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'SNL' star Michael Che recalls the moment that made him realize he was funny

Michael Che received a flattering comparison to a very famous comedian when he was in high school.
/ Source: TODAY

While stopping by Sunday TODAY, "Saturday Night Live" star Michael Che recalled the high school compliment that made him realize people thought he was funny.

Che, 38, grew up on the Lower East Side in New York City and attended the prestigious LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts. One day, Jerry Seinfeld stopped by to visit the school and meet students.

"It was exciting. He was probably the biggest comedian in the world at that point. And we were hanging out in the cafeteria, me and my friends, and another friend came along and he goes, 'Jerry Seinfeld's on the third floor,'" Che told Sunday TODAY's Willie Geist. "One of my buddies was, like, 'So? Che's funnier than him.' I'm not. But it made me feel like I was for, like, two seconds."

"That was the first time I ever thought people looked at me as funny," Che continued.

Saturday Night Live - Season 46
Colin Jost and Michael Che host the "Weekend Update" segment in Nov. 2020. Will Heath / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

But Che didn't immediately make the jump to a career in comedy. After high school, he designed and sold t-shirts out of the trunk of his car, even attracting the attention of Tommy Hilfiger.

Che said the designer invited him to the office and paid him, in cash, on his first day. However, Che said he eventually stopped going to work because he felt intimidated.

"I always say, like if I had a good, if I had a decent job, I would've never even tried comedy," Che said. "Even if I hated the job, only because I would've been afraid to jeopardize something that I don't even really want, you know what I mean?"

Comedy turned out to be more than a decent job for Che, and eventually he was spotted by Colin Jost. Jost saw Che perform in a comedy show and invited him to try out writing sketches for "SNL." Che then joined "Saturday Night Live" as a writer and the rest is history.

In 2014, he started anchoring the "Weekend Update" alongside Jost. Jost and Che also serve as co-head writers on the show. Aside from their jokes, part of what makes the duo such a great team is their chemistry.

"I remember we would try to write things early on for each other where we would be on camera at the same time. And Lorne would be, like, 'Stop writing chemistry. The chemistry has to be natural,'" Che said. "And I never understood what he meant by that until, like, we figured it out, so we had to kinda find little moments to poke fun at each other."

While he's still holding down the "Weekend Update" desk at "Saturday Night Live," Che can also be seen in his upcoming Netflix special, "Michael Che: Shame the Devil."

The comedian said he has always "been the person that processed things through humor," but added he knows his jokes aren't appreciated by everyone.

"Sometimes it's tricky because people think if you find somethin' funny, you don't really respect it, or you don't think it's important. You're making fun. Like, you can get in trouble for making fun of something," he said. "But for me, it's how I process the worst things in my life, is through making fun of it and laughing."

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