Breaking Character
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Chris Parnell
dennisrafkin — 19 years ago(April 01, 2007 04:15 PM)
I remember reading somewhere awhile ago that he was the only cast member of SNL to have never broken character, EVER, and after watching tons of episodes, I've never seen him do it either. But now, I can't find that info anywhere. Can anyone possibly help?
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koywz — 18 years ago(June 01, 2007 01:12 AM)
I've watched SNL since the mid 90s and have seen all the Parnell years and can say he's definitely never cracked up on the show. Pretty impressive considering he's been in at least 4 or 5 sketches where everyone around him is cracking up, but Parnell was always the one guy in the scene to remain in character. (the best examples I can think of are Cowbell, Cork Soakers, the one where Ferrell chews food and spits it in Parnell's mouth and the best example was the crazy Will Ferrell doctor sketch where he loses a couple's baby. Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell are both right next to him laughing uncontrollably after Tim Meadows does a crazy robot dance, but Parnell remained straight-faced and still delivered his lines throughout the huge character breaking choas between Will & Molly. Phil Hartman would be proud.)
But, the info isn't totally correct saying he's THE ONLY cast member who's never cracked up. There's gotta be others, like people who weren't on the show for very long. But I'd say of all the cast members who've been there for 5 years or more, most of them are bound to have at some point, he's one of the few who haven't. Even the great Phil Hartman known for staying in character better than any cast member, once cracked up big time in a sketch the first time he was playing Frankenstien. I'm pretty sure that was the only time for him. Phil was the only person to keep a straight face at Chris Farley's antics in the first Matt Foley sketch I believe.
There's some long time members I don't remember ever cracking up like Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealo238n, Ana Gasteyer or Will Forte. -
cacilie — 18 years ago(June 01, 2007 04:52 PM)
Very well said,koywz!
Cacilie cacilie@sbcglobal.net -
rockmail — 17 years ago(January 08, 2009 08:31 AM)
I don't get why character "steadiness" is such a desired trait here on Parnell's message board.
So what if an actor "cracks up"? It's actually VERY funny sometimes - particularly if the original script isn't really going anywhere brilliant.
Now I agree that Jimmy Fallon over did it, but many things are worse when overdone, it doesn't mean that they are bad to begin with.
I really LIKE the character breaking on shows like the Carol Burnett Show of old, and even on many SNL skits once in awhile.
Loosen up and enjoy, peeps.