Skip To Content
Homepage
Sign In
Search BuzzFeed
California residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.

    A Wardrobe Mishap, Adam Driver With A Spear, And 22 Other Things That Caused People On "SNL" To Hilariously Break Character

    If someone breaks character, there is a 200% chance I, too, will immediately crack up.

    Angelica Martinez
    by Angelica Martinez

    BuzzFeed Staff

    There are lots of things to love about Saturday Night Live, but possibly the best of all is getting to watch someone who is fully in character try their very best not to laugh...and, of course, fail miserably.

    NBC

    Honestly, a good character break can make a just ~OK~ sketch automatically 1,000 times funnier. So let's take a look at some sketches with character breaks that are so good, it's almost impossible not to laugh:

    1. When everything rapidly derailed in "Super Showcase Spokesmodels" when Kristen Wiig almost ran Maya Rudolph over with a golf cart:

    Maya trying to hide her laugh in her visor and Bill openly laughing
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    2. When we were all cracking up just like Pete Davidson in "Career Day" because Adam Driver tried to hit a fake bird with his cane (for ~emphasis~) and accidentally skewered it instead:

    Adam driver spearing the bird and Pete laughing behind a book
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

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

    Cecily asking Bill to move closer to the table, him hitting the table and sliding Melissa, Cecily laughing and Bill hiding behind her laughing
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    4. Genuinely, the whole first "Close Encounter" sketch, because Ryan Gosling is 0.0001 second from full on laughing the entire time, and it's excellent:

    Ryan laughing and Cecily saying he's crying
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

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

    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

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

    Cecily holding a dog that is squirming all over her face
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    7. 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:

    Jimmy laughing, Rachel breaking while saying "well, at this point during my soak, my love-ah and I usually crave spiced meats," and everyone laughing
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    8. Truly any "Debbie Downer" sketch, but the way every single person breaks in "Debbie Downer: Disney World" makes it the very best:

    Rachel as Debbie saying she can't have kids, Jimmy covering his face, Rachel biting her fork, Lindsay Lohan laughing, and  Horatio covering his face with a waffle
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

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

    NBC

    Can we also please take a moment to appreciate Cecily and Kenan, who were very carefully toeing the line of "deeply concerned" and "oh my god, I CANNOT break too."

    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    10. When Fred Armisen stepped in some guac during the "New Girlfriend" sketch, and completely lost it when Jason Sudeikis ate it right off his shoe:

    Fred with his foot in the guacamole, Jason saying it makes it better, and Fred openly laughing at Jason eating the chips and guac
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    11. 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:

    David and Christina hiding their laughter in their hands when Chris says they're using paper for rolling doobies and not writing, and that that's what he'll be doing when he's living in a van down by the river
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    12. When the basket of meat in the "Weekend Update: Smokery Farms" smelled so disgusting that it made Kate McKinnon — reigning queen of not breaking character — absolutely lose it:

    Kate fully laughing and saying that's a lot of meat while Aidy says, "and the scent IS strong"
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    13. When Will Ferrell pulled out the tiniest flip phone known to man in "Jeffrey's," fully sending Sean Hayes and Jimmy Fallon into hysterics:

    Will pulling out a very very tiny flip phone, and Sean and Jimmy laughing
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    14. When the camera switched over to Pete Davidson in "Diner Lobster," and he was — like all of us — unabashedly laughing:

    John Mulaney and Kenan as a lobster singing "and why would someone on a whim choose from all to order him? Who's this guy?" to the tune of One Day More, then Pete Davidson openly laughing
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    15. The first "Californians" sketch, where Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, and even Fred Armisen were constantly on the verge of breaking:

    Fred saying Bill should go and breaking while he reads the list of California highways and streets Bill needs to take, and Bill and Kristen both trying so hard not to laugh
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    16. 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:

    Candice laughing while trying to deliver a line because she said her character's name on accident, and Gilda turning to the camera saying "we all can't be brainy like Fern here" while Candice continues to laugh
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    17. When Jeff Goldblum was hilariously confused during the "Space, the Infinite Frontier: Dr. Kent Wahler" sketch, because Will Ferrell literally just started improvising:

    Will saying the moon isn't green cheese and asking if he's eat it if it were made of BBQ ribs. Jeff looks tired and says he's confused
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    18. 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":

    Bill pouring the drink on her face, putting a bowl on her head, pretending to look shocked, laughing, and then both of them breaking character
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    19. When Janet Jackson tried her best not to break in the "Corksoakers" sketch, but lost her cool at this line:

    Janet asking, "so where did you learn to soak corks?" and immediately laughing
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    20. When Jonah Hill couldn't help but break character during the "Benihana" sketch because Leslie Jones was laughing so hard at his performance:

    Leslie and Jonah breaking while he sings "I shot the sheriff" and tells her she's not giving him anything to work with
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    youtube.com / Via NBC

    21. 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:

    Kevin Hart fully busting into laughter and turning away from Tim
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    22. 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:

    Leslie calling on Kenan's character to go first, him making a wide eye'd face with his fake nails and cards, and Awkwafina laughing between her words and Leslie hiding her laugh behind her cue cards
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    23. When Brittany Murphy fully cracked up while trying to rock some noisy leather pants during the "Leather Man" sketch:

    Brittany throwing her head back and laughing while saying "maybe leather isn't right for me"
    NBC

    Watch the full sketch here:

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    24. And finally, 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:

    NBC

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

    View this video on YouTube
    NBC / Via youtube.com

    Did we miss any sketches with character breaks so good that they made the sketches 100 times better? If so, tell us about them in the comments below!