SNL's Ego Nwodim says when she first did the table read for her viral 'Lisa from Temecula' sketch, she was breaking character 'like crazy'

• Ego Nwodim said when she first table-read "Lisa from Temecula," she was breaking character "like crazy."
• The SNL star also said she was concerned she wouldnt be able to shake the table hard enough.

SNL's Ego Nwodim told The Hollywood Reporter that the first time she performed 'Lisa from Temecula' at the table read with Lorne Michaels and other cast members, she was "breaking" character "like crazy."

In the original sketch, Nwodim's character — the eponymous Lisa, who is from Temecula — orders a well-done steak while out to dinner with friends. Lisa seems completely unaware that she is violently shaking the table, and disrupting the entire restaurant, as she tries to cut into the rock-hard steak.

The sketch, which first aired in February, became a viral sensation, racking in 5.2 million views on YouTube and inspiring a follow-up sketch where Lisa tosses a salad in the most obliviously unhinged way.

Nwodim told The Hollywood Reporter that when she first read the script, she was concerned she wouldn't be able to shake the table hard enough for the joke to land, despite having "oddly strong arms."

"Our table-read table is gigantic," Nwodim told THR. "It seats all of the cast, Lorne [Michaels] and the host. I was delivered a steak at our table read, and I was shaking the table. So, like, your girl is kind of strong. But at the table read, I was breaking like crazy."

Then she found out that during the actual live performance, there would be a person hiding underneath the table who would be shaking it.

"I'm so grateful there is someone [under the table]," Nwodim told THR, "Because the first time I did Lisa From Temecula, I was like, 'I don't want to alarm anyone, but how heavy is this table going to be? Am I going to be able to shake it while doing it?'"

Check out the full interview over at The Hollywood Reporter.