Molly Shannon let the Jonas Brothers and “Saturday Night Live” cast member Ego Nwodim in on a little secret.
On April 6, the comedian and actor appeared in a series of promos ahead of her “SNL” hosting gig. Joining her in the promos were Nwodim as well as Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas and Nick Jonas, who will perform as the Saturday showβs musical guests. And there was a nod to Mary Katherine Gallagher, one of Shannon’s most iconic characters from when she was an “SNL” cast member.
During one promo, Nwodim called Shannon one of her βcomedy heroesβ and admitted to feeling nervous about their upcoming show.
βHonestly, Iβm a little nervous to be performing with you,β Nwodim shared, prompting the Jonas brothers to nod in agreement.
Shannon responded by offering a helpful βtip.β
βSometimes when I get nervous, I stick my fingers under my arms,β Shannon shared, stuffing her hands under her arms while everyone else followed her lead. βAnd I smell it like that.β
βOK, wow!β Nwodim replied. βThat worked! Iβm not nervous anymore!β
βSee!β Shannon replied joyfully.
Shannon first made her mark on the βSNLβ stage in the mid-90s as a featured player when she debuted Gallagher in addition to other characters. Shannon as Gallagher β a hyperactive and socially unpopular Catholic high schooler βdelighted viewers of βSNLβ throughout her time on the show.
In 2022, Shannon reflected on a pinnacle moment for the character when Whitney Houston perform alongside her.
βIt was so nice. They were like, βSheβs not going to be in the sketch. Sheβs not going to do it,ββ Shannon recalled during an appearance on βThe Howard Stern Show.β βAnd I was like, βSheβll do it. Let me go talk to her.ββ
βI just told Whitney, βLook, Iβm gonna play the Catholic school girl. Youβre gonna be like, snotty girl and itβs all you have to do is just do whatever you want,ββ she recalled. ββYou just have to kind of be, you know, snotty push in front of me. Out sing me, and so you can say whatever you want.β She was like, βIβll do it! Iβll do it!β So thatβs how I got her to do it.β
Shannon and Houston duked it out alongside each other on the stage as their two characters competed to have their voices heard while belting out βSleigh Ride.β In the end, Shannon, as Gallagher, launched herself off the stage after going a little too far.
See if Shannon brings the popular character back to the live stage as she hosts Saturday, April 8, 2023.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com