Conan O'Brien Says He Once Caught Tom Hanks Sleeping 'Like Christ' in the SNL Writers' Room

Conan O’Brien is revealing the hilarious way Tom Hanks recharged while prepping for one of his many hosting gigs on Saturday Night Live.

Hanks joined the comedian and former SNL writer on a recent episode of his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. O’Brien praised the Here star, who has guest hosted NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show a total of 10 times since 1985.

“He would show up, caffeinated, ready to go, like, ‘Hey! Hey, everybody. What have you got?’ ” O’Brien said.

“Most hosts, they hang around a little bit. They sense the sadness, the desperation, they smell the odors, and they leave. Then they come back refreshed at the read-through,” O’Brien explained of the week-long writing process leading up to each episode of SNL.

Hanks however, stuck around. But even the caffeine and enthusiasm couldn’t see the actor through one late-night writing session in 1988, according to O’Brien.

“I came out, and there's this giant [table] in the conference room, and you were sitting there, and you had been working on your own idea," O'Brien told Hanks. "They had shoved all the tables together, and you were lying on the tables like Christ, with some pages over your eyes, because you were trying to catch a couple of winks before you woke up and got back to writing at three in the morning.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

“I'd always heard that that was the great power of the hang,” Hanks said. “You got there, and all night Monday, and all night Tuesday, you're going. Now they kinda take the host around, but I wanted to get in there and mix it up.”

Hanks’ willingness to “mix it up” with the SNL writers — not to mention his uncanny power-napping technique — has paid off. Not only has he returned to the show multiple times over the decades, his “David S. Pumpkin” Halloween sketch is one of the show’s standouts.

At the same time, Hanks explained that he’s learned not to be too insistent upon putting his own ideas on air.

“You say, ‘Hey, I have some ideas for some for some sketches,’ and every writer goes, ‘Well, that’s just great. You have ideas that will rob us of the opportunity to get our ideas read. How wonderful,’ ” he told O’Brien.

His takeaway? “You're the host,” Hanks said. “Concentrate on the monologue and then walk away. But it's a great hang.”