Sometimes comedy hurts, literally. To prove that point, after Will Ferrell previously credited Molly Shannon for saving Saturday Night Live with her character Mary Katherine Gallagher, she explained that she actually got a ton of bruises while playing her. So, while those sketches must have been painful for the SNL star, it also, clearly, paid off. Now, recurring characters on SNL are a must. When something works, it’s consistently brought back and is made even better. During Shannon's time on SNL from 1995 to 2001, she had a few recurring characters, including Mary Katherine Gallagher. The fan-favorite character made her debut during Season 21 in 1995, and Shannon shared on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend that the sketch, which frequently called for intense stunts, gave her some bruises the day after the show:I feel at that time, I was much crazier and more reckless, and it felt a little bit like I didn’t care and I wouldn’t even feel pain when I was doing it. I would feel nothing. I would feel it the next day. I wake up bruised and cut, and I could not feel it in the moment at all. An unpopular teen Catholic schoolgirl, Mary had a tendency to be pretty dramatic and have socially awkward exchanges with her fellow peers before ultimately falling over, crashing into a wall, or destroying something. This would then lead her to utter her iconic catchphrase, “Superstar!” and show everyone that she was okay. It happened in every single sketch, and, in true Mary Katherine Gallagher fashion, it was always overdramatic. So, I can't say I'm surprised that the actress got beaten up doing these bits. She was literally throwing herself around the set. The fact that Shannon didn’t even feel anything during or right after the sketch is impressive.Many actors have gotten bruised on projects, such as Alan Ritchson, who goes through the wringer each season for Reacher. SNL cast members can get battered and bruised too, which is really not surprising, considering the amount of physical acting and comedy required for a lot of the sketches. While Shannon was on Saturday Night Live until 2001, she stopped doing Mary Katherine Gallagher on a frequent basis in 1999. She brought the character back in February 2001 during Season 26 for her final episode. That was not the last time that fans saw the chaotic Catholic schoolgirl, as she stepped back into the uniform one last time in 2007, when she hosted SNL during Season 32. She returned to host in 2023, reprising a couple of other fan-favorite characters, but not Mary Katherine Gallagher. And knowing how bruised she got doing that bit, I can't say I blame her. Now, fans can watch those sketches and every single season of SNL with a Peacock subscription. And if you see Shannon doing Mary Katherine Gallagher, maybe give her an extra round of applause, because not only did Ferrell say she saved SNL with that character, but she also committed to the bit so hard she wound up with bruises.