SNL’s Marcello Hernandez opens up about his friendship with Emilio Estefan

Marcello Hernandez’s career has blown up. The Latino comedian is one of Saturday Night Live’s best new cast members and has discussed his experience of making the show on Despierta America. In an interview, he discussed his relationship with Gloria and Emilio Estefan, with his mom making an appearance and discussing Marcello’s rebellious teenage years.

Marcello was speaking with one of the hosts of Despierta America, where they showed him a video of Emilio Estefan sending him his best. “Emilio is very nice. I take him food sometimes,” explained Marcello in Spanish. The two met before Marcello’s work in SNL. “He’s helped me a lot. He’s been a very positive influence in my life. I’m very grateful for his friendship. I love him and Gloria very much.”

When discussing his experience with comedy, Marcello revealed that he comes from a funny family. “I don’t know, I think my mom, my dad, my stepdad, and my sister are funny people,” he said. Then, when explaining his passion for comedy, Marcello shared that he hadn’t considered it as a career for a long time. “I think I had a passion for being annoying,” he said. “Slowly that was fine tuned. But at first I just wanted to be annoying and to talk during inappropriate moments”

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Marcello’s tight bond with his mother

Marcello was joined by his mother, Isabel, who he often talks about as a source of inspiration for his skits. She revealed that while he was in school, she received phone calls from school representatives around once a week. “’Marcello won’t stop talking’” she said, mimicking his teachers. “’Marcello is the class clown.’”

On SNL, Isabel has appeared indirectly on several of Marcello’s best skits, played by Pedro Pascal. “She has a great sense of humor, thank God,” said Marcello on The Today Show. “She loves Pedro. She’s a big TV watcher, so she knows about all these people.” After the show played a clip of Pascal playing his mom, Marcello laughed and said, “That’s not what my mom looks like at all. The attitude was there. Pedro did such a good job.”