21 Celebrities You Totally Forgot Were On "SNL" Before They Were Famous

Jenny Slate appeared on Season 35 of SNL!

1. First, Ben Stiller was a Saturday Night Live cast member for only four episodes during Season 14.

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Ben caught the eye of SNL when he starred in the short film The Hustler of Money, which parodied the Tom Cruise movie The Color of Money.

2. Sarah Silverman was a writer for the series, but only one of her sketches made it as far as dress rehearsals. She was also featured in a few sketches.

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Sarah has been candid about her time on SNL, even saying that she was fired via fax.

3. Robert Downey Jr. joined for one season in 1985 when he was only 20 years old.

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He was let go along with a bunch of other new cast members following poor ratings.

4. After a small role in Beverly Hills Cop, Damon Wayans was cast on SNL, but was fired after he improvised a sketch live on air.

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He appeared in only seven episodes before he was let go.

5. After a string of small stage and film roles, Laurie Metcalf was cast in Season 6, but she only appeared in one episode.

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Laurie appeared in a man on the street bit and in a sketch called "Laurie Has A Story" opposite Catherine O'Hara.

6. Nancy Walls Carell started her career on Saturday Night Live during Season 21 — it was also the same year she got married to Steve Carell.

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7. John Mulaney was a writer for SNL for six seasons. He also made several appearances on Weekend Update.

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John is responsible for Bill Hader's Stefon character. Stefon's iconic hands-over-mouth bit came from John writing new lines moments before a taping, thus catching Bill off guard.

8. The same year he starred in The Breakfast Club, Anthony Michael Hall was also cast on Saturday Night Live.

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Anthony, who was just 17 when he started, still holds the record as the youngest SNL cast member.

9. Julia Louis Dreyfus was cast on SNL when she was 21 years old, making her the youngest female cast member hired at the time.

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Julia has compared her time on SNL to "a huge Cinderella-getting-to-go-to-the-ball kind of experience." She even met Larry David behind the scenes.

10. After making a few small movie appearances, Joan Cusack was a cast member during Season 11.

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While on the show, Joan was best known for her character Salena in "The Further Adventures of Biff and Christina" sketches.

11. Anchorman star David Koechner joined the show for just a year in 1995.

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David said, "So I was shocked, as everyone else was, that I was the one let go. But six months later I met my wife, so not bad."

12. After appearing in some sketches on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, Jenny Slate was cast in one season of SNL.

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Jenny's most memorable moment was accidentally saying "fucking" live on-air.

13. Long before Breaking Bad, Bob Odenkirk was actually a writer on SNL from 1987–1990. He even appeared in some sketches.

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Bob won an Emmy Award in 1989 for Writing for a Variety Sketch Series. He also created Chris Farley's iconic motivational speaker character Matt Foley.

14. Many probably recognize her from Sabrina the Teenage Witch and That's So Raven, but Mary Gross was actually a cast member on SNL for several years.

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15. Following a minor role in Beverly Hills Cop II, Chris Rock was an SNL cast member for three years.

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Chris has said that he planned to leave SNL for In Living Color because it felt "more hip and modern."

16. Before Happy Endings, Casey Wilson was an SNL cast member during Seasons 33 and 34.

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17. Broadway veteran Christine Ebersole was actually a cast member during Season 7.

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18. Prior to joining The Daily Show, Rob Riggle joined SNL for a single season in the 2000s.

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19. Before her roles in New Adventures of Old Christine and New Girl, Michaela Watkins started on SNL in 2008 and only lasted one season.

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20. Character actor Siobhan Fallon was part of the cast for 20 episodes.

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21. And finally, while he was known for his work on SCTV in Canada, Martin Short got his first US break when he was cast on SNL in Season 10.

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