-Hi, Paula! -Hello, hello!
-You look wonderful! -Thank you so much.
I Kondo'd my closet so hard, I had to go get an outfit.
-Oh, wow! [ Laughter ]
-Because all I had left was like a bra and sweatpants
that I only wear when I have the flu.
-Oh, gotcha. [ Laughter ]
-So, I got a little suit. -That's the danger.
The danger of Kondo'ing. You over-Kondo'd.
-Hold on. Ahh.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You're looking at my butt right now.
[ Laughter ] Hi.
-I have known you for a very long time.
-So long. -And I met you as a writer
at "SNL," and everyone who ever worked
in a writer's room with you
knew you to be the funniest person on Earth.
And now it's really exciting,
because you're acting a lot more now,
and the world is seeing how funny you are.
-I am. I'm aging into these older-lady characters.
I was born at 50. I was born a matron.
But I always wore the gray spray in my hair
and played the Mother Superior in 8th grade
in "Sound of Music," and now I'm actually --
of an approximate age -- I'm nearing an approximate age
where I can play a lady, say, in her 50s.
[ Laughter ] -That's wonderful.
And the world is so happy to have it.
And now you've created so many characters --
too many to list --
for wonderful actors at "SNL" over the years.
You have a new character. -I have a new character.
-For yourself, now, which is really exciting.
-That I just created just to soothe myself and my friends.
It's just kind of not fully flushed out yet,
but I was gonna try it out on you.
-Great. -It's -- It got inspired
when I was drinking some tea, some green tea,
and I found what was on the box so comforting.
Come over here, Seth. -Okay. Come sit next you?
-The world is just such a scary place now, so I just --
-Okay. -I want you to feel --
-And what's the name of your character?
-My character's name is Nana Teabags.
-Okay, gotcha. [ Laughter ]
-So, just come over here with me.
-Okay.
-And just really park your head on my bosom.
Just go -- -Okay. Like that?
Okay. -Just right in the bike rack.
Okay. [ Laughter ]
Now just close your eyes. -Okay. The bike rack?
-And I'm just gonna read about tea.
You ready? -Yeah.
[ Laughter ]
-Through the screened front door,
zingy lemongrass and spritely spearmint
coax contemplative pan-fired green teas to come play.
[ Laughter ]
Calmly, lemon verbena opens the door
and invites them all to a cup of tea.
[ Laughter ]
Now, wait. There's a little bit more.
-Oh, okay. [ Laughter ]
-Giggling -- Giggling notes of curious chai tea
peek mischievously from behind a painted screen.
They summon us and gently suggest
that we join their spicy hang
and leave our pantaloons at the door.
[ Laughter and applause ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
-You have such -- -Go back and sit there,
'cause I'm starting to get straight.
[ Laughter ]
-You have such -- -My 10% went to 12%.
-[ Cheers ]
-You're up to 12? That's a new record.
-I'm up to 12 when I'm sitting with you.
You're foxy. -Thank you.
Your diction is such that you were just, like,
blowing those words across the top of my hair.
-Yeah. Just very Sally Kellerman.
-Yes. -Blue-cheese dressings.
[ Laughter ]
-You had another incredible performance this year,
and even Jesse Eisenberg, a previous guest,
was shouting you out.
An episode of "Documentary Now," you played --
You basically channeled Elaine Stritch.
-I channeled her.
I did not do a real impression of her,
because no one can be Elaine Stritch.
-You grabbed her spirit. -Yes.
-Because there was this famous moment in this documentary
about the "Company" cast recording
where she was having issues singing her song,
"Ladies Who Lunch." -Yes.
-You, in this episode, were singing a song,
"I Gotta Go," also having difficulties.
Let's take a look at a clip real fast.
-"I Gotta Go," take 11.
-Benedict, just so we're clear, earlier, many times I mentioned
I had an eye-doctor appointment to get my eyes scraped,
and I have already taken the medication,
and it's ripping through my system.
So we need to be brisk with this.
Let's just do it.
♪ And I gotta go ♪
♪ I should do better or different than this ♪
No [bleep] kidding.
[ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ]
-It was so -- so joyous to watch you.
I hope you enjoyed doing this.
-It was so beyond -- I'm such a theater nerd.
I got my degree in theater in college.
I always did theater, and it was --
And I stage-managed "Company" when I was young.
And my mom actually played that Elaine Stritch role.
She hadn't done theater since high school, and she said,
"I turned 40, and I'm gonna get my license finally --
driver's license -- and I'm gonna be in a show."
And she played -- She sang "Ladies Who Lunch."
So it was, like, a perfect little
beautiful thing, but we kept laughing
because we loved doing it so much,
and learning all the music that we kept, like --
We finished, and they're like, "Great, we're wrapped,"
and we're like, "Can't we go to Seattle in a van
and do this at local theaters?" [ Laughter ]