Saturday Night Live helped launch the careers of many famous comedians and actors, such as Andy Samberg, Eddie Murphy, and Kristen Wiig. Plenty of other aspiring performers have followed in their footsteps by auditioning for a coveted spot in the cast...only to lose out to someone else.
While getting rejected feels like a major setback, a surprising number of them got the last laugh by getting so famous without the show that they ended up being asked to host.
Here are 13 celebs who failed their SNL auditions but went on to host the show:
1.
In 1980, Jim Carrey tried out, but series creator Lorne Michaels didn't get to see his audition tape because a staffer decided he wouldn't like it.
Here's his audition tape:
Jim hosted the show in 1996, 2011, and 2014. Then, in 2020, he guest-starred as Joe Biden for a few episodes.
2.
In the "preliminary first-round showcase," Aubrey Plaza performed as two original characters — "a Puerto Rican news reporter that was always trying to make all of the news stories sexy" and "a pill-popping housewife that had a show called 'Celebri-Tails,' where [she] would just name celebrities and name what kind of tail they would have if they had a tail."
When she hosted in 2023, she revealed that she worked for SNL's set design team as an NBC page in college.
3.
John Goodman described his 1980 audition as "the worst thing [he's] ever done in front of people in [his] life." He only wrote his material 15 minutes beforehand.
However, he went on to host the show an impressive 13 times between 1989–2013. He's also cameoed several times since then.
Here's his most recent monologue:
4.
After trying out for SNL, Tiffany Haddish told her friend/costar Ali Wong, "If they don’t give it to me, fuck them. ... Next time, I'll be hosting, and that's that."
Indeed, she hosted the show in 2017.
Here's one of her sketches:
5.
John Mulaney auditioned for SNL in August 2008. He didn't think he'd get cast, but he decided to perform his four favorite minutes of standup, including impressions of Law and Order characters. That weekend, he got a call from Seth Meyers, who offered him a writing job on the show.
You can watch part of his audition at the 1:15 mark below:
After writing for the show from 2008–2013, John went on to host the show for the first time in 2018. Then, he joined the Five-Timers Club in 2022.
6.
When SNL was looking to add a "third girl" to the cast in 1984, Geena Davis was one of the actors that current cast members met with. However, according to Live from New York, it was "all quite awkward and uncomfortable for everybody involved."
The spot in the cast went to Pamela Stephenson instead, but Geena got to host the show in 1989.
Here's one of the sketches she was in:
7.
In 1990, Lorne Michaels watched Lisa Kudrow perform as part of the Groundlings, a famous improv troupe, because original cast member Laraine Newman told him that she should be on the show. However, the stuff she was doing then "wasn't as broad," and she "didn't know how to go too far outside of [her]self." Her characters included a biology professor and "your favorite actress on a talkshow." Lorne ultimately chose Julia Sweeney over her.
Six years later, she made her hosting debut.
Here's one of her sketches:
8.
Donald Glover auditioned for SNL in 2007, then he tried again in 2009. However, looking back, he believes his "career wouldn't have happened" if he'd gotten a spot in the cast.
In 2018, he did double duty as both the host (under his real name) and (under his stage name, Childish Gambino) the musical guest.
Here's his monologue, where he talked about his failed auditions:
9.
Kumail Nanjiani was asked to audition for SNL because "it's the same production company that does Portlandia...and they liked [his] work on it." Since he doesn't "really do characters," they had him perform a few minutes of stand-up. Afterwards, they asked him to join the writers' room for a few weeks, but he only had time for one week.
He made his hosting debut in 2017.
Here's one of his sketches:
10.
In his audition, Zach Galifianakis did a "really bad stand-up from the 1700s" along with more standard stand-up. He thought he got the role, but when he got to New York City, he realized he was actually there to be a writer for a two-week trial period. However, the sketch he wrote about a bodyguard for Britney Spears's belly button was so poorly received that the entire room went silent, and Tina Fey put her hand on his shoulder to comfort him.
Here's a clip from his audition:
He went on to host the show three times — in 2010, 2011, and 2013.
11.
When Kevin Hart tried out, he "did an impression of a person that nobody knew" — NBA sports analyst Avery Johnson.
You can watch him reenact his audition starting at the 0:58 mark below:
Kevin hosted the show in 2013, 2015, and 2017.
12.
Jennifer Coolidge knows "how hard it is to get on that show" because she "tried [her] ass off to be one" of the cast members. She was excited when Chloe Fineman did an impression of her in 2022.
Jennifer was set to make her hosting debut in 2023, but her episode was put on hold due to the writers' strike, which she's fully supportive of. Hopefully, however, she'll be able to host in the future!
13.
And finally, Steve Carell was supposed to have an impromptu audition. Former SNL producer Robert Smigel went to see his improv troupe, Second City, when he was scouting for new cast members. However, Steve wasn't performing that night, but his understudy, Stephen Colbert, was. Lorne Michaels told the Hollywood Reporter that both men auditioned, but Steve corrected him on Twitter, clarifying that he "would have in a heartbeat, but was never asked."
While Steve never made it onto the cast, his wife, Nancy Walls, joined the show in 1995. He made his hosting debut in 2005, then he hosted twice more in 2008 and 2018.
Here's one of his monologues, which features a cameo from Nancy:
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