Andy Samberg Reveals Why He Left ‘SNL’: ‘I Was Falling Apart in My Life’

Andy Samberg first joined Saturday Night Live in 2005. Seven years later in 2012, the comedian and actor decided to leave, for reasons he recently revealed to be to preserve his physical and mental health.

In an interview in the fourth season of Kevin Hart‘s Peacock show Hart to Heart, Samberg explained why he felt he had little to no choice but to leave the comedy show. “For me, it was like I can’t actually endure it anymore, physically and emotionally,” he said. “I was falling apart in my life.”

“Like you hit a wall,” Samberg continued. “We’re not built to operate that way.”

SNL, known for its taxing hours and quick turnaround demanded of its players, required Samberg to both write for the live show and produce weekly digital shorts with his trio known as The Lonely Island. With fellow members Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, Samberg created multiple viral hits such as “Lazy Sunday,” “On the Ground,” and “I’m On a Boat.” But when Schaffer and Taccone departed in 2010 after their writing contracts were up, Samberg was “basically left in charge of making the shorts.”

“We made stuff I’m really proud of in my last two years, but there’s something about the songs that I can only do with Akiva and Jorm,” explained Samberg. “It’s just how it is, we’re just a band in that way.”

Despite it having been his dream to be on SNL since he was eight years old, the added pressure became too much for Samberg to endure for much longer. “Physically, it was taking a heavy toll on me, and I got to a place where I hadn’t slept in seven years,” he said. “It’s basically like four days a week you’re not sleeping, for seven years. I just kind of fell apart physically.”

Samberg made it clear that he didn’t “want” to leave. However, in order to “get back to a feeling of mental and physical health,” he knew what he had to do.

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Prior to leaving, the Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor consulted with former SNL cast members who understood all too well, including Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler. After doing a guest spot on the government sitcom, Samberg said he was able to “see that life.” Poehler told him, “It’s pretty comfortable, Samberg,” referring to the easier schedule and less intense hours.

Despite being asked to stay, Samberg said, “I think to get back to a feeling of like mental and physical health, I had to do it. So I did it, and it was a very difficult choice…I didn’t like leaving.”

Shortly following his leave, Samberg was cast as Jake Peralta on Brooklyn Nine-Nine in 2013. One year later, he returned to host SNL in 2014.