was taking a heavy toll on me, and I got to a place where I hadn’t slept in seven years, basically. We were writing stuff for the live show Tuesday night all night, the table read Wednesday, then being told, ‘Now come up with a digital short,’ so write all Thursday, all Thursday night, don’t sleep, get up, shoot Friday, edit all night Friday night and into Saturday, so it’s basically like four days a week you’re not sleeping, for seven years. So I just kinda fell apart physically.”
Source: USA Today, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety
