Top 20 Best Physical Comedy Moments on SNL

Gathering together for a birthday celebration, a group of friends has to deal with the unpredictable sister Lisa. The outspoken character has ordered her steak extra well-done, and doesn’t mind having to work for her food. While trying to cut the meat, she violently shakes the table with every stroke. Ego Nwodim’s determined performance turns this dinner into a hysterical experience. Host Pedro Pascal almost immediately breaks into a wave of laughter as the others barely contain themselves. Nwodim absolutely destroys the room with her brilliant work handling the meal. The ordeal also gets Bowen Yang to laugh, bringing the best sort of chaos to the table.

A dinner party takes an absurd turn when one of the hosts turns out to be a boss with a baby’s body. Sliding down the stairs, Beck Bennett fully embodies the physicality of a toddler. Kenan Thompson plays the employee hoping to get a promotion, and putting up with a lot as a result. From struggling to walk to mishandling expensive plates, Bennett really sells every movement with hilarious accuracy. The host couple then announces that they’re expecting, adding an extra level of irony to the affair. Following a chaotic scene at the table, the boss reminds everyone of his early bedtime and high-fives them goodbye. The added touch of him being in a baby chair makes it that much funnier.

Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig are genuine superstars in this sketch. Starring as spokesmodels in a game show, the pair have to show off the program’s prizes. Their various movements combine with absurd accents to create a wonderfully volatile energy. Rudolph and Wiig quickly break down, almost overcome by the ridiculous props. At one point, one of them drives a golf cart that nearly runs the other over, before destroying part of the set. Even Bill Hader has to hide his laughter while the two women seemingly have a blast making each other break throughout. It’s a hilarious dose of physical comedy, and we’re surprised they stick to the script at all!

Bill Hader plays Herb Welch, an ornery reporter with no filter in this recurring sketch. In this version, he talks to locals about falling ice. Things predictably go haywire though, as Herb’s worst instincts kick in and he lets his outdated attitude fly free. He’s also eager to use his microphone against people, including Kristen Wiig’s character. The moments are so absurd that they nearly break Hader out of his performance. After attacking the camera, the unorthodox newsman shows he’s still up for picking a fight. The entire premise hinges on Hader's unique ability to sell the old man as a physically combative trainwreck, and he delivers.

Melissa McCarthy isn’t afraid to put her body on the line for the sake of comedy. Take this classic Hollywood parody as an example. She expertly plays a fictional actress who can’t seem to conquer a staircase. The star repeatedly attempts to climb the stairs, to no avail. McCarthy tumbles every time with reckless abandon, never appearing worried about potential injuries. Just when you think it can’t get any better, she starts at the top, fails to catch flowers, and takes one more climactic spill for laughs. While McCarthy is also brilliant with ranch dressing or playing Sean Spicer, this film homage brings out the best of her skills.

Sometimes underrated compared to his contemporaries, Chris Kattan reveals his physical prowess as Mr. Peepers. He transforms into a primate in this sketch, where his character is shown off to a classroom. In every mannerism, Kattan captures the primal instincts of an animal. He breaks objects and tears through an apple in what can only be described as a manic performance. Once Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson enters the scene as the father, Peepers acts even wilder. Kattan and his co-star proceed to spit apples everywhere, before attacking the teacher and breaking through a wall. Talk about going all out to create a tornado of comic goodness.

Delivering a masterclass in physical comedy, icon Eddie Murphy channels the “Godfather of Soul” here. He skillfully takes James Brown to his logical extreme as a dancing host, shimmying with the band and singing in a high-wire act of excellence. Eventually, he tips his toe in to check the tub’s heat before recoiling at the temperature. By the time he finally sits down in the water, we’ve all been treated to an enjoyable, over the top dance party. If you ask us, this has to be included on Murphy’s “Saturday Night Live” highlight reel for its full-throttle physical energy alone.

While recording “(Don’t Fear) The Reaper,” Blue Öyster Cult isn’t quite sure how much to use one particular instrument. Will Ferrell brings it as the cowbell player in one of his most iconic roles. Not to be overshadowed, Christopher Walken plays the producer stepping in to offer his opinions. Ferrell isn’t afraid to go all in on his character, playing hard and making even wilder movements. It gets so out of hand that he gets into a fight with his bandmates. By the end though, he hits that cowbell like his life depends on it. It’s both a highly-quotable sketch and one that demands a ton of physicality from its star.

You wouldn’t necessarily expect cheerleaders to be performing at a chess tournament, but these aren’t your average pom-pom twirlers. Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri star as the recurring characters in a sketch that involves several inventive routines. Both performers really get into their work, using movement to steal the spotlight away from the competition itself. They exude so much school spirit that their cheers start to veer into vicious territory. And between their shouting and constant commentary, the duo even find time for a perfectly-posed picture. The ecstatic partners round it all out with a choreographed dance to Tone Lōc’s “Funky Cold Medina.”

Gilda Radner was among the breakout stars of “Saturday Night Live” in its early seasons. This sketch (and the recurring character of Judy Miller as a whole), provide a good example of why she achieved fame, giving her ample opportunity to entertain. She plays a girl that makes up her own show in her bedroom. Jumping around and fidgeting on her bed, Radner never lets up, delivering a one-woman show full of stuffed animals. She even repeatedly launches herself into a door without missing any of her dialog. With the ability to command a scene by herself, the comedian runs around in an impressive display of childlike wonder, and we never tire of watching her.

This hilarious skit from 2012 is literally three and a half minutes of Kristen Wiig, as actress and singer, Liza Minnelli, trying to turn off a lamp. There is really no complicated joke here - and there doesn’t need to be. The laughs come entirely from Wiig’s awesome, exaggerated theatricality: the kicks, the jazz hands, the Fosse neck… And this wasn’t the first time we saw Wiig do this either. The previous season we got to watch her turn another mundane task into comic gold with “Ann Margaret tries to throw away a wad of paper into a trash can.”

There were so many of these “Falls of the Week” that we couldn’t choose just one. So, here’s Chevy Chase falling down over and over again. Chase was part of the original cast of “not ready for prime time players” that shook up TV sketch comedy back in 1975. And for all but two shows that first season he was the guy that got to say those iconic words, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night.” Usually that line would follow a pratfall. Often, Chase would perform these falls as President Gerald Ford.

Great physical comedy doesn’t always have to be big. Sometimes comedy can come from simple movements. Which is the case with this funny skit from season 43. Cecily Strong comes to girlfriend game night with her much older husband, Horace (Bill Hader in a bald cap and a wheelchair). And some of the biggest laughs in the skit come as Horace tries to navigate his wheelchair around the room. So much so that Hader backing up and pushing the table has him and the other actors laughing as much as the audience. Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen the brilliant Bill Hader break.

Decades before the head-bobbing Batubi brothers appeared on SNL, there were two Czech bachelors hunting “foxes” in New York City bars and clubs. The Festrunk brothers, played by Dan Aykroyd and Steve Martin, referred to themselves as “two wild and crazy guys.” And all their moving and shaking and bobbing around perfectly accentuated their thick accents and wannabe “playboy” attitudes. Few recurring characters have reached the popularity that these two enjoyed. So much so that Martin and Aykroyd brought the duo back 35 years after they made their first appearance on the show, in a dating game skit.

Harry Shearer is probably best known for his many voices on “The Simpsons” - including Mr. Burns. Christopher Guest wrote and acted in such films as “This is Spinal Tap” and “Best in Show” - which he also directed. And Martin Short is one of the great comedic performers of his generation. In 1984 these three greats came together in one of the best SNL digital film shorts of all time - about two un-athletic brothers trying to make it as male synchronized swimmers. The whole thing is hysterical, but the “routines” in the pool are classic. Point to any comedy fan who was old enough to be watching “SNL” in 1984 and say “I know you! I know you!” They’ll get the joke.

Molly Shannon certainly loves to kick, stretch and kick. But she didn’t only break out those sweet moves as 50-year-old Sally O’Malley. One of her other popular recurring characters during her time on “SNL” was the made-for-TV movie quoting Catholic Schoolgirl Mary Katherine Gallagher. And in this sketch from season 24 Mary kicks, stretches, kicks and throws herself against bathroom stalls. There sure is no denying the physical comedy here. The one popular move she didn’t pull in this one, that she did in most Mary sketches, was the old “smelling your hands after putting them in your armpits”.

The Chippendales sketch from season 16 has become one of the most popular in the history of the show - and is often credited as the moment that launched Chris Farley to stardom. Some even knew, before the live performance, that it was going to be huge. Mike Meyers has said that he “knew in rehearsal that a star was born.” Farley would go on to make a career out of his willingness and ability to completely commit to big, physical comedy like few others ever have. That included the rest of his time on “SNL”, and his work in films such as “Tommy Boy” and “Beverly Hills Ninja.”

This might be one of the least well-known skits/characters on the list, but it’s also one of the funniest. Kristin Wiig has had many memorable moments on Weekend Update. But one of her best physical comedy roles might just be as Flirting Expert Rebecca Larue. In 2011 Wiig brought Larue to the Weekend Update desk to give anchor Seth Meyers a lesson in flirting. Wiig took classic flirting moves up about 10 notches and the resulting physical comedy is hysterical. It culminates in Wiig just spreading her legs right at Meyers. His shock is genuine - because it was totally improvised in that moment by Wiig.

The Butabi Brothers (better known as the Roxbury Guys) were characters that relied completely on physical comedy. And people loved it. Go to any college bar in the 90s and there’s a good chance you would see some 20-something guys bobbing their heads and pointing at girls asking, “you, me? Me? Him? You, me?” These pick-up artist wannabes, played by Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan, were the “Wild and Crazy” guys of the 90s. The two pairs of “siblings” even came together on the show one time in the season 24 premiere.

Who could ever forget the great Chris Farley and his motivational speaker Matt Foley? The character made his “SNL” debut during Farley’s third season on the show. He was an immediate hit, cracking up the audience as well as the other members of the cast on stage (which was always a goal of Farley’s). As David Spade would later recall, “In rehearsal, he's done the thing with his glasses. But he'd never done the twisting his belt and hitching up the pants thing. He saved that for the live performance, and so none of us had ever seen it. He knew that would break me.” Break him it did, but we really can’t blame him!