'SNL': Heidi Gardner Hit Major Milestone During Rami Malek Episode

By Stephanie Downs

Saturday Night Live star Heidi Gardner celebrated a special milestone during the most recent episode of the sketch comedy series. According to The SNL Network, the Oct. 16 episode, hosted by Rami Malek, featured Gardner's 300th sketch on the show. The comedian originally joined the show as a featured player during Season 43.

The SNL Network highlighted the fact that a particular sketch that aired at the top of the show was Gardner's 300th. To open the episode, SNL featured a football press conference col open, which was a nod to the Jon Gruden email scandal. During the skit, Gardner portrayed a Washington football cheerleader. Her character noted that just like her team, she doesn't "have a name."

As previously mentioned, Gardner joined SNL for Season 43, which premiered in September 2017, as a featured player. She served as a featured player for Seasons 43 and 44 before being promoted to a repertory player. Ahead of the premiere of the current season, 47, Gardner spoke with Backstage, during which she reflected on her SNL audition. Based on her audition, which incorporated more than a few impressions, it's no surprise that SNL tapped her to join the cast. 

"I remember knowing that I wanted to be absolutely undeniable in their eyes," she explained. "I packed my audition. I think I did nine original characters and three impressions. It was a lot of 15 seconds of a character." Gardner added about the auditioning process, "I tried to work in some that needed a little more time. Those were a lot of characters that I'd done in shows before; I knew them. But the hardest thing with auditions is trusting that you know it. I remember the days leading up to it was like, How many times is enough? I even do that to myself now. When do I just trust I know this thing?"

Season 47 of SNL premiered on Oct. 2 with host Owen Wilson and musical guest Kacey Musgraves. The following week, Kim Kardashian made her hosting debut alongside musical guest Halsey. Malek was the third host of the season, helming the Oct. 16 episode with musical guest Young Thug. Former SNL cast member Jason Sudeikis is set to make a return to the stage on Oct. 23. This time, he'll be taking on hosting duties, with Brandi Carlisle taking over the musical guest spot. 

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