10 Unexpected Breakout TV Characters

6. Stefon (SNL)

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In the multiple decades the venerable sketch comedy series has been on the air, few characters have broken out the way Bill Hader's did and not ended up with a terrible movie. There have been a lot of funny characters but few have induced the level of convulsing laughs that Stefon did. That's as much about John Mulaney as it was about Bill Hader.

Taking nothing away from Hader's epic performance each time Stefon appeared on Weekend Update, Mulaney's writing is key. At the last minute, Mulaney would reputedly swap out the cue cards right before Hader rolled out on set. This meant that Hader was seeing many of the jokes for the first time, too, catching him as off guard as the viewer. Hader's earnest response to Mulaney's jokes is impossible to replicate.

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Ian Goodwillie is a freelance writer based out of Saskatoon, SK, Canada. He has a BA in English Literature from the University of Saskatchewan and completed the Writing Program at Vancouver Film School. More importantly, Ian is also a wrestling fan, comic book reader, video game player and photographer. He loves to write and writes about what he loves. Ian's also an unrepentant, unapologetic Cougar Town fan, a show he will defend until the day he dies.