Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang addressed his potential exit from the series after years of being part of the ensemble.
The fan-favorite comedian has been part of the iconic show's cast since 2019, and, since then, he has also become a bigger star as he is also part of blockbusters such as Wicked and co-hosts a popular podcast.
Bowen Yang Opens Up About Potential Exit from SNL
In an interview with People, Yang opened up about his potential exit from Saturday Night Live after six years of involvement so far.
While he has no plans to leave the series yet, he indicated that it will happen at some point, and the recent 50th anniversary special gave him an insight into what his career would look like after exiting.
"SNL, it's just this moving, living, breathing thing. Especially after the 50th, I'm seeing what life after the show is like and how beautiful it is, and how so many people, no matter how long they were at the show, are just with their families and loving their lives and not letting the years take away any of that experience for them," Yang said.
"And then with SNL, like I said, it's this growing, living thing where new people come in and you do have to sort of make way for them and to grow and to keep elevating themselves. And that inevitably requires me to sort of hang it up at some point — but I don't know what the vision is yet."
The Impact of SNL on Bowen Yang's Life
Yang also shared how his involvement in Saturday Night Live has impacted his life, including the dating scene.
"The new season of SNL, I'm just like, 'Oh, right. My time isn't my own.' And I tell my friends, 'I'm not going to really see you guys until June,'" he said.
"And people that I've gone a couple solid dates with I'm like, 'Hey, it's not for lack of interest. My time is really slipping away from me and I'm so sorry and it's not a you thing, it's a me thing.'"
Despite that, he relished the collaborative nature of working for Saturday Night Live and the experiences that he has had so far.
"I think one of the best parts about working at SNL is that whenever you're not working on your own, because you are helping someone else, a cast member, execute on their vision, and so they're coming up to you being like, 'You need to dress up as a drone and you need to dress up as a Chinese spy balloon and do blah, blah, blah.' And you're like, 'Okay, sure.' 'You need to do up with Lady Gaga,' And you can't think anything of it," Yang said.
"You get shot out of a cannon in so many of these situations that it kind of breaks down all of your hesitancies around doing anything that has only served me. I mean, every now and then, a lot of times it'll be like egg on your face, you'll make an ass out of yourself, but I never, ever weigh that against the wonderful things that I've gotten to do."
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