You should definitely meet your hero, if your hero happens to be Aidy Bryant. The comedian, whose goofy giggles cut through the inherent digital distance of Zoom calls, chatted about her fashion sense, what it means to be a plus-size icon, and how a decade of dressing like everyone else has shaped her view of oneself. The "Saturday Night Live" writer, performer, and my personal favorite Ted Cruz impersonator left "Saturday Night Live" after ten years and 203 episodes. I've been thinking about Aidy ever since I saw her rap about Chris Pratt's "Her Big Ass" back in 2014. Her appearance on Saturday Night Live gave me something I'd never seen before: a big star portraying anyone and everything.
During her tenure on "SNL," Kobe was able to exist outside of Hollywood's oversized punchlines and instead created the characters she wanted to play, from being madly in love with Ryan Gosling's hen to Mother Earth to the latex-clad Glitter Revolution pop star (the latter being her favorite of the three looks). When she started taking part in the iconic live sketch show, 25-year-old Addie was (in her words) "very, very poor" wearing ASOS dresses that she cut herself (which, she embarrassingly admits, were 100% made in (worn on air) was a far cry from the indie designer pieces she had worn in previous seasons, as well as the Simone Rocha or Naya Rea dresses she often wore on the red carpet. Partly due to the evolution of her personal style, and partly due to the harsh realities of plus-size fashion a decade ago, Addy has transformed before our eyes. Below, we discuss the change, her favorite characters, and more.
What was your style like when you first joined SNL? How has your style changed over the past ten years? When I first joined the cast, my style was I Can Just do whatever you want. I do a lot of thrifting and a lot of piecing together to create something that feels like my style. Now, I feel like I’m less wedded to my early ideas about proportion and midriff-baring. I'm more open to different silhouettes and not tied down by the word "flattering." The SNLis family has such a legendary clothing department. What does that feel like? For one thing, you can wear anything you can imagine.
When I was hired, I had never been on camera, I had never been styled or dressed by anyone but myself. What the Wardrobe Department really taught me is the power of having clothes that fit and feel comfortable. This surprised me. They would do weird things like buy two size 12 Marc Jacobs s and join them together to make a panel on the side so all of a sudden I could wear a A stylish dress that fits in a comfortable way. I couldn't believe how luxurious they were, making them conform to my every curve. It changed my life, really.
The most crushing thing is when someone asks me, "Oh my god, where can I buy this dress?" and I have to answer, "It doesn't actually exist." It's like putting Frankenstein on it. ) are glued together. "The two lead costume designers, Tom Broecker and Eric Justian, as well as Dale Richards, who is in charge of the creative department, and his team, Especially Sam Bennett, who has designed almost everything I've worn on the show over the past 10 years and they've done a lot of extra work to get me on TV. Looked like everyone else but they never batted an eyelid or made me feel bad.
They really changed my life and showed me what was possible and made me ask the question for the first time. , "what do you want to wear," rather than just taking what's possible and matching it with a belt and trying to make it better, you have a unique ability as a writer and actor at snll.com to put that into something. Shape yourself into anything and anyone.What does it feel like, in an era where plus-size actors are often portrayed as fat caricatures? When I was younger (college or even high school), when I was auditioning I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so limiting, because no matter what I auditioned for Whether it's a drama or an ad, they can really only see you one way. That’s not how I see myself or my abilities as an actor or a writer. That’s really why I love improv and skits, because here I can control my own destiny, write based on my strengths, and challenge myself through writing.
A lot of times, even on "Saturday Night Live," your character is set up by the writers in a sketch, and that's the character you're playing. It's like you want to teach them new things you can do. So I'm going to write about some other ways of looking at myself that aren't just cute and nice women. People were shocked to see me doing this. Then I felt like it became more normal and I found a different gear. In Aidy B and Aidy Bizzo, you play yourself, and both sketches start with you thinking about your own power.
I used to have a very beautiful self-awareness, not imposing on others, and almost not wanting anyone to notice my existence. Through years of therapy, through acting, and through my friends and family, I've found a true sense of peace and confidence, and I think I've been able to bring those things into my writing and acting and allow me to be who I truly am. I think a lot of times clothing is the armor that does that.
