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Sometimes the career gets a bump.
I had a really great first year after I left the show, says Sasheer Zamata.
And sometimes theres what Bobby Moynihan describes as unmitigated chaos.
Here are 38 descriptions of the first year post-SNLfrom cast members and writers.
Nora Dunn
I slept a whole lot more.
Taran Killam
Like getting out of hell.
Harry Shearer
Depressing as fuck.
Jorma Taccone
After being there 20 seasons, it was sort of like amphetamine withdrawal.
Real life cant compete with the pace ofSNL.
James Anderson
Aimless and off-balance and very often sad, yet I hadmuchmore time to recognize this.
Fred Wolf
Like I was visiting an entirely different planet.
Nasim Pedrad
Very much not midtown-based.
Julio Torres
It was a roller coaster.
A shock to the system to not have the constant stimulation each week.
A combination of relaxing and chasing the high.
Abby Elliott
Ask my therapist.
Jeff Richards
It was a bummer, to be totally honest.
When you get that show, you dont see yourself being fired, so processing that was tough.
Brooks Wheelan
Unmitigated chaos.
Bobby Moynihan
The first couple of days sucked.
I impersonated him on the show a couple of times.
Hes a great guy.
But another writer friend snapped me out of it.
I became a much better comedian.
Ive had great jobs since and a career I never could have imagined possible.
Noel Wells
Well the first month was devastating.
I left New York immediately thinking my career was over and I blew it.
And then to top it all off, I got cancer!
That all happened in the first six months after I left.
But it all seemed to work out in the end, I must say.
I did a successful one-person Broadway show about my cancer, the movie was well-received (God Said Ha!
Julia Sweeney
Its weird not being there on Saturday night when all your friends are still there.
Its definitely an adjustment.
Jay Pharoah
Tuesday nights (writing night) were weird for a while.
John Lutz
I immediately started working on a show I had sold to another online grid.
It was nice to be busy right away, but it definitely felt crazy not being there.
In retrospect, a series about prosecuting terrorists, drug dealers, and child pornographers isnt exactly comedy gold.
Hugh Fink
For me, it was pretty good.
That was when my career really picked up.
Rob Riggle
I had a really great first year after I left the show.
My first stand-up special,Pizza Mind, was released.
I was in the indie filmsThe WeekendandThe Outdoorsman.
I booked an NBC pilot calledSo Close.
I had a role inI Feel Pretty.
I moved down the hall toLate Night With Seth Meyers.
So it was like going to college in the parking lot of your high school.
Im not sure Id have ever leftSNLhad it not been for something that exciting.
Robert Smigel
I started working onNewsRadio.
It was quite delightful.
Lew Morton
I continued playing the piano.
Paul Shaffer
We didGilda Live, then I began doing stuff in L.A.
Overall deals Michael ODonoghue and I wrote some films together.
The series sold and aired for a year.
One door closes … Michaela Watkins
New baby, new show.
Amy Poehler
I had a great year.
I moved to Hollywood and immediately had two holding deals and worked in TV and movies right away.
I was constantly onstage in Los Angeles and met many comics in L.A. that I never knew of.
It was a magical year.
I moved to L.A.
I would have gladly continued doingSNL, but that wasnt an option.
Even struggle was exciting, because I was in the middle of it all.
I did two movies back-to-back:Whos Your Caddy?andThe Comebacks.
I enjoyed being out of New York City.
He had fired the host.Five All Night, Live All Night it was likeThe Tonight Show.
I did that, and it was immensely popular.
Boston is a college town; everyone was up at 1 to 2 in the morning.
I had the greatest time.
I boxed with Marvin Hagler, I wrestled with Killer Kowalski.
ThenStripescame out, and Billy Murray came on the show!
So I was okay.
I moved to L.A. and started writing forThe Officeand adjusted pretty well.
They plagued me that first year.
Michael Schur
Feels weird that the show goes on without you.
Feels like they shouldve stopped when you left.
Akiva Schaffer
