Andy Samberg's Shy Ronnie on SNL was secretly based on HBO character — and you won't be able to u...

Andy Samberg's Shy Ronnie on SNL was secretly based on HBO character — and you won't be able to unsee it

Andy Samberg's Shy Ronnie on SNL was secretly based on HBO character — and you won't be able to unsee it

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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October 3, 2025 5:39 p.m. ET

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Andy Samberg as Shy Ronnie on 'Saturday Night Live'. Credit:

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

- Andy Samberg revealed that his *SNL* character Shy Ronnie was inspired by a character from HBO's *Hung*.

- The character in question, Charlie Saxton's Damon Drecker, had a remarkably similar haircut to Samberg's mumbling rapper.

- The *Hot Rod* actor also said that he warned *SNL*'s hairdressers to distinguish Shy Ronnie's look from another one of his characters.

Andy Samberg and his compatriots are revealing the surprising origins of an iconic *Saturday Night Live* character.

The *Brooklyn Nine-Nine* star and his Lonely Island bandmates Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone dove into the history of Shy Ronnie alongside Seth Meyers in the latest episode of their podcast *The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast*.

The digital short stars Rihanna as herself and Samberg as Shy Ronnie, a mumbling, awkward figure who cannot speak at a comprehensible volume in the presence of the "Disturbia" singer.

Samberg said that the character's look — which includes braces, uncool glasses, a striped sweater, and a mangy auburn wig — was inspired by a character from a TV show, though he struggled to remember which one at first.

"Shy Ronnie, it was based on the son from a show. Which show?" he wondered aloud.

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Schaffer later interjected, "God, what show was it? Was it like *Hung*? Was there a kid on *Hung*, the show *Hung*?"

Samberg then confirmed Schaffer's hypothesis. "Oh, that sounds right. He was more goth, though," he recalled of the character who inspired Shy Ronnie.

The character in question was Charlie Saxton's Damon Drecker, the goth son of Thomas Jane and Anne Heche's characters on *Hung, *an HBO series about a struggling high school coach (Jane) who moonlights as a sex worker. During the beginning of the series, Damon sported a bold pageboy haircut nearly identical in shape and color to Shy Ronnie's — although he had darker hair in later episodes.

HBO Max; Saturday Night Live/YouTube

"We were obsessed with this kid 'cause his look was so dope," Samberg said of Damon. "Shoutout Charlie Saxton, buddy. I hope you're good out there. He was funny on that show, too."

Samberg recalled asking *SNL*'s hair stylists to differentiate Shy Ronnie's 'do from one of his lesser-known characters. "I remember us being like, 'But it can't be too much like Clementine from 'Daiquiri Girl.' You gotta make sure they're different,'" he said, laughing. "Like anyone knew what the f--- that was."

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The *Hot Rod* actor also shared his continued affection for Shy Ronnie.

"I have a lot of love for Shy Ronnie. When I see him, I feel for him," the comedian said. "I think there's a lot of truth in Shy Ronnie for me. And in all of us."

Listen to the full episode of *The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast* above.

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL TV"

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