People: All in all, she’s one lucky dog
Maybe you know her as Mary Katherine Gallagher, the awkward, spindly Catholic-school student with a penchant for sniffing her armpits.
Molly Shannon spent six years getting laughs on “Saturday Night Live,” which will be revisited tonight in “Saturday Night Live in the ‘90s: Pop Culture Nation” (9 p.m., NBC).
Shannon, 42, married three years and the mother of two young children, then will host the actual show next Saturday.
After leaving “SNL” in 2002, she made comedic contributions in films including “Mean Girls,” “Scary Movie 4,” “Little Man” and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” and on TV in “Scrubs,” “Will & Grace” and “Sex and the City.”
But in her new film, “Year of the Dog,” Shannon gets serious – darkly so.
She plays a corporate secretary living a comfortable life with her loving dog, until it suddenly dies, sending her spiraling out of control.
Q: What appealed to you about this character?
A: I really like how she struggles through things to find herself. … I admire how she comes eventually to say, “This is me, this is what I love, this is what makes my heart sing.” It’s a very messy process, but she struggles through it to find a better life for herself, with more meaning.
Q: What was it like to play such a dark part?
A: I loved it. It was just incredibly, deeply fulfilling. … I don’t stay in those dark places for too long. I wouldn’t be able to do that. But certainly for the amount of time that I could do it and come out of it, it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career.
Q: How did “Saturday Night Live” prepare you for this part, or show-business in general?
A: It’s kind of like a comedy writing camp. … You just learn a lot, as a performer and as a writer, because you’re constantly having to put yourself out there.
Q: You have a drama background. How did you come to comedy?
A: I went to drama school at New York University. … My third year there they were casting for a comedy show called “The Follies.” I created Mary Katherine Gallagher in that show, and Adam Sandler was in that show, too.
Q: What are your career aspirations?
A: I really like the way it’s going right now because I’m able to work and take lots of time off so I can be with my kids. … I feel really grateful, that’s how I feel these days.
The birthday bunch
Singer Bob Seger is 62. Actor Alan Dale (“Ugly Betty”) is 60. TV host Tom Bergeron (“Dancing with the Stars”) is 52. Actress Roma Downey (“Touched by an Angel”) is 47. Actor George Clooney is 46.