NASIM PEDRAD

I can easily connect with the prepubescent dork I spent much of my life being.

John [Mulaney] likes to say I'm like a district attorney with absolutely no jurisdiction whatsoever.

I really looked up to Tina Fey as a writer, and because I did have a background in writing, she is someone whose career I really did admire.

I’ll never forget my very first [SNL] show. I had a card in my changing room from Kristen Wiig. It just had a heart on the inside, and she’d written “Have fun.” That always stayed with me.

At the time, I was in L.A., just auditioning and hoping to land a part, dramatic or comedic. I started to feel really stagnant, waiting for a part. I was also taking classes at UCB and Groundlings, and at the higher levels, they focus on writing. It was such a relief to be able to write. During those programs, I wrote a one-woman show called Me, Myself, and Iran, and it ended up getting to Tina Fey. She recommended me to audition for SNL, so I got my first of two auditions through her.

I knew at a young age that I wanted to do comedy, and maybe part of that was trying to fit in at school because I had a weird name, and my parents had these accents, and I was definitely a late bloomer.

I knew at a young age that I wanted to do comedy, and maybe part of that was trying to fit in at school because I had a weird name, and my parents had these accents, and I was definitely a late bloomer.

I can easily connect with the prepubescent dork I spent much of my life being.

I really looked up to Tina Fey as a writer, and because I did have a background in writing, she is someone whose career I really did admire.

John [Mulaney] likes to say I'm like a district attorney with absolutely no jurisdiction whatsoever.

At the time, I was in L.A., just auditioning and hoping to land a part, dramatic or comedic. I started to feel really stagnant, waiting for a part. I was also taking classes at UCB and Groundlings, and at the higher levels, they focus on writing. It was such a relief to be able to write. During those programs, I wrote a one-woman show called Me, Myself, and Iran, and it ended up getting to Tina Fey. She recommended me to audition for SNL, so I got my first of two auditions through her.

I’ll never forget my very first [SNL] show. I had a card in my changing room from Kristen Wiig. It just had a heart on the inside, and she’d written “Have fun.” That always stayed with me.