Mikey Day gave Meryl Streep acting advice ahead of “SNL50” special: 'I'm actively telling her to go against her instincts'

Meryl Streep has no problem learning her lines, but at Saturday Night Live, guests can rely on cue cards.

So when the Devil Wears Prada actress was tapped to play Kate McKinnon's mother in the long-running "Close Encounter" sketch for SNL50, she was reminded that she didn't have to memorize her part.

In a recent episode of the Hey Dude... The 90s Called! podcast, Mikey Day told hosts Christine Taylor and David Lascher that he gave the Oscar-winning actress some tips ahead of the sketch, which he wrote.

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"She was just, like, almost memorizing it just by habit," Day said. "And we're like, 'There's cards.' I'm actively telling her to go against her instincts that have made her the best actress of all time."

The "Close Encounter" sketch is a fan-favorite bit that features the character Colleen Rafferty (McKinnon) describing her experience getting abducted by handsy aliens.

There have been nine "Close Encounter" sketches in the past decade, and Day has co-written all of them. He joked that McKinnon has "been abducted like a dozen times now at this point."

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Meryl Streep in 'Close Encounter' sketch on 'SNL50'

For SNL50, McKinnon had said it was her "dream" to involve Streep in the sketch. Day also shared that Close Encounters of the Third Kind director Steven Spielberg was supposed to be in the sketch too, but was cut for time.

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When deciding how to write Streep into the sketch, Day said the choice was obvious.

"She has to be her mom so she can manspread, smoke a cigarette, and just kind of be nonplussed," Day said. "It was surreal."

Listen to the Hey Dude... The 90s Called! episode with Mikey Day below.

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