When Saturday Night Live cast members and writers gather this weekend to celebrate the series’ 40th anniversary, San Diego native Kyle Mooney will be among them.
Fans of the show will recognize Mooney from the "Inside Socal" cable access show where he and others report on lover quarrels, classmate haircuts and who has Vicodin all while sporting vintage San Diego Padres ballcaps.
The Scripps Ranch High School alum has been a featured player on the weekly sketch comedy show this season.
After studying film at the University of Southern California, he auditioned for SNL but didn’t make the cut.
For his second audition, he needed to develop an entirely new set for the producers and writers. He later credited online video clips he produce with a group of friends as what helped him land the gig.
Now, he’s performing on the same stage as some of his childhood heroes.
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u0022Saturday Night Liveu0022 Cast: Then and Now
He describes Hartman, Farley, Carvey, Myers and Sandler as like his older brothers that got him into watching SNL.
He considers Phil Hartman's "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer" character as a personal favorite.
As a teenager, he grew to love watching veteran cast member Wil Ferrell.
But nothing could prepare him for his first moments on the live broadcast. He recalled an out-of-body experience during his first appearance on Weekend Update .
“I felt I was a puppeteer maneuvering my body,” he said.
The nerves are still there but once he gets through the first few few words of a sketch, he said it’s all about having fun with the performance.
“The show has been insane, amazing and crazy, frightening,” Mooney said. “I’ve experienced every emotion possible from being totally elated to not wanting to get up out of my bed.”
See other moments from SNL's 40 years here and watch the special coverage on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. PT on NBC 7.
