Get the news, videos, and images of Bobby Moynihan, Saturday Night Live's new player, the best Snooki impersonator, and the writer and star of the Beyonce Backup Dancer skit. His movies this year: Certainty & When In Rome. Last year: The Invention of Lying & Mystery Men.
Bobby Moynihan - Hot Video - Corn Syrup Commercial, 3/12/11
Quotes from Bobby are highlighted below. And then read the top 10 facts below to see stuff he told them about himself.
It's pretty obvious where you can find comedian Bobby Moynihan on most Saturday nights: Onstage at the famed Studio 8H inside 30 Rockefeller Center, where "Saturday Night Live" has generated belly laughs for more than three decades.
The 32-year-old Eastchester native is in the middle of his third season on the legendary late-night series, having most notably impressed audiences with hysterical imitations of "Jersey Shore" star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Food Network personality Guy Fieri.
He's also done memorable sketches with many of the A-listers who have populated the show since he joined the cast in 2008: Ben Stiller, Ben Affleck, Anne Hathaway, Drew Barrymore, Megan Fox, Seth Rogen, Tina Fey, Bill Murray and James Franco, to name a few.
But more often, Moynihan says that fans recognize him for his first recurring "SNL" character, Mark Payne, a disastrous, pepper-loving waiter at Pizzeria Uno.
"I don't understand it," he says. "The craziest thing in the world is that there's 10 videos on YouTube of kids, ranging from 5 to 13, reciting the entire 'Pepper' sketch."
Moynihan is hardly an overnight success, however. After studying acting at the University of Connecticut, he spent years honing his improv skills with Manhattan's Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, co-founded by "SNL" alumni and "Parks and Recreation" star Amy Poehler. He also gained notice with performances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and in ESPN commercials.
"It's so funny, people are like, 'You got this big break out of nowhere,'" he says. "But I've been doing comedy for years, trying really, really hard to get here."
So what don't you know about this wisecracker? Read on to learn 10 other fun facts about Bobby Moynihan.
1. He recently reprised the role of Vinny Vedecci Jr., the son of Bill Hader's Italian talk show host. What was so nerve-wracking about this particular skit? He had to threaten guest host — and movie tough-guy — Robert De Niro.
2. Moynihan slipped into a leotard and pantyhose as a backup dancer in the show's hilarious parody of Beyonce's iconic "Single Ladies" video, along with Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg. Postings of the spoof have generated more than 40 million views so far on YouTube.
3. He spent two years preparing for his first — unsuccessful — "SNL" audition. When he finally got a call to audition again, he had only four days to write all-new material — which clearly worked like a charm.
4. He cried "like a baby" when announcer Don Pardo said his name live for the first time after he joined the show in 2008.
5. He created the Mark Payne character years ago, drawn from his bartending days at a Pizzeria Uno in Yonkers. The exterior opening shot used for the "SNL" sketches is of the restaurant where he used to work.
6. You couldn't see his face, but Moynihan played the moose that was gunned down during the now-infamous "Sarah Palin Rap," performed by Amy Poehler in front of the former vice presidential candidate. That 2008 episode posted the biggest ratings for "SNL" in 14 years.
7. His first part was as Santa Claus in a third-grade class show.
8. His first professional acting job was a one-liner with Alan Arkin on the short-lived courtroom drama "100 Centre Street." After telling "everyone I knew" about the part, his line was cut — and only his shoulder ended up in the episode. "But I went to bed that night, like, 'Yo, I did it. I made it.'"
9. He worked most of his teenage years as a lifeguard at Eastchester's Lake Isle Park. When it rained, he and some co-workers would sit on garbage bags and slide down hills on the golf course.
10. As a kid, he'd secretly listen to Howard Stern's radio show. After Moynihan joined "SNL," Stern mentioned the addition to the show — and compared him to the late, great John Belushi.
Note that he didn't fail his first audition. It was right before the writer's strike, and they take a lot of time to make decisions. They had to pass him down until after the strike. Also, the first audition led to the second one. That's a success!
Overall, this was a decent episode for Bobby Moynihan fans. Bobby was in five skits. I included only those skits below.
The links below will take you to the individual video clips.
Cold Opening - Fox News: Greta Van Susteren, "Embracing Civility"
Greta Van Susteren hosts a roundtable that truly embodies a balanced political views.
FOX NEWS COLD OPEN
Kristen Wiig - Greta
Bobby Moynihan
Nasim Pedrad
Jason Sudeikis - Glen Beck
Bill Hader - James Carville
Abby Elliott - Rachel Maddow
REVIEW: Kind of amusing. Kristen does a great job with Greta. I didn't feel like this one attacked Republicans as hard as past versions. It seemed to attack both sides a bit more equally (which is what they claim to do, but it doesn't often work out that way). This is Kristen's third appearance as Greta. Bill Hader's James Carville is always hilarious (along with Jason's Glen Beck). Score: 3/5 - Amusing, but I guess I don't care too much about these political media wars.
Top players:
(1) Kristen Wiig
(2) Bill Hader
(3) Jason Sudeikis
(4) Bobby Moynihan
Commercial - The Cape Spinoffs
If you like super heroes who get their powers from pieces of clothing, then you'll love these new NBC shows!
REVIEW: Kristen gets a laugh with the fist shot of her swinging her bolo tie. The gun shots from her tie fail to get a laugh. That's the problem with a taped piece like this... you can't cut jokes from the live show. You're sort of stuck with what you got when parts aren't funny.
It was funny at the beginning with the Scarf (Nasim Pedrad), Andy Samberg made it funny being naked with the Leg Warmer, and Jason Sudeikis was pretty funny as the Scrunchie. Other than that, the joke was getting old fast. Bobby bookends this piece as the Spanks hero. He doesn't really get a laugh. The joke had already stopped being funny.
This was genius on NBC's part, because making fun of their own show is a great way to advertise it and make it live potentially longer than the show itself. =^) Score: 3/5 - Some hilarious bits, but there were even more dud bits here that helped push the score down.
Top players:
1. Andy Samberg
2. Nasim Pedrad
3. Jason Sudeikis
Weekend Update Garth and Kat return, and Vanessa Bayer interviews Christina Aguilera and Cher. And Former New York gubernatorial candidate Jimmy McMillan (Kenan) talks about his run for president.
Seth Meyers
Bill Hader ... announcer (voice)
Kenan Thompson ... Jimmy McMillan
Vanessa Bayer
Nasim Pedrad ... Christina Aguilera
Bill Hader ... Cher
Bobby Moynihan ... Chaz Bono
Fred Armisen ... Garth
Kristen Wiig ... Kat
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Kim Castle
REVIEW: Fred and Kristen keep Garth and Kat fresh by mixing in Gwyneth Paltrow as their similar friend, Kim Castle. Vanessa Bayer amazingly writes herself into a straight-person role to interview Nasim's amazing Christina Aguilera. Bobby follows up with some funny transgender jokes. Bill's humorous as Cher, but not amazing by any means. Kenan's being himself again. Seth also does fairly well this week. Overall, the real winner was Nasim's impression of Christina Aguilera, which makes me want to see it more. Overall Score: 3/5 Jimmy McMillan (Kenan): 2/5 (almost amusing)
Garth and Kat: 3/5 (good but mostly already done)
Vanessa's Interview: 4/5 (Vanessa is a bit wooden)
Top Players:
1. Nasim Pedrad
2. Bobby Moynihan
3. Seth Meyers
Skit - Globe Theatre This skit is not available online and is not in the online full video. That probably means it had some music without permissions.
Gwyneth Paltrow ... actress
Fred Armisen ... actor
Vanessa Bayer ... audience member
Bill Hader ... actor
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... actor
Bobby Moynihan ... actor
Jay Pharoah ... audience member
Andy Samberg ... audience member
Jason Sudeikis ... audience member
Kenan Thompson ... audience member
Kristen Wiig ... audience member
Show - ESPN Deportes Even in Spanish, the ESPN sportscaster phrases are the same.
Gwyneth Paltrow ... Sofia Cortez
Fred Armisen ... Esteban
Paul Brittain ... Ramon Zaragoza
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Paco
Bobby Moynihan ... clown
Nasim Pedrad ... girl
Jay Pharoah ... Kevin Garnett
REVIEW: My guess is Paul wrote this or came up with the idea. Otherwise, I'd imagine that Fred would be up there with Gwyneth (if it came from another writer). Regardless, Paul pulls out his second hilarious character in what will probably be a recurring sketch. Way to go, Paul! However, it's much more the concept that makes this skit funny than any one actor. Bobby is hilarious as the clown that comes in, and even Taran delivers an awesome look. Also, Jay plays a great straight man with his Kevin Garnett impression (I love how they put Jay up on a higher platform than Fred to create a bigger height difference). Score: 4/5 (some slow parts, but it comes through)
Top Players:
1. Paul Brittain
2. Gwenyth Paltrow
3. Bobby Moynihan
4. Jay Pharoah
5. Taran Killam
6. Fred Armisen
At the end of the month, Social Network star Jesse Eisenberg will take a break from the awards ceremonies to front the late-night program. Eisenberg's appearance will reunite him with two of his Adventureland costars: Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader.
Episode 694 "Dana Carvey" & Musical Guest, Linkin Park - February 5, 2011
The following weekend, longtime SNL fans will welcome a blast from the past: Church Lady Dana Carvey. Carvey, a fixture on the program for seven seasons, will make his fourth appearance as host.
Vanessa scores an interview with 'Burlesque' stars Christina Aguilera and Cher at the Golden Globes.
Bobby's got some transvestite jokes!
Wow, Nasim nailed Christina Aguilera. I'm in shock. She needs to bring her back sometime.
What's the most interesting thing to me here is that Vanessa Bayer wrote this skit where she made herself the "straight man." I don't think she particularly nailed the straight man either (not as well as Kenan does). Usually when you write something for Weekend Update, you make yourself the star of the bit, not the straight man.
Just because it's in Spanish doesn't mean you can't understand the classic SportsCenter catch phrases!
Hahahaha. Paul Britain makes a case for staying around next season!
Bobby comes on at about 2:06 for a small but hilarious bit.
"Mas Equis! Mas fun!"
Yeah, what's interesting here is that Bobby appears as the proven SNL star in this skit (Fred's also in it, but his role isn't as riveting). So Bobby stands out as the seasoned player among Paul, Taran, and Nasim in this skit. And that's a great place to be!
If you like super heroes who get their powers from pieces of clothing, then you'll love these new NBC shows!
"It's a dude!" =^)
So Bobby bookends this piece as the Spanks hero. He doesn't really get a laugh. The joke had already stopped being funny.
It was funny at the beginning with the Scarf (Nasim Pedrad), Andy Samberg made it funny being naked with the Leg Warmer, and Jason Sudeikis was pretty funny as the Scrunchie. Other than that, the joke was getting old fast.
Genius on NBC's part, because making fun of their own show is a great way to advertise it and make it live potentially longer than the show itself. =^)
Our friend from upstairs, Bobby Moynihan is coming down to visit us tonight to be a guest on Late Night. Before he was a cast member on SNL, Bobby performed as an improv comedian at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City. He still performs there as part of the long-running hit improv show ASSSSCAT 3000 every Sunday night.
Some of our favorite recurring characters and impressions of Bobby's from SNL are Anthony Crispino, Vinny Vedecci Jr, David Crosby, Nathan Lane, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi.
Jim Carrey ... robot
Bill Hader ... robot
Taran Killam ... robot
Bobby Moynihan ... repairman
Kenan Thompson ... guy
Kristen Wiig ... girl
When a ride is temporarily shut down, The Merryville Brothers freak out an amusement park patron.
REVIEW: Oh my gosh! By far my second favorite skit of the night (behind Black Swan). This truly shows the talents of Taran Killam who actually out-performs Jim Carrey as an animatronic robot (is this even possible?). Another skit that Jim made gold with physical comedy, and it brings to life all our animatronic nightmares! Beautiful, and well played by Kenan as the victim. Kristen nails the nice girl supporting role here.
Bobby supports well as the ride operator.
My guess is that Jim was throwing out ideas, and a writer latched onto this one and turned it into a skit. And somewhere along the way Taran spoke up and said, "I can do a robot!" (Or perhaps the writer saw him do the Tin Man earlier this season or something else Taran has done and realized that Taran is an amazing robot... afterall, it's almost impossible to be better than Jim Carrey at any physical comedy like this.)
This is a pseudo sequel of the Back to the Future DVD commercial. But instead of celebrity impressions, they are going after 70s music with original-ish characters.
Commercial - The Worst of Soul Train
Jim Carrey ... D'Versity
Paul Brittain ... Bro-Botix member
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Bro-Botix member
Bobby Moynihan ... Coughy Robinson
Nasim Pedrad ... Ricky
Jay Pharoah ... Shooting Starr
Andy Samberg ... Gary St. Marvelous
Jason Sudeikis ... Ocean Billy
Kenan Thompson ... Maxwell family member
Kenan Thompson ... announcer (voice)
Kristen Wiig ... Triangle Sally
A new DVD collection celebrates the very worst of Soul Train.
REVIEW: Bobby drives this one home as the host of a show that features the performers' talents! Everybody was golden here, making it another gauntlet of hilarious bits (like the Back to the Future DVD commercials). Taran and Paul were funny (mostly Taran there), Jim was hilarious of course (nailed it), and Nasim, Andy, Jason, and Kristen all gave important bits.
Kristen's Triangle Sally got an extended applause and cheering (the only one)! And Kristen didn't even say a word! Kudos to Kristen!
We're going to start this week with a basic review. Bobby's Anthony Crispino and Soul Train were the highlights. Below are Bobby's four appearances this week...
Commercial - Bosley Hair Restoration
Fred Armisen ... Mark H.
Bobby Moynihan ... client
Nasim Pedrad ... girlfriend
Jason Sudeikis ... spokesperson
Kristen Wiig ... Adelle K.
REVIEW: This is a rerun. Still funny. The basic idea is that the hair transplant comes from pubic regions. Sort of disgusting when they show the hair on Fred, Bobby, and Kristen, but still hilarious. A good one to rerun.
Commercial - The Worst of Soul Train
Jim Carrey ... D'Versity
Paul Brittain ... Bro-Botix member
Steve Higgins ... announcer (voice)
Taran Killam ... Bro-Botix member
Bobby Moynihan ... Coughy Robinson
Nasim Pedrad ... Ricky
Jay Pharoah ... Shooting Starr
Andy Samberg ... Gary St. Marvelous
Jason Sudeikis ... Ocean Billy
Kenan Thompson ... Maxwell family member
Kenan Thompson ... announcer (voice)
Kristen Wiig ... Triangle Sally
REVIEW: Bobby drives this one home as the host of a show that features the performers' talents! Everybody was golden here, making it another gauntlet of hilarious bits (like the Back to the Future DVD commercials). Taran and Paul were funny (mostly Taran there), Jim was hilarious of course, and Nasim, Andy, Jason, and Kristen all gave important bits. My least favorite were from Jay Pharoah and Kenan Thompson.
Weekend Update
Seth Meyers
Kristen Wiig ... Nancy Pelosi
Bill Hader ... John Boehner
Bobby Moynihan ... Anthony Crispino
Andy Samberg ... Cameron The Red-Winged Blackbird
Taran Killam ... Everett The Fish
REVIEW: A great Weekend Update! Bobby's Crispino does very well (but I would have taken out the second-to-last gag, because it slowed down before it picked up at the end). This was Andy's third appearance as a bird in the news really sold well (sort of a series Andy has going), and Taran supported well as the fish. I liked Kristen and Bill, but it really feels like they target Republicans like Boehner more as incompetent (shouldn't they all be shown as incompetent or goofballs?).
Sketch - Merryville Trolley Ride
Jim Carrey ... robot
Bill Hader ... robot
Taran Killam ... robot
Bobby Moynihan ... repairman
Kenan Thompson ... guy
Kristen Wiig ... girl
REVIEW: Oh my gosh! By far my second favorite skit of the night (behind Black Swan). This truly shows the talents of Taran Killam who actually out-performs Jim Carrey as an animatronic robot (is this even possible?). Another skit that Jim made gold with physical comedy, and it brings to life all our animatronic nightmares! Beautiful, and well played by Kenan as the victim. Bobby supports as the ride operator.
My guess is that Jim was throwing out ideas, and a writer latched onto this one and turned it into a skit. And somewhere along the way Taran spoke up and said, "I can do a robot!" (Or perhaps the writer saw him do the Tin Man earlier this season or something else Taran has done and realized that Taran is an amazing robot... afterall, it's almost impossible to be better than Jim Carrey at any physical comedy like this.)
In a fitting end to the last "Weekend Update" of 2010, Seth Meyers brought out some of the funniest characters from the year to sing a sweet Christmas carol together.
After going over the week's headlines, Meyers introduced his "three closest friends in the world," Snooki (Bobby Moynihan), Stefon (Bill Hader) and New York Governor David Paterson (Fred Armisen) to sing a "Weekend Update" version of "O Christmas Tree."
It was awesome to see our favorite "Update" characters from this season (minus Bobby's equally hilarious Guy Fieri impression) all together, and now we could totally see Stefon and Snooki hanging out. It was especially funny to hear Stefon call Snooki a "drunk leopard" and of course, he worked some tidbits about "jacked elves" into the song.
If you didn't tune in to MTV's New Year's Bash for the Snooki ball drop, you didn't miss much. However, this funny sketch the orange "Jersey Shore" queen did with her "SNL" doppelganger on the last night of the year was definitely worth seeing.
We've got the clip below where Snooki and Bobby Moynihan (in his signature Snooki garb) say goodbye to the "friggin' awesome" year that was 2010. They also go through some intensive training to "take over" 2011 including practicing fist pumps, gratuitous hair spray use and Karate.
Aside form the obvious highlight of Moynihan mocking Snooki directly to her face, watch until the end to see Moynihan actually get a smooch (or is it a "smoosh?") from the little one we love to hate.
That's really cool that Bobby's bit here opened the friggin show! Wow, I think that's quite an honor for Bobby, cuz it really shows how valuable MTV thinks his bit is. And they're right! Judging from this article, you could have watched the opening bit and then turned it off, so Bobby was the only saving grace of the show!
Lorne's not wearing his signature sports jacket, t-shirt, and jeans! =^)
Regarding Lorne's answer about how SNL came about: To add on to what Lorne said, Johnny Carson wanted to run his reruns during the week for a break sometimes. So it's really Johnny's fault that SNL started. =^)
5-minute audition times...
Interesting that Kristen Wiig's Target Lady was pulled directly from a lady at Target. Bobby nails his role in that skit (as does Kristen of course).
When people say that something isn't quite right about this season of Saturday Night Live, whether or not they know it, they're saying that they miss Will Forte.
While it's true that Forte was far from the only member of the cast and writing staff to leave SNL over the summer, his departure left a void that the show has yet to fill several episodes into its 36th season...
But in his last few years on SNL, Forte provided a necessary counterbalance to almost every live episode by bringing that one element that SNL always has needed: the wildcard...
Forte was more the "weird and crazy" type. The guy whom you could count on to prove why late-night TV is different from primetime TV. The guy who brought a sense of danger, although based in just enough silliness as to not be scary...
MacGruber was always good for a laugh... because in those short sketches on SNL, there was just enough time for Forte to say something highly inappropriate before the explosion.
Forte also could be equally creepy as Hamilton, the guy who showed up to woo celebrities, or as a pedophile using Halloween as a cover for trick-or-treating. He could be just as equally weird as Sen. Tim Calhoun, a masked man getting pummeled by things as the "Closet Organizer," an office worker shouting "Fart Face!", singing about Model-T cars and spaceships with Wiig, or a NASA scientist arguing over a potato chip with Jason Sudeikis.
I think all that is true. Will's Weekend Update songs, MacGruber, his dancing coach skits, the Chips skit above, him playing a bad guy in an old Drew Barrymore monologue, and him playing a young Jack Black at a spelling bee all made me laugh out loud.
Meanwhile, Jason's definitely going to need to team up with others more (or do more original, single characters) to fill the void of Will's absence.
Anyone know what the SFA stands for? 1999 is when he graduated the University of Connecticut. The bold text is from Bobby...
==================================
Live from New York – it's Bobby Moynihan '99 (SFA)!
Friends of Bobby Moynihan '99 (SFA) understand when he says he's busy most Saturday nights. After all, giving up a weekend day is a small price to pay when you're part of the cast of NBC's legendary comedy improv show "Saturday Night Live."
Moynihan has been a featured player on SNL since 2008. The 33-year-old native of Eastchester, N.Y., will be the first to tell you that having an opportunity to work on the same stage that hosted the likes of John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner for the past three decades is one awesome ride.
Bobby Moynihan '99 (SFA), right, performing in a skit with fellow cast members on "Saturday Night Live." From left: Guest host Zac Efron, Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Abby Elliott and Moynihan.
"Every time the music starts and the band starts playing at 11:25, you feel it," Moynihan says. "Here is this amazing 35-year-old show, and you're a part of it. When they put my picture up on the wall as a cast member, well, that was it for me. I've had a lot of mind-blowing Sundays where I'll wake up and just can't believe what happened."
Moynihan was part of a dream team of actors that rolled through the School of Fine Arts in the late 1990s. He was one of the stars of the Connecticut Repertory Theatre's production of "The Boys Next Door," which received the 1999 Connecticut Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast, beating out other ensembles from the Goodspeed Opera House, Long Wharf Theatre and Yale Repertory Theatre, among others. His professors say he had a natural gift at portraying endearing characters and making people laugh.
"Bobby is not somebody who you forget. He is one of the top people we ever had here," says Robert McDonald, one of Moynihan's former mentors, now a professor emeritus of dramatic arts in the School of Fine Arts. "He's got an incredible ability to get at our heartstrings as a believable weaker person."
Moynihan credits his acting coaches at UConn with furthering his career.
"Bob McDonald was the greatest. He taught me everything," Moynihan says. "I initially thought, why did I go to acting school? But it has helped me tremendously. Part of being a good comedian is that truth-in-comedy kind of thing. At SNL, my acting background has helped me to have confidence on stage. UConn gave me that confidence."
After graduating, Moynihan moved back to New York where he became a regular member of the Upright Citizens Brigade and then was a sketch regular on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" beginning in 2006 and, in 2008, did television ads for ESPN Radio.
While Moynihan has appeared in several films ("When in Rome," "The Invention of Lying," "Mystery Team"), he says he's in no hurry to step away from the SNL set.
"I've done a couple of movies, and it was so much fun," says Moyinhan, who received the School of Fine Arts Alumni Award in April. "But I've waited my whole life to get here (to SNL), so I'm in no rush to leave."
So it's time for my first editorial of 2011! Happy New Year!
Here is Bobby Moynihan playing Nathan Lane:
Bobby has played Nathan Lane three times now:
02.07.2009 - No Bruce! Let Me Finish! The Best Of Celebrity Tirades
10.03.2009 - So You Committed A Crime & You Think You Can Dance
03.13.2010 - Hamlet Audition
True Nathan Lane isn't popular like Vanessa Bayer's Miley Cyrus, Jay Pharoah's Denzel Washington, or Abby Elliott's Angelina Jolie (Abby's Angelina is another impression that deserves to lead a skit), but there's something about Bobby's Lane impression that is hilarious and would make a great lead in a skit.
Besides, Amy Poehler's Dakota Fanning Show, Jim Breuer's Joe Pesci Show, Chris Kattan's Antonio Banderas' How Do You Say Ah Yes Show, and Andy Samberg's Mellow Show with Jack Johnson were all celebrity shows on SNL where the celebrity wasn't super popular. They just had a great impersonation and a great idea of how to make it funny.
And that's what I think Bobby has with Nathan Lane. He could host the first Broadway talk show... filled with drama and musical numbers during the talk show and as part of the talk show. LOL
It would also give SNL a chance to put other popular impressions out there (I want to see Abby's Kirsten Dunst, Jay's Eddie Murphy or Chris Tucker, Andy Samberg's Nicholas Cage (or Billy Bob Thornton), and Taran's Pee-Wee Herman) who can act as fish out of water in a strange, musical environment.
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