Tracy Morgan Urged Marcello Hernandez to Take Eddie Murphy's SNL Advice - New Zealand News Beep

Tracy Morgan gave Marcello Hernández advice that a fellow Saturday Night Live legend told him during his own time on the show. And it has to do with a certain homewrecking character the Season 51 cast member‘s known for.

In a June 2026 installment inVariety’s Actors on Actors series, the past and present stars of SNL shared a candid conversation in which both comedians had great things to day about the other. Morgan and Hernández touched upon their respective stand-up careers to having kids and the importance of colonoscopies. Yes, the interview quickly got wonderfully weird, but that’s par for the course when it comes to the star of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins.

The colorful interview is well worth any SNL fans’ time; read a condensed version of their Variety chat here. But it’s an SNL tip from Eddie Murphy, which Morgan passed on to Hernández, that gave him something to think about.

Tracy Morgan told Marcello Hernández, “Domingo is a favorite…use your regular name”

Morgan revealed the legendary Eddie Murphy, an SNL cast member from 1980-1984, once told him something that stuck with him. And during their Variety conversation, the 30 Rock alum passed it along to Hernández.

“People love characters — Domingo is a favorite,” Morgan said. “But I want you to go to the ‘Weekend Update‘ desk, and I don’t want you to wear no mustache or nothing. Use your regular name. That’s what Eddie told me.”

“Because you don’t want to be going through the airport for the next 20 years and people call you Domingo,” he continued. “That’s not what your mother named you! When I go to the airport, they go, ‘Hey, Tracy.'”

It almost felt like a passing-of-the-torch moment, with Morgan as a comedy mentor and Hernández in the role of protégé. In 2025, Murphy actually did a spot-on impression of Morgan during the SNL50: The Anniversary Special’s “Black Jeopardy” sketch, which you can watch above.

“Eddie showed me how to be a household name,” Morgan added. “Do your characters; that’s great. But when you do ‘Update,’ do you.”

The advice was simple: Hernández should lean into himself, as he’s done on Update five times, rather than being best known for his characters.

Tracy Morgan explains why Lorne Michaels is “like my dad”

Speaking of SNL, when Hernández asked if Morgan “misses” performing on the late-night sketch comedy series, the 30 Rock alum spoke from the heart.

“It was the time of my life. I was young. I didn’t know anything, and that’s where I learned,” Morgan revealed, before crediting Lorne Michaels for being like a father to him over the years. “That’s why I say Lorne Michaels is like my dad. My dad died in ’87, but he was working through Lorne. He said, ‘Take care of my boy.'”

As Michaels has done with many projects created by or starring his former cast, the SNL creator served as executive producer on Tina Fey‘s seven-season show 30 Rock, which Morgan costarred in.

When Morgan was in a coma after a near-fatal car accident on June 7, 2014 — in his words, he was “hit by a truck that was doing 70 miles per hour with 85,000 pounds of frozen food in the back” — Michaels checked in on him often.

“Lorne must have called my ex-wife about a thousand times to see if I was out the coma,” Morgan revealed.

Twelve years after his accident, Morgan is back and better than ever: Season 2 of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins is coming to NBC.

Tracy Morgan Urged Marcello Hernandez to Take Eddie Murphy’s SNL Advice

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