Paul Rudd pranks Conan O’Brien after crashing the host’s interview with Bill Hader to discuss a never-before-seen Saturday Night Live skit and to revive a long running gag.
Audiences everywhere were recently struck with the bittersweet news that Conan O’Brien will officially be bidding adieu to his late night talk show. Rolling Stone emphasizes that he would not have had a proper send-off without a final rendition of what is arguably the show’s most iconic bit: Paul Rudd’s Mac and Me prank.
As one of his last interviews, O’Brien was interviewing comedian, Bill Hader, and reminiscing of his times with SNL. The conversation quickly shifted gears into the discussion of a never-aired sketch that Hader did with Rudd.
“Ed Burns Grill Boys,” was inspired by Hader’s time with Ed Burns on 2007 rom-com Purple Violets. The sketch featured both comedians, mimicking Burn’s voice. Never making it out of dress rehearsal, the skit was labeled the “worst-received sketch of all time.”
Rudd describes the sketch, illustrating that the men were “standing around, both of [them] as Ed Burns, just talking about [their] pop and grilling meat.” Despite both men thinking it was funny, the audience evidently disagreed. According to Rudd, the sketch got “not one laugh.”
Rudd claims that he brought a clip from the sketch’s dress rehearsal, but of course, he had a different plan in mind. The clip he shared instead was a scene from the 1988 film Mac and Me, a poorly-received E.T. knock-off.
This joke dates back to 2004, when O’Brien was hosting Late Night With Conan O’Brien on NBC. Rudd had just finished taping the much-anticipated finale of Friends, and offered to play an exclusive clip from the episode. Instead he pranked the audience with the Mac and Me video – a wheelchair-bound character played by Jade Calegory rolling off a cliff into a lake as the alien MAC looks on. Rudd has trolled the audiences over and over, and the prank has become a tradition to his visits with O’Brien. Playing the clip every time he is hosted, it only made sense to incorporate the joke into O’Brien’s warm closing.
Watch the full interview HERE:
What do think of this iconic prank? Let us know by reacting below or tweeting us @celebsecrets
