Kate McKinnon

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And in Kate's case, it's homesteading and being in the movie The Roses and writing the second book in her Millicent Quibb series. So I'm so excited to talk to Kate today. And before we do always, we check in with someone who knows our guest, who has a question for our guest. And we have a great one today. Kate's fellow cast member, her chosen sister. You know her from SNL, from shrill. She's an incredible comedian and actress and writer and person, A.D. Bryant. A.D.? Hi! This episode is presented to you by Paul Malov. Some of the best memories you'll ever make or around the dinner table. You'll never regret trying out those new recipes that may or may not go sideways or putting on a spread so big that your in-laws are still talking about it years later. Brownie points. So when it comes to the dishes, it's nice to know that there's a product that works as hard as you do. Paul Malov Ultra removes up to 99.9% of grease, leaving your dishes sparkling clean. Visit paulmalov.com shop now. We're talking to you from Los Angeles? Yeah. That's where I am. That's where you live now. I know. I know. It's weird. A.D.? I had a moment today where I was just excited about talking to you and just thinking about... I know this sounds very basic, but just like the women of SNL. There hasn't been as many as you think. No, totally. It's like a major crew of cool stars and girls. It's true. I think you and I were at a photo shoot and somebody... I feel like we were at the same photo shoot when someone said the number of cast members of SNL, and it wasn't a lot. Totally. I don't know. I felt this at the 50s where then when you have everyone in the room not counting the hosts, you're kind of like, this is little. Like, this is a little group. Yeah. I got a laptop here, so I'm going to see how many cast members... have been on SNL. But yeah. Do you have a guess first? A jelly bean jar guess? Okay, yeah. Let's guess before. Okay, I won't look. Three. You just say like... 140? Is that wrong? Yes. 167. Come on. That's the Black Box Theater, honey. That's just a full Black Box Theater. You always see everything in theater sizes. That's the stadium. But yeah, what I was thinking about, it's a great group. Which I'm very proud to be a part of, and I know you are too. Same. Oh my God. Yeah, it's very overwhelming to me if I think about it at all. I know. Me too. And you and Kate McKinnon, our guests today, were there at the same time. And the people, especially the women that you are there with at the same time, means a lot. So tell everybody when did you guys start? When did you start? And were you starting at the same year or what year? Yeah, well, she had kind of a weird thing where she started like five shows at the end of the previous season. Maya Rudolph did that too. Maya started at like the end of a season. Which that seems like so stressful to me. Same. I kind of don't know how she did it because she also came in alone in that moment. But I think Kate and I, we shared an office and also just we both are scared. And I think we both were also like, we like are both extroverts for our jobs. But I think we're both kind of secretly like introverts who like to be quiet and hidden. And so we bonded over that, I think. It's funny you say that that was one of the questions I had for her today is how she managed being in such an extroverted job as an obvious introvert because I really find her to be a genuine introvert. Yeah, I mean, I think in some ways like it's part of her genius is like she's almost like a recluse who has to go and have like time. But then it's so fruitful. I mean, once like one of the first times I went to her apartment, I was like, oh my god, what are all these cool paintings? And she was like, I did this, you know, and I was like, what, you know, and same like, or we would be writing a sketch and then she would be like, well, get a keyboard and then like be playing a full and you're like, wait, you play the piano. And then like she was like, well, I do play the cello too. Like she is like a sneaky freak who has a million skills and talents, kind of like a savant kind of thing. And that's why she's like mysterious in that way. She is. She definitely is like an onion. Like she and it also not to make it about me, but I'm feeling such shame about the fact that if I knew how to play the cello, you would know it, babe. You'd know it. You'd know it day one. No, I say everywhere I go, I'd be like, well, I do cello, but I do piano too. And I paint a little on the side. But anyway, let's get back to you. Like I would say it would be on my, I guess I'm sorry. I'm one of the greatest sketch comedians of all time too. On that's just like the other thing I do. And I can build tables and garden and like, like I'll take a grande latte, please. I know there's she is and I have to say, I find this with you too. Both of you guys have a very calm energy that's like draws you in. You neither one of you, you're very like come hither. Come hither. That is what everyone always says about me. I'm sexy kind of come hither. You are babe, because you both are like, there's not a lot of push. There's not, yeah, not a lot of push. I think we really helped each other in that way because like, I, you know, especially when you get to SNL, it's so overwhelming. It's like so cool. And I think sometimes we both would have the instinct of like, is it okay for me to leave this party and go home? And we often for each other were like, I would like to let's go. You know, we gave each other permission to like be the ones to go first, basically. That's actually a good friendship. That was really helpful at times, you know, yeah. Yeah. But I'm so honored to be thought of as come hither. That is like, that might be my new like cello like come hither. Miss Pola thinks I'm a come hither. Cut to your cosmetic brand, come hither. Come hither, baby. And you're like, and then you're like, where is it? Where is it being sold? I'll never tell. Before I get to your question for Kate, what's the first stuff you did together and wrote together? You know, one of the first things I think we really started like putting our heads together on stuff were those like girl music videos that we would do kind of like twin bed, I think was one of the first ones. And then we did like back home ballers and a couple after that. But that was like one of our first like we both were like, oh, we like music and let's try this, you know, did you shoot them in the at the Douglas house? Yes, awesome. I feel like our generation was some of the last to still go to the Douglas house because they don't go there anymore. For people listening, the Douglas house was just like a big house about 45 minutes outside of the city where if you watch in the 90s and 2000s, every commercial was shot at, every fake commercial was shot at. Schmidt's gang, like all the oops, I crap my pants, all those for there. And like for our generation, it was like lower back tattoo remover and like the roombo that went up your pants. And it was and just so many mornings like super tired at the Douglas house. Completely. Yeah. Also like I've I would lay in their rooms as if they were my own, just so rudely like I would never do that if I was shooting in someone's house now. But at that time I was like, I got to lay on the floor in here on someone's couch or bed. I don't know. You got to know how anything worked. So I was like, our space. And also I just like what I love about watching you on the show and all the women of SNL and Kate too is just like never worried when you perform. Like never always feeling super relaxed that you're in control of what you're doing, that you have like a deep sense of play and like something natural does happen. I think is the longer you're there, which is just like you get a good case of like the fuck. It's like, who cares? Like let's just try shit. 100%. And you and Kate as seniors were really fun together. Well, we were like doing bad behavior basically. Like what? What was your bad? Well, just I feel like she I mean, she's the number one culprit of this in my time at SNL, which was she would basically perform so funny during the week, so funny during rehearsal. And then at dress or I mean at air, it was just something that you had never seen before. And I would be, you know, like I'd eye with her or whatever. And I'd be like, this bitch is letting it rip. And I'm just like at her mercy, you know, so fun. It's a thrill, you know. Well, I'm excited to talk to her today. And also like a little I'm intrigued by Kate always because Kate is like has a million hobbies and interests and she is, you know, she is not on as a person. She's not like a she's not like you can actually go pretty deep and go into these crevices of her mind. So I'm excited to get there. But what do you think? Do you have any question for her today that you think she might want to be asked or, you know, a story she might want to tell or anything you think you'd want to know? Well, it's funny because I feel like knowing her, I'm like, there's no question she wants to be asked. I've already heard that she's like, she told someone, you know, she was like, Amy's going to look into my soul. And I don't want that. She doesn't want to do this interview. She's going to be. She wants to do no interviews, by the way. I know. Okay. I'm stalling. I guess my question is like, what's her perfect day of solitude, which might include like an indoor activity, probably an outdoor activity, knowing her and also like a meal she would make just for herself. I feel like that's like where she's in her flow state. And I'm like, what's she doing? What's her dream version of that? Or even, you know, how she spends her time like that? That is such a good question because asking somebody about what their, you know, quote, unquote, kind of perfect day tells you so much about them. And I definitely feel like Kate's perfect day is a solo day. Which I like respect massively. Totally. That's a fantastic question. Wait, I feel like there's one last question you should ask Kate. This is just a loose one, but ask her what she used to carry her hair extensions in. Don't know what the answer might be, but I think she might remember what she used to cart those around in. Perfect. Can't wait. All right, Adi, thank you so much for getting on. It's so great to see you. Thank you. Your come here the attitude is, it just drew me in for a minute one, babe. Well, come come here the anytime you wish. Say hi to Connor. Lots of love. Okay. Thank you. Bye. Bye. Oh my god. Wait, McKinnon. Wait, what's going on with this water? Oh, what is this water? Talk to me about this. My jug. Do you try to get through this once a day? I try. I put it away for months at a time. And then I say, where's my jug? Oh my god, how many gallons is in here? This is one gallon. Actually, this is not full, but you can see. This is nice. And do you try to get a gallon a day? No, I mean when I'm doing, when I'm being good and cool. That's why your skin is so good. It's this gallon jug. It's thank you. Yeah, no, it's good because it weighs 25 pounds one fall. So you're getting whatever this is. And it's really good in a zoom because it's funny. Your zoom is flagging. And then you bring this into frame without intro-ing it. That's another five minutes of material for your zoom. I love this jug. Thank you so much. Here you can. May I? I'm going to put it, I'm just going to put it over here for continuity. Yeah. So we can make sure that it doesn't, as Lauren say, co-star. Okay. I know, thank you. Yes. Let the audience come to you when in doubt seduce and keep your jug on the floor. Try to get your jugs all the way to the floor if you get. Hi, friend. Hey. Hi. You're beautiful. Congratulations on this. Thank you. I'm so happy that you're here. I'm very happy to be here. I know that you do not like to do interviews. Well, and my first question is just something very, very simple, which is, what is God's plan for us? God has gone. God has jumped ship. God is taking a break. And gone to a different universe. God was like, God was like, yikes. Miss, that was a miss and I shall, I'll let them do it. Yeah, we are, d-d-dood, capital D-dood. No, I know that you don't like love interviews, but I think what is so special about you, Kate, is I feel like you just deep end it pretty fast. Like you like deep end complex conversations. Bless you for saying so. I'd like to, what is your sign? Virgo. Got it. Capricorn. Oh, of course. Good. Finally, finally, a reasonable person. And your Myers-Briggs. E-N-T-J. Got it. Good. What's yours? Good. I-N-F-P. Yes, you're a definite I. Good. And also your enneagram? Four. Wing five. Of course you're a four. What are you? I'm an eight. And that's the one. Eight wing nine. I'm the challenger. The challenger. And you are the romantic. The asshole. Sensitivo. I was going to say I'm the asshole. No, no, I'm the asshole. Oh my God, so funny. I thought I was the asshole. Wait, but what is eight again? Eight is the challenger. So eight is the likes to lead. Has problems with vulnerability. Problems with vulnerability. So like doesn't go with feelings first, action first. Four is lots of feelings. Yeah. Right? So if you're at Thanksgiving, the eight is maybe at the table arguing about vaccines or something. The four is in the basement looking through photo albums of old Thanksgiving's. Yes. Would that make sense? Yes. And saying stuff like it's all over. Yes. Okay. Awesome. Like we are doomed. Like God is God is God. And I need you to also to know that my face is covered in poison ivy. Can't see. Okay. Can't see one piece of evidence for it. Let me see the little dots on my neck. Can't see at all. You're incredible makeup artist who we love. Yes, who we love. Cassie. Yes, Garcia. Who also I work with. Yes. Incredible. She's always, she relays messages between the two of us. Same. Yeah. She's like, I saw Kate. Kate said hi. It's really nice. And you could not tell for one minute that you have poison ivy on your face. But I know that you are like an outdoor cat. Outdoor cat, indoor cat, but you are, you live, you're basically you've gone, you've gone to the farm. I've gone rogue. You've gone rogue. Yes. I remember so clearly. I believe we were in, maybe we were at the Kennedy Center Honors in DC or something. And I was telling you about my desire to go to the woods. And you were like, in New York, the nature that we have is our pets. And we need more nature than that. Yes. And so that I always had that in my head. And I, I did it. You did it. How does it feel? Oh, it's the best. I belong on the homestead. Yeah, I believe it. I belong on the homestead. I believe it. Did you feel that way when you were younger? Did you feel an affinity to nature? Were you that kind of person, like young kid who liked to be in the woods? I loved bugs and science and making nature crafts. I remember making little bits of mud and putting them in places. And I remember every time we went to a seafood restaurant, I would say, Mom, can I take the empty clam, muscle, and lobster shells home with me and put them in the bathtub? And after rinsing them of marinara sauce, she would let me put them in the bathtub. And, and I would get in with them and just enjoy that. And so, yes, I did always love. Did you? Well, I kind of liked adventure. I liked the idea of being alone. Like I liked getting on my bike and riding through the neighborhood, like feeling alone. But talk to me about, without, you know, obviously revealing anything too personal, what is your homestead? What do you do on your homestead? Talk to me about what happens there. Are you farming? I think the reason I've, I've done it is that I believe very much that we are doomed. And I want, my goal is, is surviving the apocalypse for days. Okay, that's it. If I can make it to four, I will have achieved something a long weekend, like a holiday weekend. That's such a good, that's such a funny thing to think about is what it would take for four days. It's, it's more, it's more food than you think, obviously. It is. Yeah. Yeah. And I would, I know I wouldn't make it past two hours, but I'd like to think that I could go 48. And I would be crying the whole time as a four-wing five. But I would like the lack of invitations to social gatherings in the apocalypse. That would be fun. Okay, you are a true introvert. Which I am ashamed of because I love people. I am fascinated by and love to talk to and listen to people. But the word fascinated is the part. You are fascinated by people. People are, that's what I think I feel from you is a fascination and a curiosity about the world and people. That is what is so compelling about being around you is you are very curious about many things. But I sense that people in general, like a lot of people, it's just, it's not really your gig. It's just like one-on-one people feels like or two-on-one. Whoever you like it, one-on-one, two-on-one. But you know, but when we were talking about you going, like getting back into nature and kind of checking out, I think it was in the context of New York City being overwhelming and you being there for a long time because you lived in the city for how many years? 20. And you were on SNL for how many years? 10. And every day you saw hundreds of people. This is the poison I was, it's just acting up a hair, excuse me. At any point you need a cold compress. And so you were like, it was fascinating that you were in a bustling city on a bustling show and it makes total sense that you want to go somewhere and just get a little bit quieter and more peaceful after that experience. How does an introverted person like you, how did you manage the hugeness that was that show? It's such chaos. Do you want me to do an impression of myself at the after party? Yeah. Okay, so you are, let's say you're an agent that I know. Great. Okay, okay, and I'll just be talking to you. Okay. Really close, really quiet. Tell me about your parents, you know, that kind of thing. Yeah. You want it, but that's what I'm talking about. You like a one-on-one connection. You like people, you want connection. I really do. Yeah. When I watch you on SNL, you're so connected to what you're doing. You're very relaxing to watch because you don't seem nervous. But was that all, am I getting it totally wrong? Like was inside, werely swirly or was the inside kind of peaceful when you, were you in the zone when you would perform? Oh gosh. Oh gosh. Always terribly nervous, horrifically nervous, less so at dress. I always felt I did my best at dress and then air was just less good because I was thinking about the cameras. But when it was just dress and just, I could really sometimes, if I was really in it, feel like I was in dialogue with the people in the audience and we were sharing something. You know, I feel like sketch is like, you see something that you love that delights you and you're like just showing it to people and then you're like, do you guys like it too? Because I think this is funny and if they do, then you're like, you have a connection. And I felt sometimes like I was just with friends. I mean, Lauren said that, I'm sure. It should feel like you're in your living room, play. Oh, it's good. And I did get to that point. You definitely did. I mean, first of all, we got to see, I mean, this might make you uncomfortable, this kind of praise, but I feel like there's, here she goes. Okay, hold on, hang on, praise is coming. Okay? Praise is coming. Praise is coming. There are people on that show that I felt were naturals on that show. Now, whether or not they felt natural is their own personal story, but you, Maya Rudolph, this is my opinion, you Maya Rudolph, Dana Carvey, Will Ferrell, people who just kind of came onto the show, fit right in and just became just like instant captains, just instant crushers, just so good at that show. Because that show needs a specific kind of something. I don't know. I don't even know. And I always felt that from you, just this calm confidence when you were performing. And it's interesting to know that inside you were not feeling that way. What did you do when you were not feeling like you did well? How did you manage that feeling? I mean, I can't think of any time you didn't do well, but it's so fun. I'm sure you felt that. There were plenty of desperate failures that haunt me even now. I know a lot of failures and they still sometimes I'll think of something that didn't work or that I just couldn't get there in time with the writing or the performing. And it still stings. And I still feel shame and that's on me. But I also have made the terrible mistake of reading stuff on the Internet, which I truly wish I could go back and have never looked at the Internet because it has that haunts me as well. And also, you just cannot remember the good things. You just can't remember. No. For the hundred good things. You just can't conjure them up, but the one bad one you'll never forget. Yeah. There are phrases that I have read that... Not even that mean? Right. Sure. Not unfounded. Like things with a kernel of truth. Like thoughtful critiques that I agreed with that have ruined my life. That will be on your head still. Okay. But so, did you have any... Okay. Talk like, did you like to rehearse all the time? Were you in your room rehearsed? Were you the kind of performer, you're in your room before you're doing your sketch, quiet and intensely working on it? Did you like to play around and stay loose before a scene? Because I didn't really ever get a chance to work with you very much. We only did a few small things together. Did you like to be alone and get ready for stuff? Or did you like to stay loose and... You know what I mean? Yeah. I think I mostly like to wing it. I... there were like a... I don't know if you can relate. If it was like a just a two-person scene that was like really a scene that required like... Your eyes are so beautiful. I'm mine. Yes. My god, Kate. You know what? You shun my cousin. And I'm having trouble concentrating on what I was saying. I um... Love you. Hey, you too. My queen, my queen. If it was like a two person scene with a lot of lines, I would try to not memorize but become very intimately familiar with the lines. I could feel that that you liked to know your lines, which some people don't really try to do because people don't know, but it changes a lot at SNL. So sometimes you're a little screwed if you know your lines too well. Right, right. So if it was like not changing that much, it was like a like more acting... Yeah. Scene I would sort of like to like run through it a few times, but otherwise I liked to wing it. That's what I mean is you have... You had a very groovy flow in a lot of the stuff they did. And so who knew, babe, that inside was, you know, a bunch of mice carrying ladders and stuff like... Like who knew? And so when we talked about you like hitting the road and getting homesteading basically, what I feel like was underneath that was like, here's the new next chapter of the version of my life. Like, you know, if my life is a book, I'm interested in what the next chapter is. What is the... What would you like... What would you title this chapter of your life post SNL? Growing your own food, prepping for the apocalypse. My goodness. What would you say... What era are you in? Getting real. Getting real. Or 41. Or... Getting within apostrophe. Getting real. Well, let's be honest, I feel like I had one dream. One dream. It was SNL. Did it? Done. Loved it. Awesome. Not quite sure. Not quite sure what to really be like single-minded about. I love filming movies and the small amount of episodic television I've done. What do you love about making movies? I love being able to... I love going somewhere for a month or two and walking around and falling in love with 80 new people and the circus, the camp of it, the summer camp. You went to camp? I never did. Oh my God. I went to a day camp, but I never went away. I would have loved to have gone away from home. But yeah, just this idea that you had this stolen time almost in another place. You can be anything. And I love that. And I also love... I just love movies. I think they're wonderful as a medium. And I love doing a scene as scripted and then trying it 80 different ways. And they pick the best one and as opposed to like you've got one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted. Are you... will you capture it or will you let it slip? Do not miss your chance because opportunity comes once in a lifetime. But that was what SNL was. So you did it so well. So you feel like you... Yeah, I hear what you're saying. It's like, okay, I did that. I did that to the best of my ability. Now I want to practice my backhand basically or not even my backhand. Just try a new shot. Yeah, yeah. Totally. Like I loved doing pre-taped pieces because for that very reason and I have loved, truly loved every experience I've had working on a film. So I'd love to do more of that. But there's only so many hours in a year that, you know, SNL took up so much of all of our lives and when it's over, it just leaves a time hole. And so I had to film a time hole. And that's the name of your workshop. Fill your time hole with Kate McKinnon. And so I've done that. I've tried to be useful in growing food and I've also taken up carpentry as well. Okay, I've heard about this. Can you talk to me about the materials you're using because I know a little bit about woodworking from Nick Hoffman. Right, from Nick Hoffman. Have you spoken to Nick? I've never... No, like I mean, I've meant to. He has an amazing workshop and he's such a good teacher and share of knowledge. And tell me what you like about woodworking and carpentry. What's your favorite part? It is... Well, I think it's in my genes because my grandfather was a woodworker. My father was an architect. And I just... I love the practicality of... You can manipulate this material and then you can spend time in it. How crazy is that? You can sit on it. I love to sit on things I do. It's just so much... It's a sketch, a book, or something. It's so ephemeral. And to say, I will sleep on what I did today is like... That's like life. That's cool. It's so satisfying. What materials do you like to work with? What kind of wood? I've been doing mostly trim carpentry, which is moldings and paneling. And I've been using reclaimed hemlock for that mostly. You've been making your own moldings? Yes. And I thought I was the only one. Then I'm backstage at that SNL 50 concert. I'm talking to Brandy Carlyle. She's doing trim carpentry. I'm like, Brand, of course you are. She's like, John Stewart's doing his trim. I'm like... Turned out it's trite what I'm doing. Everyone's doing trim carpentry. You're doing trim carpentry, I know. I mean... People think I'm doing trim carpentry, but I'm not. So when you're making stuff like when you're working with wood, what happens when you make a mistake? Because I'm asking, I'm very intimidated by working with wood. I feel like if you measure wrong, you're fucked like you can't. What do you just kind of... I put it up inside the home anyway. I have absolutely decreased the property value of the house with my shoddy work. Yes, I know that I have. It is not Brandy Carlyle level. No, nothing is. That's true. That's true. What do you want to make? What's the dream thing you want to eventually make? Do you want to move on from molding and moldings and do you want to make furniture? Do you make furniture? I made a table. Dang. That was cool. But honestly, I would like to move into plumbing and electrical. I would like to have all the skills of a general contractor. I love that. I love that. I don't know. Well, because the end is near. And you know, we have to... Well, someone's got to wire the shelter. Yeah, exactly. If we're going to get one more day in that shelter, we're going to need to fix the toilet. Yeah. I so relate. Okay. I mean, I have no doubt you will. I have no doubt you'll learn about plumbing. I mean, that's a ways away. You think so? Well, it's someone's job for a reason. That's a two-year certificate at minimum. Yeah. So, but yes, I would like to acquire all of those, the skills that can make a home function for four days. Zep bound is approved as a 2.5, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 or 15 milligram injection. 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Side effects include nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting, which can cause dehydration and worsen kidney problems. Talk to your doctor. Call 1-800-545-5979 or visit Zepbound.Lily.com. Zep bound and its delivery device base in QuickPin are registered trademarks owned or licensed by Eli Lilly & Company. It's subsidiaries or affiliates. There's nothing like your first Mac. Here's what people online are sharing. At Dr. Rainne says, everything is just so smooth and fast I still can't get over it. Sinking stuff between my phone and this is just chef's kiss. At Mr. Incredible 488 says, Apple Silicon basically cures low battery trauma. That's how they felt with their first Mac. How will you? Introducing the all-new Mac book, Neo. An amazing Mac at a surprising price. Find out more on apple.com. This episode is brought to you by Tax Act. Look, nobody wakes up excited to do taxes. Luckily, Tax Act makes tax season easy, walking you through every step of the way. Get tips along the way. Add expert assist to talk to tax experts. Or let our experts do your taxes for you with expert full service. Tax Act helps you find the deductions and credits you deserve. So you can get them over with. Visit taxact.com to learn more. Conditions apply. See taxact.com for details. Well, what I like about this conversation is that I feel like we're going out in the woods and then we're coming back into the city. Yeah, back and forth. So coming back into the city, if I can. Can you speak about the last show of yours at SNL? Because I remember that feeling very powerful and very moving. And I think we spoke about it and it was for you. It was a very beautiful send-off where you walk up into the stairs as Ms. Rafferty Yeah, yeah. Meeting the aliens. Finally, maybe. We don't know. Or finally meeting, you know, or them taking you away. Or you willingly going. We don't know. What do you think happened to her and you? But that walk up the stairs and like the wave goodbye was really beautiful and really cool. What was the last, what was your last show like? I thought it was really beautiful too. It was not my pitch. That was Streeter's. I don't know, and Mikey Day came up with that. My pitch was that I did this character Sheila Sauvage, the bar fly. And my pitch was that I would tongue every single person in the guest in a line. And you know, I thought ultimately that the alien thing was a little more meaningful and had a better tone. So we went with that. So everyone narrowly missed sucking my face. A good vice. A good vice. A good by tonging. But that was very emotional because it was everything. I mean, you did over 200 shows or something. Everything to me. And those people are everything to me. Jenna. Yeah. Chris Kelly, everybody. And Lorne, who has been a surrogate father to me. And I could cry now thinking about what he has been to me in my life, as I'm sure we all could. Can you speak a little bit more? What has he done to, like what was your relationship with him like? Well, my father passed when I was 18. I loved my father beyond. And he, Lorne, just was nothing but paternal. And when you have somehow by the grace of whatever earned the esteem of a man like that, a man who's that like larger than life, it just, it means everything. And so I was like, just sad to go. I had to, I had reached a point where I was like yawning during the show. And that just did not, that was not working for me physically anymore. And there you have it. But it didn't mean I wanted to get away from those folks. You love those folks. You love those folks. And boy, Kate, they love you. You know who loves you so much. And there's a million people who do. Seth Meyers. He loves you. He, you are, he just is like, and again, praise coming in, prepare. But you were just such a natural captain when you were in there on that show. You just, you led that show through a lot of years and you were in a lot of sketches. And you were doing a lot. You were, you were carrying a lot on your shoulders in that show, whether or not you felt it or not. And you were, you were being asked to do really big playing like really for quote unquote, like important people at important times, whether it's Hillary Clinton or Rudy Giuliani or like you were playing all the, it was the world, you, the world is nuts. And it's weird. And I know from experience, because we both played political figures to play people in real time that are also existing in real time in the world. And there's real world consequences. And it's very strange. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yeah. What was it? What, what, how did it feel? Did you feel any responsibility when you're playing anybody? Or did you have to kind of let that go and not worry about it? No, mama, I felt a lot of, I felt a lot. Yeah. I'm sorry, just to talk about Seth for one second. Yes. Let's go back to Seth. When Seth left, it was in February. That was another, that I felt like I only overlapped with him for two or three years or so. But he, and he is not very much older than me, but I felt like he was like, had a paternal, you know, thing. And like when he left, oh my God, I was so crushed. And I forget that life goes on and you like, you form, you know, other connections and stuff. But that was like, oh, I love that guy. Yeah. Yikes. Any horse. What were we saying about politics? Politics. Well, it's a double-edged sword. I felt, and you let me know how this lands for you. Yeah. But I felt it was a double-edged sword in that I felt like I was really doing something with my life, something meaningful being engaged in the most peripheral possible way in culture, in history. Yeah. In the, like, yeah, just on the sidelines putting on a wig, you know, doing little songs about whatever was actually going on. But being in the smallest way a part of that felt like I was doing something meaningful. And with that came, you know, like there was one article that was like, will she hurt Hillary Clinton? Oh, God. And I was like, y'all, y'all, shouldn't read, should not have read, right, should never have looked. But that, like that notion just broke my brain. And like, I, obviously, no one, I think doing a satire has the power to actually influence. But I did not want to hurt anybody. Even people I vehemently disagreed with politically. Like, I still didn't want to ever hurt anyone's feelings. And so, yeah, there was some balancing to do there. Did you ever meet anybody while you were dressed as them? Yes, I met Secretary Clinton, Senator Warren, that was, oh, awesome. Oh my gosh. Oh, you guys did a really fun, you guys did like a switch, a TikTok switcheroo. Yeah. She was like, after there was some vote on the floor of Congress, I believe it was on January 6th about, I forget what it was, and all the Democrats were saying no, and all the Republicans were saying, yes, I forget what about, but they were going down the list calling the names of all the Democratic senators and everyone was saying no, no, no. And then it got to her and she was like, no. And then I know it's a question you get asked all the time, but I do love this question, which is, well, too, did you watch, did you ever go on the server and watch sketches that bombed? We used to watch our sketch. Do you like, do you kind of like it when sketches bomb a little bit? Like, did you ever enjoy that? And did you ever watch a sketch that like didn't make it? We used to go and watch our sketches from Dress that bombed and just like, and just watch it together, like, you know, kind of like process it together. And it was just like such a nice feeling, basically just a reminder that everybody bombs, basically. Did you ever do that? Yes, there were a few, a few hits that we would watch over and over again. There was one, there was one rehearsal where a person I won't say who simply stopped doing the sketch and sat down on the stage. Sure. That was a fun watch. And yeah, just stuff like that. Yes, we had a, we had a host again, I won't say who, who like halfway through just kind of fell asleep a little bit. Yeah. And it was like, this was during Dress. I was like, okay, well, I guess we're, I guess this character is asleep now. Don't blame him. Agree. It's lame to sit down. And it's, it's a tough gig. Did you find that hosting was so much harder than you could have ever imagined? Yeah, I wanted to be back with the like, I didn't want to be in, I, yeah, I know. I wanted to be like, I kept being like, what are you guys doing over there? Like, I kept wanting to be over there. Yeah. Yeah. And who did you love? Who, who, what host did you love? Like, that you just think about, you're just like, oh my God, that's so like, I remember really loving Amy Adams. Yes. And Lee Blunt. Yes. Um, I, a lot, those are the two that pop into my mind, but just I loved, I loved actresses who were wonderful comedic actresses and also actresses. Oh, that's so interesting. At what time was your first? I enjoyed weirdly often athletes because they wanted to be coached. And they would be like, how do you want me to say it? How do you want me to do it? And I'd be like, oh, thank God, this is exactly how I want you to do it. You know, and they felt really good about that. Like there was no, and they would, if they scored, they were like, yay. And if they did, they were like, this isn't my gig. Like they just, they didn't, they didn't feel, and it relaxed me. It relaxed me when athletes would host. Or people like that, people who are just like, this is a, this is so weird that I'm here. Charles Barkley ever host when you were there? No, did you love? Oh my God. I loved him. Now there's a funny athlete, Jesus Christ. He may be the funniest man alive. And I did do one of my bar fly sketches with him. So I have, his tongue has been in my mouth. And I, it was nice. Fantastic. Okay. So we do this thing in the show where we talk to people before our interview. I don't know if you know this. We talk well behind their back. We talk to somebody who knows them. And they give me, they give me a question to ask them. So we talked to 80 Bryant today, the great 80. Oh, here we go. Tears, waterworks. 80 and you, like tell me a little bit about what 80, what it meant to have 80 there when you were there and like working with her. What was, what was your relationship like? I mean, she taught me about like, so much about comedy, but she also taught me about just like being a person. Comedy is, I mean, she's a genius, but like just one of the most solid people I've ever known. And I, she just, she, like when I moved into my apartment, she was like, invest in your base, which she was basically telling me to get kind of okay furniture, which like I wasn't planning on doing. But she just, she, I think in many ways she taught me how to live and how to be okay. Even in silence, I was like, okay, this is my sister. Everyone here is my friend. This is my sister. Mmm. I, we were rewatching the sketch today of you and 80 as the, as I think it was Henrietta and Nan, the PowerPoint ladies who couldn't get the PowerPoint to work. It was, I was reminded of 15 more of those right now. I was reminded of that the other day. And I was asking the gal who wrote it, did you come up with the phrase didgy files? And she said, no, that was 80. Diggy files. I like what 80 says. And when 80 says, I don't think I can learn anything anymore. I don't think I can learn anything new anymore. Oh my God. That, oh, it's, and, and okay. So 80 had a question for you, which is, should two great questions for you? One is, ask Kate what she used to carry her hair extensions around in. Do you remember? It was a, it was a tiny linen drawstring polka dot bag that I think she gave me. Great. It seemed like an item that 80 would have because it was polka dotted. And it was like sweet and drawstring. Okay. So I'm going to take your word for it. Well, there's no way we can check. And then the second question was, what would be your ideal day? Because we were kind of talking about what we were talking about earlier, that there's this part of you that like, loves that feeling of performing and being, you know, meeting 80 new people and being on the road and being part of the circus. And then there's a part of you that wants to kind of be in the woods and in nature and be in kind of a peaceful version of your life. What is Kate McKinnon's perfect day? How would it go? I would wake with the sun. I would garden for a couple hours, do carpentry for a couple hours, and then gather my mother and sister, the loves of my life, or some other folks that I love and make pasta together and eat it from scratch. Damn. That was my 40th birthday party. It was a pasta making party with my family and my best friend and her family. That sounds great. My 40th. Yeah, my 40th, I was still filming Parks and Rec. So it was like a bar somewhere in the middle of filming. My 50th, I had a dance party. And that was so fun because I love dancing and I prefer dancing over talking. Yes. Do you like to dance? I love to dance and I also prefer dancing. Like, I will leave a party after 10 minutes if it's just talking because I can't. 80s said the same thing that you two gave each other a lot of permission to leave parties, which is what friendship is all about. Okay, we're going to talk about your incredible book because, and I want to talk to you about books, but I want to just do a very quick rapid fire. Okay, number one gardening tip. Or any gardening tip. Compost. It's all about compost. Oh, God. It's no, it's a pain in the ass. Yeah, I got to do it. Yeah. Okay. It's terrible. Favorite ice cream flavor. Chocolate fudge brownie. You said that really casually. Do you not like ice cream? No, I love it. Okay. Favorite childhood movie? The producers. We watch the producers every week in our house. Favorite books growing up? World Doll. And I loved A Good Atlas. I loved a book about geography. Are you good at... Cultures of the world. I do love geography. Do you have a good geographical sense? I would say yes. When you know, like when you are standing somewhere, you want to know where north is and you talk that way, like it's west of the highway. Yes. And you know where countries are. I do. That I do. That's great. I love the countries and I love to know their capitals and I love knowing countries and capitals. It's a hobby. I'm going to give you one. Argentina. Buenos Aires. Canada. Ottawa. China. Beijing. Costa Rica. Well, no, is it San Juan? Close. No, it's San Jose. Is it? Yep. San Jose. Please, God. Okay, thank you. Let's see, Ethiopia. Addis Ababa. Dang. Hungary. Budapest. Iran. Tehran. Libya. Tripoli. And the last one is the capital of Senegal. Is it? No. Accra is the capital of Ghana and the capital of Senegal is... Fuck me. I knew this. I really... It's with an R? Yeah, there's an R at the end. It's Dakar. Yes. Fuck. Shit. Kate, that's impressive. Hobby. In fact, during a read-through at SNL, when I wasn't in any sketches, I just was practicing my capitals for fun. So let's talk about the Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science. Your second book, incredible. Congratulations. Thank you. You have a series now, the Millicent Quibb series, and you have one and two, and two is out. Yes. And is a New York Times bestseller. Tell us about this book, why you wrote it, what's it about? Well, I started writing it 12 years ago before SNL. Amazing. And then I just kind of kept at it intermittently throughout that time. And I love middle grade literature because I think it has things in common with sketch comedy, i.e. funny hair and funny names. And a sense of hope. Yeah. And questions of identity and questions of belonging. A sketch is often about a fly in the ointment, an odd man out. I wanted to write about being a 12-year-old girl in a repressive turn of the century town. I didn't grow up in a repressive turn of the century town, but I grew up in a town with normal folks and I felt like a freak. I think every 12-year-old feels like a freak. And I loved science and I loved bugs and I loved icky stuff. And I was fortunate enough to have adults in my orbit who were funny and weird, my parents among them and a lot of my teachers. And I think having that kind of a mentor who celebrates what is unique about you instead of stepping on it is absolutely instrumental. And so I wanted to write about a mad scientist who's a pariah in this town who takes these little weirdos under her wing and teaches them mad science and they fight the bad guys and have adventures. And I wanted to write something that hopefully would inspire young people to go outside for the first time in days. And touch girls. Touch girls, as they say. And I mean, the times of my childhood which was before cell phones, which are just the best time. I mean, one day me and Alexis North found like a fox skull in like someone's hedges and like there was an earwig in it and it was the great, talk about the best day of my life. Oh my god, the earwigs and that fox skull, we were just like, the world is a magic. It's made of magic. And I wish children had some more access to that kind of stuff today. Yes, yes. And I wanted to inspire them to go outside and touch a book. Okay, well, I feel like, you know, this interview started with you worrying that you weren't going to be funny or something. Like, remember that? I feel I wasn't. I'd like to start again, please. You're not. You're so nuts. But I want to finish the last thing, which is I think people in comedy are, as we know, they're all different kinds of people. Do people come up and expect you to be a certain way? And are they surprised when you are quieter and more reserved or more introverted than you, then they expect you to be? I think they are. And sometimes they're disappointed and vocal about that. I've gotten a lot of, wow, you're not funny in real life. Or speak up. What? I've gotten, I've gotten, you're so serious for a comedian. Yeah. You're being very serious. Oh, you're being very serious. Well, or, oh, that's not funny. I've had that. I'm like, well, I'm sorry, it isn't. It wasn't very funny. Anyway, nice to meet you. Oh, shit. I got to ask you one question. Oh, fuck. I forgot one question. And it's the best question. It is the best one to ask you. Go for it. What is making you laugh these days? What are you, what, what, what are you watching, reading, listening to, watching a video of when you need to lighten up? I'll tell you. There's a man on YouTube, can't wait, from Australia. He cleans drains. He clears hopelessly disgusting clogged restaurant drains filled with grease. I love unclogging videos. This man is saying, you never see his face. He is enthusiasm on two feet. He says, he'll say, oh, you guys, this is what dreams are made of. Can you believe we get to be clearing these drain? These ones, chock-a-block. Let's fire up the jet. Oh, you little ripper. Come on, you good thing. Like he has like, and it's about, and then he'll be like, oh, these are cockroach. Oh, there's some corn there. Toilet paper. Oh, this is what dreams are made of, you guys. And I just, I love enthusiasm. And I would recommend it's called drain cleaning Australia. Okay, I'm just going to watch one little thing before he goes up. Amazing. Drain cleaning Australia. Also, I love his commentary about what he finds. Yeah. Okay, standby. This one says sewage spraying into the sky. Is that good? Okay, here we go. We're back before I never block dry and mate. And I'm just going to let the lovely customer know that we're here. Get high mate. Bruce from dry and cleaning Australia. He goes to meet the people first. Let's see. Let's, and he's, oh, sorry, we got a commercial. You pay for you. You don't pay for YouTube. You don't pay for YouTube. Are you kidding me? The price? They want me to pay to cut out the commercials? No. I'll wait until the skip button. Okay, here we go. You little ripper. Hey. Wow, you can see all the tree roots still down there. So we punched a hole through the blocking. I get it. I get it. Tree roots are the least of his problems. Usually it's like a, a, a doxin sized piece of hair or, or grease or human shit. It is. And he's like, woohoo. Woohoo, you little ripper. Kate, thank you for being here. Thank you. I can't tell if your eyes are green or blue. I think they're both. And it doesn't matter. All that matters is today. Yeah. All that matters is you. Thank you, Kate McKinnon. You are so interesting to talk to. And I love being around you and your beautiful skin. Check out Kate's book. And you know, in this polar plunge, I, I just wanted to talk about the books that I loved when I was in middle school. There were many, many series of books that I loved, but we talked a lot about homesteading today and growing your own vegetables and pulling potatoes out of the earth. And it made me think about Little House on the Prairie and Laura Ingalls Wilder and, um, God, I just, I loved those books. And, and here's a tip in my polar plunge. If you need to take a wonderful nap, put on an old episode of Little House on the Prairie and the sound of the clip, clop of the horses and the music and like, and then paw just coming in from the cold and somebody putting like a, a hot cake on the fire. It's just going to knock you out. You're going to go right to sleep. So read the books, incredible books from Laura Ingalls Wilder. Watch the TV show and try to stay up as long as you can while you do. Okay. Thanks so much for listening. Thanks, Kate, for being here. I love talking to you and see you soon. Bye. You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weisberman and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paper Kite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Katz Belain, Kaya McMullen and Alea Zanaris. For Paper Kite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell and Jenna Weisberman. Original music by Amy Miles. This episode is brought to you by Tax Act. Look, nobody wakes up excited to do taxes. Luckily, Tax Act makes tax season easy, walking you through every step of the way. Get tips along the way, add expert assist to talk to tax experts or let our experts do your taxes for you with expert full service. Tax Act helps you find the deductions and credits you deserve so you can get them over with. Visit taxact.com to learn more. Conditions apply. See taxact.com for details. Thank you for being a Hilton Honors Gold member. Enjoy your daily food and beverage credit. And now that nightcap in the lounge can feel like... It matters where you stay. With Hilton Honors, earn the most valuable gold status faster and unlock benefits at over 9,000 locations worldwide. Hilton, for this day.