-Our next guest is
a very funny comedian, you know, from his work
on "Saturday Night Live." The 49th season of "SNL"
kicks off this Saturday, October 14th on NBC
and streams live on Peacock with host Pete Davidson
and musical guest Ice Spice. Please welcome to the show.
Marcello Hernandez, everybody. [ Cheers and applause ] ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ [ Cheers and applause ] Marcello, this is, uh, I want to get this
out of the way. This is your first appearance
on a talk show. -Yes.
Can you tell? [ Laughter ] -It's just -- it's amazing that
you know all the customs --
tuxedo, corsage for the host, bottle of wine
with no glasses or corkscrew. [ Laughter ] This is so -- I'm so happy.
I really love this. I'm going to take it off
only because I'm worried I'm going to poke your eye out,
but -- I talk with my hands. Congratulations on
an exceptional first season on the show.
-Oh, thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you, guys. -I hope this is true, but when I watch
new cast members and I think
the first time I really took stock of you
was behind the Update Desk. You seemed like you were
having a very good time, which is a very hard thing to do
on a stressful show like that. But I think one of the reasons
the audience likes to see you is you seem
to be enjoying yourself. -I absolutely am. I used to sell tickets
on the street in New York, so there's nothing
to not be happy about. [ Laughter ] There's no reason for me not to
be having the time of my life. -Well, it definitely shows. And it's very exciting
to have you back. And also, I was backstage.
Your mom is here tonight. -My mom is here today. -I think she is right
over there. -There she is.
Yes, that's my mom! [ Cheers and applause ] I -- can I say something
to here? -You can say whatever
you like to your mom. -Mom, very quickly,
I just want to say I am so grateful for you and everything that
you sacrificed for me in my life
and everything I do, including this,
is always for you. [ Speaking in Spanish ] -Aww. [ Cheers and applause ] That is so sweet. And also it's funny because
I was in the dressing room and you walked out
and I said to your mom, You must be so proud of him.
And she went, "Eh." [ Laughter ] -That's -- that sounds like her. Yes, that sounds like her. -I'm joking, of course. But you -- you did a sketch
with Pedro Pascal... -Yes.
...who was. a really wonderful season of host last year, but he did stand out.
-Yes. -And he played
an overprotective mother. And there's a Pedro
with a mustache, which is very funny to me. And was this based
at all on your mom? -Not physically. -I think that is clear.
[ Laughter ] It's almost why it was good
to have a cut to of your beautiful mother, yeah.
-Thank you. He came to the show
and he kind of had this idea of wanting to do something
in Spanish, and he wanted to be my mother. It was, you know, he kind of had
this vibe coming in, and I was lucky enough to be
the only person at the show that could write in Spanish. And it just gave me
the great opportunity. So, Pedro, my second mom,
thank you. I love you. -And what are some of
the things that I know it's based on actual thing. What were some things
your mom would say? -Well...
-You knew as as somebody with a sense of humor
were funny things? -Well, the great line --
one of the pieces of the sketch is that my mother
doesn't believe in ADD. And so one of the lines
is my son don't have ADD. He just liked to jump. [ Laughter ] So that kind of sounds
like her. -You you took advantage
of being able to write in Spanish multiple times
last year. -Yes.
-Ana de Armas was on. -Oh, wow.
And you wrote -- this is -- it was
a Spanish class. And you grew up in Miami,
but you went to college in Ohio and you did a take
Spanish in college. -Yes, I took -- I wanted
to feel smart in school. -Yeah.
-So I took the hardest class that they had, you know,
Spanish one million. And it was so funny to me because the teachers
in the Spanish classes in the Midwest,
they have American names. You know, I walked in
and my teacher's name was, you know, Seth Meyers, like something like --
just like a name that you knew immediately
you were going to be like, oh, I'm better
than this person. [ Laughter ] And it was just shocking. Like, I remember
one of the times, like the first day everybody
introduces themselves and, you know, the ladies like,
"Jake, por favor?" And he's like, "Hola,
mi nombre es Jake and yo soy from Cincinnati and mi comida
favorito es pizza. And then I'm like,
"No, now me, please, me. And I'm like...
[ Speaking in Spanish ] And then the teachers just like,
"Did you guys hear that? That is your new teacher." [ Laughter ] [ Applause ] Now, you actually --
a college athlete. -Yes.
-Played soccer in college? -Yes, John Carroll University. -There you go.
I love to see this. And then because you did
a wonderful thing at the Update Desk
about a Latin baseball players and how they celebrate
differently, they interview differently. They have more style,
more flair. And you actually
got to participate in the All-Star game this year. -Yes.
-There you are looking like you know what you're doing. But even more impressive,
I want to show a clip because I've done -- I threw out
a first pitch once. I was so nervous. And you walking up to bat
in this celebrity all-star game
seemed very chill and loose. And I'll show it first
and then ask you a question. Let's watch Marcello
walking to the plate. -Oh. Is a New Yorker? -Wait a minute.
-It seems like he could be. [ Laughter ] [ Cheers and applause ] -Yeah, I-I definitely did that. -I think my favorite, I really
enjoyed that update feature, the many observations you have
about Latin baseball players. One is just the pulling out
of the chain. -Of course.
-Which is -- Can you explain real quick? -I think it's just, one,
it's to be maybe a little more comfortable
out there. But they have a few chains,
and some of it is religious. You know what I mean?
They're always -- they always have like a, you know,
a crucifix or something. And, yeah, I think
they're just cool that way. They pull out their chain. They're like,
in the name of the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
they thank people. It's like such
a beautiful experience. I used to have a joke
I did on stage where the batter would be like, you know,
in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Ghost, just in case I need
a little divine intervention. [ Chuckles ] [ Laughter ] And they're so ready afterwards. -Did you -- when you auditioned
for SNL, were you pulling from
from old standup? Did you at least know?
Oh, I'm doing stuff that's worked on stage
and have a little bit more confidence because of that. -1,000%. A lot of my audition material
was about my mom and about how
she escaped communism. And I'd be like, Mom,
"I had a bad day at school." And she'd be like,
"Oh, yeah? [ Laughter ] At the place
with the free food? That's...?" So a lot of the stuff
was kind of about that stuff. And she -- she's my inspiration,
my muse. -Yeah, well, I'll tell you,
the more you talk about her, the more it makes sense
that you look like you're having so much fun on stage.
You seem very grateful. And I am very grateful
for both you and your mom for making you the guy you are because you're so much fun
to watch. Congratulations. Can't wait
to see your second season. -Thank you so much. -Thanks for being here,
Marcello. You guys, Marcello Hernandez. "SNL" returns live for its season premiere
this week with host Pete Davidson
and musical guest Ice Spice. We'll be right back
with the very funny Aparna Nancherla.
