14 Celebs Who've Opened Up About Facing The Same Huge Fear: Hosting "Saturday Night Live"

    Timothée Chalamet's story about how Woody Harrelson indirectly calmed his nerves before he hosted the show is pretty great.

    Joseph Longo
    by Joseph Longo

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Sydney Sweeney

    Woman in elegant dress with jeweled accents at event
    Steven Simione / WireImage / Getty Images

    Sydney hosted Saturday Night Live earlier this year on March 2. According to People, she reflected on hosting while on a SXSW panel a few weeks after the show. "It was so scary my mouth dried up," she said of hosting, per People. "I am having panic attacks thinking of it. I wanted to do it because I think it's important to do things that scare you, and the whole SNL experience was challenging and terrifying."

    "I was so scared, but I had so much fun," Sydney separately told People last month. "I was so happy I did it, and I would love to do it again maybe one day because I feel like now I'm prepared and I can do it, and I know and I can expect what the process is like, and everyone's so fun. It is just such a great group of people."

    Here's Sydney hosting the show:

    Woman in white dress onstage with musicians in the background, audience in the foreground, a cameraperson to the right
    Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images

    2. Pedro Pascal

    Pedro Pascal stands smiling in a semi-formal outfit with an unbuttoned white shirt and black trousers at a press event
    Monica Schipper / FilmMagic / Getty Images

    Pedro Pascal hosted SNL on Feb. 4 last year. It also happened to be the anniversary of the day his mom died. He opened up to Esquire later in 2023 about being "so scared" of hosting the show that he began talking to his deceased mom amid the "terror" and "that practical fear of bombing in front of the world." He said, "And then I talked to her, and it was really comforting. I had sort of the realization that it would be nice to talk to her more."

    Here's Pedro hosting the show:

    Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images

    3. Billie Eilish

    Billie Eilish wearing an oversized patterned coat and tie, hands in pockets, at the Film Independent Spirit Awards
    Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic / Getty Images

    Billie hosted the holiday episode in December of 2021. Later that month, she opened up about preparing for the show during an interview on Howard Stern's radio show. "I cried every single day of the week. No joke at all," she said, noting that during a break in the table read (where the cast reviewed scripts for that week), she "cried and came back." She added that she didn't "feel qualified" to perform among the show's cast. "I actually did throw up because of it...I had a full body reaction to being anxious about the whole week," she said. "Threw up on the plane coming here [and] had crazy shits when I got here like you would not believe." However, taking the stage for the live dress rehearsal finally calmed her nerves. "As soon as I saw the crowd and felt their joy, it was like I wasn't nervous. It was relieving somehow, and I think that that is just my love for performing. Then I was like, oh, this is actually really incredible, and I don't have to worry. This is just for fun."

    In addition to hosting, Billie has also served as SNL's musical guest three times: in 2019, in 2021 while hosting, and most recently in December of last year.

    Here's Billie hosting the show:

    Person on stage in a festive dress with ruffled layers and decorative red patterns, surrounded by holiday decor and lights
    Will Heath / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

    4. Issa Rae

    Person on red carpet in black dress with dramatic white shoulder detail, standing, facing camera
    Amy Sussman / Getty Images

    "It's so crazy to be here right now," Issa said during her opening monologue while hosting in 2020. "I cannot believe it. I'm hosting Saturday Night Live, y'all. I can't believe I just walked down the stairs, the same stairs as comedy legends like Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler, and Molly Shannon. My family, all of our inside jokes are from SNL. This is incredible, and actually I'm so scared right now. I'm scared as hell; I'm not going to lie. I might throw up."

    Here's Issa hosting the show:

    Actress in white V-neck dress smiles on stage, hands clasped together
    Will Heath / NBC / NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

    5. James McAvoy

    Man in a cream suit standing in front of a promotional backdrop
    Unique Nicole / FilmMagic / Getty Images

    When asked if he was scared to host SNL in 2019, James said in an interview with Access Hollywood, "Terrified. I might need to go to the bathroom right now." 

    Here's James hosting the show:

    Person in a kilt and vest smiling and gesturing on a stage with a band in the background
    Will Heath / NBC / NBCU Photobank via Getty Images

    6. John Mulaney

    Man in a classic black tuxedo with bow tie standing on a red carpet
    Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images

    "I was absolutely terrified," John Mulaney told NPR in 2019 about hosting for the first time in 2018. The comedian, a writer on the show from 2008 to 2013, compared it to playing basketball in front of family. "It was like, these people know me. And you know, it's not that people who know you don't love you. But they know you. And so, like — you know, they can't possibly think that I should be here. They have known me since I was, you know, 25 and just standing in the hallway like an idiot, drinking Dr. Pepper. And I'm a fraud — which is a common feeling among all people, I think."

    John said hosting offered him a whole new perspective on the show. "And you know, as much as I had written and worked behind the scenes, I had not had to step in front of the camera and deal with that. And to be rehearsing things as a performer that I'd written on that show and dealing with camera blocking — all things I'd done countless times on the other side of it — was so jarring. I had no idea [laughter] how hard this was to be performing something you've written and wanting — you know, trying to listen to the jokes while making sure you're on your mark and looking into the right camera and then being, you know, pulled around to do costume fittings. And it was a — an absolute — it was scary. It was a very good education as to what it was like for the other side of it — for all the people that I made, you know, wear wires and fly through the air and put on any costume."

    John went on to host the show an additional four times, joining the show's five-timers club in 2022.

    Here's John hosting the show in 2018:

    Man in a suit with a raised fist on a stage with a band in the background
    Will Heath / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

    7. Octavia Spencer

    Octavia Spencer on the purple carpet in a sparkly black jacket and black top, smiling
    Unique Nicole / WireImage / Getty Images

    In 2017, Octavia told Extra on the Oscars red carpet, "I leave first thing in the morning to go to New York to do SNL. I'm terrified, and I'm excited. But I'm terrified. I have severe stage fright, so I got to get out on that stage as much as possible this week."

    Here's Octavia hosting the show:

    Woman smiles on stage with microphone, band in background, wearing a leather jacket and black pants
    Will Heath / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

    8. Kristen Stewart

    Woman in textured white jacket and skirt on red carpet with photographers in background
    Monika Skolimowska/picture alliance via Getty Images

    According to E! Online, Kristen told former SNL cast member Jimmy Fallon on his late-night talk show in 2017 that, ahead of hosting the show later that week, she'd avoided doing so for years. "For six years, I've just been being a total wuss about it and then I finally was like, at some point, you just have to bite the bullet, you know? And just fail. It will make you stronger, man," she reportedly said.

    Kristen returned as host in 2019.

    Here's Kristen hosting the show:

    Kristen Stewart in a sleeveless outfit on stage with band in background
    Will Heath / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

    9. Andrew Garfield

    Man in pinstripe suit standing with hands in pockets
    Dave Benett / Getty Images for Loro Piana

    "I'm genuinely wanting to jump out that window right now. I'm so excited and also panicked — deeply, deeply panicked. I'm starting to sweat," he told PopSugar in 2014, ahead of hosting the show that year.

    Here's Andrew hosting the show:

    Man in a suit smiling and waving on a stage with a band in the background
    Nana Edelson / NBC via Getty Images

    10. Betty White

    Betty White smiling, wearing a floral-patterned jacket with pearl earrings at an event
    Jason LaVeris / FilmMagic / Getty Images

    Betty White, who died in 2021, hosted SNL in 2010 after a fan started a viral Facebook campaign to get her to host. Years later, in a 2018 PBS special for her 80th birthday, Betty revealed she suffered from stage fright before hosting. "Stage fright, it's uncomfortable and all of that. But it's a lifesaver because the panic that sets in, you've got to counter. You've got to get a handle on that in order to do what you're doing, so the stage fright is what puts the edge, I think, on a performance," she said.

    Here's Betty White hosting the show:

    Betty White stands smiling on stage in a glittery jacket with a band in the background
    Dana Edelson / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

    11. Lindsay Lohan

    Lindsay Lohan wearing a glittery strapless gown, posing with her hand on her hip
    Karwai Tang / WireImage / Getty Images

    "It's always so nerve-wracking before you go to do SNL and walk out the first time," Lindsay Lohan told Vogue in 2022 while reminiscing on her first time hosting in 2004. "And then it becomes more comfortable after, but this time I was really nervous."

    Lindsay hosted the show there more times, most recently in 2012.

    Here's Lindsay hosting the show in 2004:

    Three people on stage, one in a suit, another in a black dress, and the third in a pink outfit with a hat
    Dana Edelson / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

    12. Courteney Cox

    Woman in a black blazer and blouse posing in front of promotional backdrop
    Dominik Bindl / FilmMagic / Getty Images

    "I was green," Courteney Cox said on Howard Stern's radio show in 2021 while reflecting on hosting the show in 1995. "I was not [nearly] confident enough to do that show. I mean, now I'd love to do it. I was too young."

    She said that when getting the call to host, "I thought, 'Oh my god, this is huge.' But I was not experienced enough to do that show."

    In the '80s, Courteney Cox appeared in Bruce Springsteen's music video for "Dancing in the Dark." She and Adam Sandler spoofed the video while she was hosting SNL. "The opening skit, even though I was nervous, was really kind of funny because, Adam Sandler and I, we were doing a take [on] the Bruce Springsteen video," she told Howard. "There [were] great cast members, and it was fun. But I definitely can see the nerves and the panic. I think I lost like 48 pounds in one night; I was so nervous."

    Here's Courteney hosting the show:

    Two characters performing, male in white shirt and jeans, female in black, on a stage with a band in the background
    Al Levine / NBCU Photo Bank / NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

    13. Austin Butler

    Actor in a white jacket and black tie standing on the red carpet
    Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images

    "I remember asking you and Christopher Walken because I was so scared," Austin Butler told Timothée Chalamet earlier this year in an Elle interview. "And Christopher Walked just said, 'Just read the cue cards.' All three actors starred together in Dune: Part Two.

    Here's Austin hosting the show:

    Two actors on SNL stage with holiday decor, one in leather jacket and jeans, the other in a feathered dress
    Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images

    14. Finally, Timothée Chalamet

    Timothée Chalamet posing in a black top, pearl necklace, and metallic pants
    Samir Hussein / WireImage / Getty Images

    Timothée added in the same interview with Austin that he felt nervous about hosting his second time, in 2023, only to notice a quote Woody Harrelson had left backstage. "Woody Harrelson wrote, 'I'm terrified right now.' And he put, 'Woody Harrelson.' I read that right before, and I was like,  'Aww man, that makes me feel good. Alright, I'm not the only one that's scared shitless right now.'" 

    Timothée first hosted SNL in 2020.

    Here's Timothée hosting the show for his second time, in 2023:

    A group of people sitting, smiling, and watching attentively at an event, with one person pointing forward
    Will Heath / NBC via Getty Images