In his 2018 Netflix special 100% Fresh and again while hosting Saturday Night Live back in May, Adam Sandler celebrated the life and legacy of his late friend and former SNL cast mate Chris Farley. Now, in an exclusive interview for his movie Uncut Gems, out today (December 13), the actor opened up to MTV News's Josh Horowitz about the audience's response to his emotional musical tribute.

"Every time when I was on the road doing it, I would say, 'Here we go,'" he revealed, explaining that remembering his friend brings back a variety of emotions. Still, performing the song time and time again was a special experience — especially because it clearly resonated with fans of the comedian, who died in 1997 at 33 years old from an accidental overdose. "I think just that crowd reaction, I was excited to hear that," Sandler said. "Hear them cheer for Farley and see the images of Farley behind me just made it like a different mood for the audience."

"It was a big high knowing that they loved the man so much," Sandler added before sharing that Farley's mother reached out to thank him for his touching ode to her son. "Mrs. Farley wrote me this long, sweet note," he said. "I was away all summer and when I got home this note was on my counter from Mrs. Farley just talking about how much that song meant." It was especially meaningful because it sparked conversation about Farley all these years later. "It just brought up a lot of nice stuff because people keep talking about Chris again to her," Sandler said.

As Horowitz pointed out, Sandler's tribute song was and continues to be a way to keep the comedian's spirit alive. All it really takes is one look at Sandler's closing SNL performance to see the special friendship that they developed while working on the show together more than two decades ago. Here's hoping for more touching tributes like this in the future.