The Most Memorable ‘S.N.L.’ Sketches Where Actors Break Character

In one of the most popular sketches of the last few seasons of “Saturday Night Live,” Heidi Gardner lost it.

Playing a sober-faced news anchor, she suddenly broke character, convulsing in laughter after seeing her cast mate Mikey Day sitting in the audience of a town hall dressed up to look like Butt-Head from “Beavis and Butt-Head”:

In an interview about this viral moment, she described feeling guilty about it. Lorne Michaels, the longtime producer of the sketch show, has a reputation for hating it when cast members break character.

But over 50 seasons, so many “S.N.L.” performers have done just that (some repeatedly) that it has become one of the show’s signature moves, inadvertent or not — one that usually delights the studio audience and viewers at home. Bill Hader, who often broke, has said, “I think Lorne secretly loved it.”

In general, breaking during a performance, whether it’s a play or a sketch, is considered unprofessional. The argument is that it panders for laughs, destroys the suspension of disbelief and draws attention to the person laughing at the expense of the scene.