Ana Gasteyer Recalls the 1SNLSketch That Made Her Break: 'The Donkeys Went Insane'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ana Gasteyer.Photo:Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty

It takes a lot to makeAna Gasteyerbreak character.

As hostSavannah Guthrienoted in a Tuesday, Feb. 11, interview with the actress onToday, Gasteyer, 57, was almost “stoic” while performing in hilarious sketches during her six-season tenure onSaturday Night Live.

“I’m pretty good at not breaking,” Gasteyer, who was known for her stoneyimpression of Martha Stewartand other character, conceded.

Ana Gasteyer as various characters on ‘Saturday Night Live’.Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Norman Ng/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Norman Ng/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

In fact, she could recall just one sketch that was so funny she broke character — but only in the cast’s dress rehearsal.

“It was this crazy donkey sketch that ultimately did make it to air,” Gasteyer told Guthrie. “It was called ‘Riding My Donkey,’ during theMonica Lewinskyscandal, and it was a bunch of news commentators sitting on donkeys and debating politics.”

Ana Gasteyer as Sen. Katherine Harris on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in 2000.Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU/getty

Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCU/getty

But according to theMean Girlsstar, the animals were even more badly behaved during the dress rehearsal.

“The donkeys went insane and went to all the wrong cameras,” Gasteyer recalled of the rehearsal. “The whole impression was just, like, a smile, and I kept losing it and having to go back and forth.”

Gasteyer boasted that the rehearsal for “Riding My Donkey” was the only time she ever broke. “But I held it together for air,” she added.

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Harper Steele and Will Ferrell in December 2024.Dave Benett/Getty

Dave Benett/Getty

Last September, Ferrell cited the same sketch as one of his own favorites.

“There was an amazing sketch that Harper wrote called the ‘Riding My Donkey’ political talk show,” the actor told theLos Angeles Timesduring an interview about the documentaryWill & Harper. “At one point the donkeys were trying to nuzzle each other, and one donkey had its head in Darrell Hammond’s crotch.”

“That wasn’t writing, really,” Steele chimed in.

“That was just chaos,” Ferrell joked.

source: people.com