With the famed sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live returning to our screens these past few weeks, we’ve been diving into some of the show’s most unwatchable moments. With such an array of star guests and musical artists, one might expect those less-desirable moments to come from performers who have since faded away. However, the truth is some of the most excruciating instances come from our most esteemed cultural figures. Adrien Brody, the critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning actor who achieved recognition in 2002 after starring in Roman Polanski’s film The Pianist, has his name etched in the annals of the film industry for eternity.
His victory in the ‘Best Actor’ category at the Academy Awards made him the youngest actor to win in that accolade, a celebration of a quite spectacular performance which established Brody as a Hollywood superstar who very rarely misjudges a cinematic opportunity. However, in the world of television, the actor has had less success.
Saturday Night Live may well be one of the most lucrative late-night shows of all time, and, as many know all too well, the chance to perform as either the musical guest or the host is a commercial opportunity not to be missed. However, some artists don’t seem to realise the chance they have to reach a national audience or perhaps they do and are keen to make a point. Adrian Brody, on the other hand, misjudged the situation spectacularly.
While Brody’s success with The Pianist cemented his place on the big screen, one which has seen the actor most famously create an unbinding relationship with director Wes Anderson, his first foray into the world of TV fell awkwardly flat. Brody, booked to host Saturday Night Live on May 10th, 2003, would make the crucial mistake of taking to the stage in a skit which was allegedly entirely improvised and later widely criticised as racially offensive.
The story goes that Brody went off-script and walked on stage to present his intro wearing faux dreadlocks and began to don a Jamaican accent in reference to the fact that the show were planning to welcome Jamaican reggae musical guest Sean Paul to perform. “Ya, ya, ya, ya, you know, man. We got original rude boy Sean Paul here,” Brody begins to say as the crowd falls silent.
He continues: “Respect all respect. My auntie. Respect all aspect, respect me neck, respect me knees, Big up Jamaica massive! Big up Kingston Massive! We got the whole family now, ya here! Big respect to my man Sean Paul the dance floor killer!”
In more recent rumours, the skit wasn’t improvised and was delivered almost exactly the same in rehearsal as Brody did live on air. It makes the commonly held belief that Brody was acting alone and subsequently banned from ever performing on the show again feel a little flimsy. The reality is that Brody’s awareness has likely matured, and the need for such a high-profile spotlight dwindled, which has prevented him from returning.
However, the skit, which has largely been removed from the internet despite the short clip below, lasts less than a minute but, in truth, trying to watch it feels like a lifetime. It’s only Lorne Michaels, the now-iconic producer of SNL, who famously hates improvised bits, that knows if he did ban Brody following the incident. The truth is, the skit is so unwatchable that it has self-enacted a ban on Brody appearing through sheer embarrassment.
See the clip, below.