Heidi Gardner On Breaking During Beavis and Butt-Head ‘SNL’ Sketch
Heidi Gardner was featured in the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch from the April 13 episode of Saturday Night Live and notably broke when she saw castmate Mikey Day as Butt-Head. (Honestly, few could blame her.)
The sketch stood out in the Ryan Gosling-hosted episode thanks to its sheer absurdity and the fact that Gardner very rarely breaks when performing, which Vulture pointed out during their recent interview with her. (Naturally, Gosling, who played Beavis, also broke during the sketch, but that’s almost expected of him at this point.)
According to Gardner, the Beavis and Butt-Head sketch is one that’s been consistently pitched at table reads for about five years by Day and writer Streeter Seidell. However, it would end up getting cut for a variety of reasons. Gardner noted that that sketch was essentially Day and Seidell’s “white whale.”
As far as the ridiculous prosthetics worn by Day and Gosling, Gardner says those didn’t make their debut until dress rehearsal. When she did see Day wearing the Butt-Head gums, Gardner said she “lost it.” She did her best to remind herself to remain composed during the live show, but she just couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“I was trying to imagine seeing him in my head so I was prepared for it, but I just couldn’t prepare for what I saw,” said Gardner.
Additionally, she was comforted by the studio audience applauding her while actively breaking, but she felt uneasy about not being able to stay in character.
“So many other writers and cast members came up and said, ‘Good job.’ I’m like, ‘What? I actually didn’t do my job,'” said Gardner.
The Premise of the Beavis and Butt-Head Sketch
In case you haven’t seen it by now, the sketch stars Gardner as Bobbi Moore, the host of a NewsNation town hall special about artificial intelligence. Gardner was joined by Kenan Thompson, who played MIT professor Norman Hemming.
Unfortunately, Professor Hemming had a hard time focusing on the topic at hand. Sitting behind Moore was an audience member who bore a striking resemblance to Beavis, played by Gosling. The absurdity of someone being in a town hall audience who looked like Beavis clearly made the studio audience laugh, and it didn’t help when Gardner broke into laughter upon seeing Gosling as Beavis.
The ridiculousness continued when Beavis was asked to change seats only to be replaced by a man who bore a striking resemblance to Butt-Head, played by Day. His look was even completed by a curled upper lip and visible braces and gums.
Thompson’s character was beside himself by the new audience member who looked like Butt-Head. Gardner broke again upon turning around to see Day dressed like Butt-Head, which made the studio audience laugh and applaud. She then had a really hard time keeping it together.
Things got even more outrageous when Gardner’s character read a viewer question from X (formerly Twitter), which asked, “Does Cornholio need TP for his bunghole?”
Thompson’s character is now very upset about the viewers now actively trolling the broadcast over the audience members, who are now seated together and are still stunned about being mistaken for the classic cartoon characters.
The whole sketch comes to a close with a surprising nod to King of the Hill that is delightfully unexpected.
5 Hilarious Beavis And Butt-Head Moments
