Andy Samberg reveals he left Saturday Night Live for his mental health, stating that he was “falling apart” in his life.
On ‘Hart to Heart’, a Peacock interview series hosted by Kevin Hart, the comedian and Lonely Island member sat down for an extensive interview – released on Thursday (July 11) – in which he explained his departure from Saturday Night Live in 2012.
While Samberg found success on the television show performing skits with his fellow cast members and Lonely Island collaborators, he found that, behind the scenes, “I was falling apart in my life” and he couldn’t “endure it anymore”, per Variety.
“Physically, it was taking a heavy toll on me and I got to a place where I was like I hadn’t slept in seven years basically,” Samberg said.
“We were writing stuff for the live show Tuesday night all night, the table read Wednesday, then being told now come up with a digital short so write all Thursday, all Thursday night, don’t sleep, get up, shoot Friday, edit all night Friday night and into Saturday, so it’s basically like four days a week you’re not sleeping, for seven years. So I just kinda fell apart physically.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Samberg talked about the origins of The Lonely Island and how the trio got hired by Saturday Night Live. Watch a clip of that moment below.
He also shared that after his Lonely Island collaborators Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone exited the show, it was different having to produce and perform in skits.
“I was basically left in charge of making the shorts, which I never pretended like I could do without them,” Samberg said. “We made stuff I’m really proud of in my last two years, but there’s something about the songs that I can only do with Akiva and Jorm. It’s just how it is, we’re just a band in that way.”
Samberg also recalls deliberating over the decision to leave the show: “The craziest thing about working there is once you get going, if you’re just in the shower and you have an idea that shit can be on television in three days, which is the most, like, intoxicating feeling.”
“They told me straight up, ‘We prefer you would stay,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, that makes it harder,’” he added. “But I just was like, I think to get back to a feeling of, like, mental and physical health, I have to do it. So I did it and it was a very difficult choice.”