'We're Gonna Blow It': Bill Hader Recalls Josh Brolin's Rallying Words Before SNL Bomb

Bill Hader reflects on a memorable flop from his SNL days, sharing how he and host Josh Brolin faced a doomed 2008 sketch called Fart Face. Here's everything you need to know.

By Sakina Kaukawala

Published on Nov 15, 2024 | 01:27 PM IST | 5.8K

Bill Hader and Ted Danson (via YouTube/Team Coco)

Bill Hader recently shared a humorous and candid story about one of his most memorable flops on Saturday Night Live (SNL). The actor recalled the experience of performing a doomed sketch alongside host Josh Brolin in 2008, mentioning Brolin’s unforgettable pep talk before taking the stage.

The episode in question aired in 2008 and featured some iconic moments in SNL history. It included Sarah Palin's much-talked-about cameo and a musical performance by Adele. According to Hader, it was one of the highest-rated SNL episodes ever.

“This happened to be the show that Sarah Palin came to,” Hader stated during a conversation with Ted Danson on his podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name. “The audience was so excited, and the energy in the room was electric. It was fireworks up until that point.”

Hader and fellow castmate Will Forte, however, had a different challenge ahead. They were tasked with performing a sketch called Fart Face, a concept they had developed featuring two quirky characters, Jerry and Carl, who prank-call Josh Brolin’s character, Jim Dever.

Rehearsals were not promising for the sketch. “We did it at dress rehearsal, and it played to absolute silence. I could hear my own footsteps,” Hader said.

The sketch involved Jerry and Carl calling Dever to accuse him of being a fart face. Dever, played seriously by Brolin, would respond with emotional dialogue, denying the insult.

Hader vividly remembered how quiet the rehearsal room was. “You can hear yourself breathing on stage because it’s bombing so badly,” he said. The cast assumed the sketch wouldn’t make it to the live show.

Surprisingly, producer Lorne Michaels had a different perspective. Hader said that Lorne loved it for some reason and moved it up in the show order, placing it right after Weekend Update. “He even gave us the note, ‘I had a boom shadow in Fart Face,’ which we still laugh about.”

Hader and Forte knew they had a tough act to follow. The audience was still buzzing from Sarah Palin’s rap with Amy Poehler during Weekend Update, and the high-energy performance had the crowd in a frenzy.

Before going on stage, Brolin turned to Hader and Forte with a mix of humor and determination. “He looked at us like it was the end of The Wild Bunch, and he said, ‘Well, fellas, let’s shut these f---ers up.’” Despite the pep talk, the sketch bombed just as expected. Hader admitted with a laugh that they went out there, and it died.

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