The Best Time Bill Hader Broke Character On SNL

The best time Hader ever broke character on "Saturday Night Live" actually came after he departed the show at the end of Season 38, in 2013 (via The New York Times). Hader returned to host "SNL" for the first time on October 11, 2014, and the show could not help but bring Stefon back for a crowd-pleasing sketch in the middle of the episode (via The Hollywood Reporter). The sketch featured Stefon's Weekend Update appearance with Colin Jost and Michael Che rather than Meyers, but there was no less hilarity in Hader's appearance as the iconic character. During the sketch, Stefon mistakes Jost and Che for politicians Barack Obama and Mitt Romney before describing a series of New York City nightclubs that all seem to feature former MTV host Dan Cortese.

As Salon noted in its recap of the sketch, the dynamic between Hader and Mulaney had been well publicized by the time this "SNL" episode aired, with fans instantly identifying each of the three "Dan Cortese" jokes as ones Mulaney added last minute without telling Hader. Audiences can hear Hader's voice slightly stagger as he reads the line while describing the first club, and he briefly pauses before continuing on to his next line. Dan Cortese circles back around at two more fictional clubs, which Hader clearly was not prepared for. Hader could barely read the lines before his face contorts with laughter — Mulaney upped the ante by including the same joke three separate times.