Bowen Yang is now a key part of the Saturday Night Live cast — but he almost didn't get the gig after blowing his 2017 screen test with SNL boss Lorne Michaels, saying, "I pandered to his Canadianness."
Appearing on Hot Ones last month (November 21), Yang recalled his audition process. Yang's family moved to Canada when he was six months old, where they lived in Montreal until Yang was nine and they moved to to Aurora, CO, in the outskirts of Denver.
"The final step in that process is you have a one-on-one meeting with Lorne. It was him and another producer, Erik Kenward," he said. "The first thing out of my mouth was, 'I'm Canadian, too. I grew up in Montreal. I grew up in Quebec' — and immediately it was done, it was a vibe killer. I didn't get the job because I had pandered to his Canadianness, and it was a disaster."
At the advice of Aidy Bryant, Yang eventually learned to treat Michaels more like a friend and overcame his initial faux pas. Yang became a staff writer in 2018 and featured player in 2019.