The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast
Breaking Down Mike O'Brien's SNL Digital Shorts
Mon, 27 Jan 2025
Special Guest Mike O’Brien joins the podcast to breakdown some of his most memorable shorts on SNL including The Jay Z Story, 7 Minutes in Heaven, Dragon Babies, Sad Mouse, Technology Hump, and more! Sad Mouse - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSDBWIECtbA The Jay Z Story - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzg9Iu0uEeg Prom Queen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFqHiMkVvxo Grow-a-Guy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDkCiQ-z5O0 Dragon Babies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JssMmgQyy60 7 Minutes in Heaven - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HT-eE7F70XA&list=PL9otiYKbK0wCOi1QaXGrKRxYsliqpWz_E We’re Going to Make Technology Hump - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDOU7Ye76tI Outrageous Clown Squad (Kickspit Dirt Festival) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alI12mhWZ2Q&t=72s Check out AP Bio on Netflix (Not all the clips we mention are available online; some never even aired.) If you want to see more photos and clips follow us on Instagram @lonelymeyerspod. Send us an email! [email protected] Support our sponsors: Airbnb Visit Airbnb.com today Shopify Sign up for your one-dollar-per-month trial period at SHOPIFY.COM/lonelyisland Thrive Market Ready for a junk-free start to 2025? Head to Thrive Market.com/island and get 30% off your first order, plus a FREE $60 gift! Produced by Rabbit Grin ProductionsExecutive Producers Jeph Porter and Rob HolyszLead Producer Kevin MillerCreative Producer Samantha SkeltonCoordinating Producer Derek JohnsonCover Art by Olney AtwellMusic by Greg Chun and Brent AsburyEdit by Cheyenne Jones Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: Who is Mike O'Brien and what is his connection to SNL?
We're also joined by Mike O'Brien. Hello, Mike. What's up, guys? I'm somber, too. Yeah, I feel like you're laid out a real what not to do. Sorry. All right. So, Mike, this is very exciting. You did a series of short films at SNL, most of which I realized when I went back to watch were after I left. But I was there when you got hired. What year did you start at the show?
2009 was when I got the Seth Meyers call. But jumping back real quick, I was flown out from Chicago in 2004, waiting to go in and do an in-studio audition next to a young Yorma. and we were chitchatting and talking about calling our parents or something. Do you have any recollection of it? It'd be a book.
Oh my God. The minute you actually said it, but I was so nervous. I was probably between vomiting when I talked to you. But as soon as you said it, I was like, that's right. Yeah. I have no idea where that was because it was not in 8H. No, we're it's such a bummer to like have the experience of auditioning for the show and then not get to at least have been on the stage at age. Yeah. Yeah.
We were in some side room, some shitty side room.
Some big empty room with the auditor sitting even further away than when I came back in 2009.
How did you do? How was your audition? Awful.
Same. I was going to show them what an artiste from Chicago is all about. you did it years later at one point i i did improv oh no i got out of guinness book of world records and i flipped and i said tell me when to stop and i'll try to break that record and they weren't saying stop i kept going all the way through and finally tina was like she probably said stop like please stop
She was like, stop. You built in a failstaff, which is you did a thing so terrible that you knew you'd get him to say stop at some point. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Oh, my God. Yeah. Good times. That is very bold. But it's interesting you said that because I am going to jump ahead. I was not in the decision-making team in 04, so I don't have the same recollection as you coming through then.
But I remember going to IO with Lorne in the lower room at the old IO when we were doing a showcase or we were seeing a showcase and you came out. I think the nice part of this is you did not learn your lesson. But Lauren sort of came around to appreciating what you're doing. Do you remember that bit you used to do about how you were going to come out and play the spoons?
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Chapter 2: What is the story behind the Sad Mouse short?
Yeah. The thing I loved about Sad Mouse and rewatching it was that it reminded me, we did like a recap of all the SNL shorts, like our third or fourth year. And it was like Andy, like hosting it in the movie theater. And it went through like the Albert Brooks ones.
And there were a couple of shorts that played that were SNL shorts that were just concepts and they weren't necessarily hilarious, but they were like short films that just either moved you or like, you know, there was one with like these mariachis and ballerinas dancing together that I was always just like, this is really inspired.
And there was something about that one that I was just like, this is really nice. And I was also like knowing you, Mike, and what you're capable of and how deeply sarcastic you can get to sort of like see this sort of introspective, sincere side of it was really, really sweet.
I mean, I watched a bunch of yours today. Like there is a core sincerity that goes through all of them. So I feel like we are bearing the premise. So Sad Mouse starts with Bruno Mars. He's talking to Sudeikis about how bad things are going. I think his girlfriend broke up with him.
Yeah, girlfriend played by Sarah Schneider in a photo. Oh, right, in the photo of my friend Sarah Schneider.
And she said she loved me, but she couldn't picture me as her husband. And that was it, man. Six years of my life, gone. And it all went down the same week, and my dad says he has another family. He had them the whole time. He likes them even more because they're smarter.
And here's where you can't rewatch these. It drives me crazy that we didn't stay on him for the word smarter. And when you get into camera angles, when you're rewatching, then it's not fun. But anyway.
And then Sudeikis is sort of taking this in and you don't quite know their relationship. And then it turns out Sudeikis basically says, this is the easiest hundred bucks you're ever going to make. You're going to put on this patriotic mouse costume and walk around Times Square and take pictures and then people will pay you and we'll split it 50-50. And then, oh, he says you got to wave at people.
And Bruno, and I will say watching it back, I kind of can't believe Bruno hasn't been an actor. He's so good in it. And his face is so, I mean, it's so camera friendly.
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