Scary Movie star Heidi Gardner may be best known for her excellent eight-season run on Saturday Night Live, but the compelling and hilarious actor has played a number of other memorable roles in movies and TV. Throughout the years, Gardner’s best SNL sketches solidified her as one of the funniest comedians in American media.
Having only left the sketch series a year ago, Gardner’s future is certain to be full of all kinds of interesting roles. While she certainly fits well in parody films like Scary Movie, Gardner actually has a tremendously versatile level of talent that has been seen through the years. In drama and comedy alike, she has shown great skill.
After creating some of the best SNL characters of all time, like Angel, every boxer’s girlfriend, and Bailey Gismert, Gardner has also displayed human and dramatic depth in her various roles. She brings an exceptional charisma and strikes a great balance in characters that straddle the line between uncomfortable weirdness and surprisingly grounded relatability.
With that said, unfortunately, the world has not yet seen enough of Heidi Gardner. Her roles in these movies and shows have been memorable and have shown the great star potential that she has. Saturday Night Live benefited greatly from her presence over the past decade, but these roles give an exciting hint of how her future might find shape.
Leonor In Life Of The Party
Heidi Gardner’s first major film was director Ben Falcone’s Life of the Party, one of Melissa McCarthy’s best movies. A college comedy that sees a grown housewife returning to college to finish her degree after her husband leaves her, Life of the Party was released in theaters in 2018.
The movie, which was filmed in 2016, added Gardner to its cast even before she had joined SNL. She gives a strong performance here as Leonor, Deanna’s college roommate. While not an enormous part, Gardner stands out in every scene she appears, and instantly made her a talent to watch.
As a supporting player, Gardner’s work as Leonor helped to elevate the strong ensemble cast that included Gillian Jacobs and Molly Gordon, showing off a skill that she would employ many times over the years at SNL.
Erin In Otherhood
Otherhood is a decent dramedy about mothers and their grown sons, and Heidi Gardner plays an instrumental and surprisingly complex role in the story. With her character, Erin, the film is able to confront some interesting questions about faithfulness and infidelity in relationships.
While not an enormous role in the film, which is primarily led by Angela Bassett, Felicity Huffman, and Patricia Arquette, Gardner’s Erin is arguably the strongest feature in the story, and gives a great look at how well Gardner works even outside direct comedy.
With fantastic charisma and an overwhelmingly strong presence, Gardner elevates the material here into something even better. This gives a great hint at some of the more grounded roles she could be suited for in the future.
Tuva Van Void In Alien News Desk
Alien News Desk was a short-lived program on SyFy where Will Forte and Heidi Gardner voiced a pair of alien broadcasters who examined and commented on moments in human news. Gardner played co-anchor Tuva Van Void, an alien robot who brought hilarious nuance to the absurd presentation of its stories.
The show was clever in its premise, providing a new context in which the news could be dissected in a humorous way. In addition, Forte and Gardner had strong chemistry, fulfilling satisfyingly different archetypes for the program.
Unfortunately, Alien News Desk did not last long. The premise was strong, but the resulting program failed to garner enough viewership to justify a second season.
Colleen In Superstore
Colleen only appeared in one episode on Superstore, but the character’s legacy was much bigger. Dina talks about Colleen throughout the series, describing her as her nemesis from another store. When that store shuts down, and Colleen joins Dina’s team, things get messy.
Superstore was one of the best workplace sitcoms, and Heidi Gardner fit right in among the show’s cast. As Garrett attempted to prank her on Dina’s behalf, her idiosyncratic reactions only made her more endearing and likeable. Unfortunately for viewers, Colleen took a job at another store and was not seen beyond her one memorable appearance.
Gardner would have been a great part of Superstore‘s main cast, but even seeing her play a small role in the world of the show was excellent. Taking up such a significant place in Dina’s life only made the role even more effective.
Kat Merrick In Hustle
Adam Sandler’s Hustle is a great story about Stanley Sugerman, a scout for the Philadelphia 76ers who struggles with the value of his job as well as contending with his future. The dramatic story gives Sandler the chance to flex his dramatic chops alongside a supporting cast that includes Robert Duvall in one of his last roles and Heidi Gardner.
Duvall’s Rex owns the team, and Gardner plays his daughter, Kat. The relationship between Sugerman and the Merrick family, including Kat’s brother, Vince, is an enormous point of conflict throughout the story. However, Gardner is able to provide some emotion and stability that is otherwise lacking.
The film gives Gardner a great chance to play someone grounded, dependable, and kind. While imbuing the character with innate humanity, Gardner does a great job constructing someone who feels incredibly real.
Cara In Girls5eva
Heidi Gardner is often at her best when she plays seemingly normal characters who are on the brink of something much stranger. That is effectively accomplished with her short role as Cara in Girls5eva, a controlling mom on the PTA who clashes with Dawn in the season 2 premiere episode.
Cara’s role in the series is small, but memorable. She winds up arguing about the parents’ email group at the school when she is questioned about only having moms, not dads, in the chain.
Cara questions her own sexism and reflects on how this might actually be to stop herself from sleeping with the dads, which is what ultimately happens. Balancing a silly strangeness in a grounded scenario, Gardner quickly crafts a surprisingly deep and funny character with the material.
Grace In Shrinking
Heidi Gardner’s role on Apple TV’s Shrinking is one of the most instrumental. As Grace, she speaks to Jimmy constantly about her abusive husband, Donny, throughout the first season. Much of this informs Jimmy’s journey as a therapist, as he becomes frustrated with Grace’s lack of action and breaks his own code of conduct to tell her so.
Jimmy feels good in the ways that he encourages Grace, but his advice takes a surprising turn by the end of the first season, putting Grace into an unexpected position on the show. Gardner carries the role with relatable grace and creates someone who is ultimately both very funny and complicated.
Heidi Gardner is in Scary Movie, but her list of credits has made it clear that she has a lot of potential and could be an asset to all kinds of stories. In dramas and comedies alike, she has distinguished herself as a great talent with a bright future still yet to come.
- Release Date
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June 5, 2026
- Runtime
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95 Minutes
- Director
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Michael Tiddes
- Writers
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Craig Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Shawn Wayans
- Producers
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Craig Wayans, Keenen Ivory Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Rick Alvarez, Shawn Wayans
Cast
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Marlon Wayans
Shorty Meeks
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