From ‘SNL’ to ‘Shrill,’ Bryant fights back against trolls
Few Instagram bios can spark the level of psychedelic joy that Aidy Bryant’s does. A string of emojis, a sort of Morse code of pink bows, rainbows, watermelon slices, poodles and candy, surrounds three words: “Shrill on Hulu.”
“I wish that it was a thoughtful, curated experience,” Bryant says. “But it was just that I went to my ‘frequently used’ tab on my keyboard. And then it was willy-nilly, baby.”
Here’s another bio. After being part of ensembles for most of her career, as an alumna of the Second City in Chicago and a veteran of “Saturday Night Live,” Aidy Bryant broke out on her own last year as the lead character in “Shrill.” And like her character Annie Easton, a writer at a Portland, Oregon, alt-weekly who begins to find her unapologetic voice, Bryant, 32, had to overcome her initial self-doubt.
“There’s a lot of safety in numbers. There’s this kind of protection from scrutiny,” Bryant says. “‘Shrill’ has an incredible ensemble. But the idea of being the lead, and the face of it — it was like, ‘Can I do this? Will I be able to?’ But now, heading into season two, it’s like, ‘Yeah, I can do this. I got this.’ ”
Q: There’s a moment early in the season two premiere where your character is belting out Celine Dion’s “It’s All Coming Back to Me” in a car. Tell me why that song — and is it less nerve-wracking to sing in front of people when you’re playing a character?
A: I was at times more nervous for that than like any sex scene I’ve ever done. Because there’s all these hard notes I have to hit. But I love that song. I truly have since the day it came out. I feel like every year I go through a three-week period where I just listen to it on repeat. So I was ready. I’ve been training my whole life for that moment.
Q: More seriously, it comes soon after a big moment for Annie. She’s just confronted the internet troll that’s been leaving heinous comments on her stories. It’s something you’re familiar with — you even left Twitter because of it.
A: It’s funny, because my experience with Twitter was essentially: I had Twitter for a while. I had been on “SNL,” was kind of fine, didn’t experience that much abuse or anything like that. And then I started playing Sarah Huckabee Sanders and it was almost like somebody turned on the faucet or something. I had 50% of people being like, “You’re a disgusting fat pig who isn’t fit to play this dignified powerful woman in our government.” And then 50% of people being like, “How can sweet, funny Aidy be playing this disgusting monster?” For me, that was the darkest part of it. I feel like I’ve narrowly escaped having to really deal with it in a major way. But it is very cathartic to get to do that on the show.
Q: What’s a moment in your life where you felt the most joy performing?
A: I do feel like a lot of them were in Chicago. Mostly because I was still discovering who I was as a performer, and there was nothing better than getting onstage, being like, “This room has no clue who I am, they don’t give a (darn) about me.” And then, over the course of 20 minutes or an hour, getting them on my side and feeling like I won them over, and now they’re just riding with me. That is the best.
Q: I thought it might be the moment last fall when you broke during the “SNL” sketch (“Inside the Beltway”). It was so good.
A: It really was an intersection of all the things that I love. My dresser, Audrey, I love her, she’s one of my favorite people at “SNL.” And then Cecily (Strong) and Kenan (Thompson) were laughing so hard. The sketch was one where I have to be the straight person, which I also love to do. There were just so many things about it where I was like, “This is a train wreck and I love it.” It’s the thrill of “SNL.” It’s amazing that it doesn’t happen every single week.