Kate McKinnon Squeezing Ryan Gosling's Butt, And 32 Other Things That Made People Hilariously Break Character On "SNL"

Best of luck to anyone in a sketch with Will Ferrell, because there's about a 99% chance you will break character immediately upon seeing him.

Perhaps the best, funniest thing about Saturday Night Live is that it's, well, live. Don't get me wrong, I love a good sitcom, but there's just something incredible about live TV that you can't quite capture any other way. Anything can (and does!) happen, and it has a funny way of making us as the viewers feel as ~in on the joke~ — or, even better, the mishap — as all the cast members and celebrities on that stage.

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Yeah, you may be an Oscar-winning actor, but you, too, giggle like a fifth grader doing a school presentation in front of their friends when you mess up, and something about that is so validating. 

One of the best examples of this, in my opinion, is when someone breaks character. Even though it's unintentional, it can really bring a sketch from "meh" to downright hilarious. So, here are 33 iconic times cast members and celebrity hosts alike broke character and accidentally made everything soooo much funnier:

1. When nobody could keep a straight face while delivering their lines in "The Love-ahs With Barbara and Dave," because Jimmy Fallon was snickering the whole time:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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2. Truly any "Debbie Downer" sketch, but the way every single person breaks in "Debbie Downer: Disney World" (bonus points for Horatio Sanz literally hiding his face in a Mickey-shaped waffle) makes it the very best:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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3. Honestly, the whole first "Close Encounter" sketch, because Ryan Gosling is a millisecond from full-on laughing the entire time, and it's absolute perfection:

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In my humble opinion, this one goes down as one of the character breaking greats. 10/10, no notes.

Watch the full sketch here:

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4. And the second one — "Another Close Encounter" — where Kate McKinnon used Ryan for a ~demonstration~, and he literally forgot how to function:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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5. When Kristen Wiig almost ran Maya Rudolph over with a golf cart in "Super Showcase Spokesmodels" and literally everyone was losing it, but the show went on:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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6. When Aidy Bryant's wardrobe assistant made the best possible mistake and ran on set too early in "Inside the Beltway," thus making Aidy laugh so hard, she barely made it through the rest of the sketch:

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Bonus points for Cecily and Kenan similarly fighting for their lives not to break character, too:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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7. When Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig spent a solid 20 seconds trying (and failing) desperately not to laugh when Kristen got a littttle messy in "Hollywood Dish With Scarlett Johansson":

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Watch the full sketch here:

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8. When Kate McKinnon — QUEEN of not breaking character — was taken down by how gosh darn disgusting the basket of meat in the "Weekend Update: Smokery Farms" smelled:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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9. When Adam Driver tried to hit a fake bird with his cane for ~emphasis~ in "Career Day" and accidentally skewered it instead, making us all crack up just as hard as Pete Davidson was:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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10. When the adorable pup in "Dog Court" got a little too wiggly, resulting in a good 30 seconds of Cecily Strong hilariously breaking and getting lots of puppy kisses:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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11. When Jason Sudeikis unexpectedly ate guacamole off of Fred Armisen's shoe in "New Girlfriend," thus making Fed absolutely lose it:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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12. When Candice Bergen messed up her line in "Extremely Stupid" and couldn't stop laughing long enough to recover, so Gilda Radner delivered this gem:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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13. When Pete Davidson was literally all of us watching Kenan Thompson and John Mulaney in "Diner Lobster," aka he was full out, not-even-trying-to-hide-it laughing when the camera switched over to him:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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14. When Will Ferrell sent Sean Hayes and Jimmy Fallon into hysterics when he pulled out the tiniest flip phone known to man in "Jeffrey's":

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Watch the full sketch here:

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15. When Bill Hader ran into the table and nearly took out Melissa Villaseñor not once, but TWICE in "Girlfriends Game Night":

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Watch the full sketch here:

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16. When Christina Applegate and David Spade tried their best to hide their laughter in "Matt Foley: Van Down by the River," but Chris Farley was just too damn funny:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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17. When Will Ferrell's character in the "Dr. Beaman's Office: Test Results" sketch was so funny, it had him hiding a smile behind his hands and made Molly Shannon laugh so hard, she struggled to regain her composure for a hot minute:

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Shout out to "Dr. Poop" who made them all start cracking right before this, too!

You can watch the full sketch here:

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18. Like, literally every time John Mulaney surprised Bill Hader with new lines when he played Stefon on "Weekend Update," giving us his iconic ~I'm definitely not laughing~ pose:

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Watch some of Stefon's best "Weekend Update" moments here:

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19. When Tracy Morgan and Kenan Thompson had every last person in the "Scared Straight: Underage Drinking" sketch fighting for their lives not to break (and, evidently, losing):

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Watch the full sketch here:

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20. When EVERYONE started cracking in this cut-for-time "Gus Chiggins, Old Prospector" sketch because, as usual, of Will Ferrell:

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You can watch the full sketch here:

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21. When Will Ferrell literally just started improvising in "Space, the Infinite Frontier: Dr. Kent Wahler," leaving Jeff Goldblum deeply but hilariously confused:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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22. When Brittany Murphy fell victim to a pair of noisy leather pants and couldn't help but laugh during "Leather Man":

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Watch the full sketch here:

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23. When Margot Robbie very quickly learned how impossible it is to get through a sketch with Kate McKinnon without laughing in "Actress Round Table":

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Watch the full sketch here:

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24. When Leslie Jones was laughing so hard over Jonah Hill's performance in "Benihana" he started laughing, too:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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25. When Janet Jackson couldn't control her giggle after this line in "Corksoakers:"

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Watch the full sketch here:

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26. When Megan Thee Stallion tried her best, but Kenan Thompson fighting off a deer had her giggling all through this "Deer" sketch:

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TBH, I highly recommend you watch this one for yourself, because Megan going from laughing to being 100% back in character in a millisecond (and then doing the same thing all over again) is 10/10:

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27. When Seann William Scott put up a good fight, but even he wasn't immune to cracking up over Will Ferrell's patriotic look in "Short Shorts for the USA":

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Watch the full sketch here:

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28. When Kenan Thompson and Pete Davidson simply couldn't take Leslie Jones breastfeeding Dave Chappelle's character in "Football Party":

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TBH, Pete's cookie deserves an honorary Emmy for the work it's doing to hide that laugh.

Watch it for yourself here:

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29. When Justin Timberlake literally mustered up all his energy to keep himself from losing it in "The Barry Gibb Talk Show: Bee Gees Singers":

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Watch it for yourself here:

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30. When Ryan Gosling couldn't help himself when Aidy Bryant went to pull a gun out of his pants...while dressed like this in "Henrietta":

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You can watch the full sketch here:

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31. When Tim Robinson made the perfect entrance in "Barnes and Noble Firing," sending Kevin Hart into a fit of laughter that lasted through the end of the sketch:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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32. When Kenan Thompson made such a bonkers face in the "So You're Willing to Date a Magician" sketch that Awkwafina and Leslie Jones couldn't get their lines out without laughing:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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33. And finally, the forever iconic "Californians" sketch, in which Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and even Fred Armisen were constantly on the verge of breaking:

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Watch the full sketch here:

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You can watch all these moments (and all 48 seasons!) on Peacock.