Original 'SNL' cast member thought anyone watching show 'must be really stupid' during show's debut
"I never really paid much attention to the audience," Curtin said.
She continued: "I thought, well, anybody that's watching this must be really stupid. It gave me a lot of angst. So the way I dealt with it was, I was in this bubble, and we had a job to do within the bubble."
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Outside "the bubble" though, Curtin noticed a shift.
"You'd pass by people and they would shake," she told the outlet. "They had a physical reaction to you, because they could feel the energy behind what was happening at 30 Rock. And it was very, very exciting."
Curtin was one of the original performers when the show debuted in 1975, along with Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Michael O'Donoghue and George Coe.
She also recalled her audition, when she was put on the spot to be funny by the show's producers.
"I walked in the door," the 77-year-old said, "and they said, 'OK, what have you prepared?' The classic anxiety dream."
Luckily, she had some old material on hand in her purse, and her previous experience in theater, commercials and a Boston-area improv group called the Proposition.
She also admitted she struggled to fit in on the show.
"I was quiet and nobody paid any attention to me," she said. "I didn't know how to pitch. I had never had to do that in my life."
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However, Curtin added she wasn't afraid of not being featured in some way, saying, "I figured, well, they hired me. They're paying me. So it would be foolish of them not to use me."
Curtin stayed with the show until 1980, before going on to appear on series like "Kate & Allie," which earned her two Emmy awards for best lead actress in a comedy series, as well as "3rd Rock from the Sun" and "The Librarians."
