Five iconic actors who were turned down for ‘Saturday Night Live’
As far as American TV institutions go, you could argue there is none bigger or more important than Saturday Night Live. Since its debut broadcast in 1975, SNL has made headlines, courted controversy, and entertained millions of people who didn’t have other plans on a weekend evening. The most important thing the show has done, however, is given a platform to some of the biggest stars of all time.
The first season made household names out of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Garrett Morris. This tradition continued with each subsequent year, with Bill Murray, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Will Ferrell, Andy Samberg, and Pete Davidson being just some of the superstars who got their first big break at Studio 8H. But what about the ones that didn’t make it?
Every new cast member has to audition for a spot on the SNL cast, and sometimes, the producers make the wrong call in turning someone down. There have been countless examples of people flunking their auditions and then going on to become megastars, in some cases returning to host the show that initially wanted nothing to do with them.
These five are just some of the famous folk who were turned away by Lorne Michaels and his crew. Sitcom stars, late-night hosts, and box office toppers, all of them were shown the door and, in some cases, were probably better off not being cast.
Five icons who didn’t make the Saturday Night Live cast
Stephen Colbert
He might be better known for his late-night chat show career, but Stephen Colbert is a very capable comedic performer. He began his turn as an understudy for Steve Carell at the famous Second City Chicago venue, before writing and performing for various shows, including The Dana Carvey Show and Strangers with Candy. In terms of film, he’s appeared in The Love Guru (regrettably), Despicable Me 4, and Monsters vs Aliens, where he provided the film’s most memorable scene. You know the one, it’s got a keyboard in it…
Prior to superstardom, Colbert was a jobbing comedian like everyone else. It was during this period that he was scouted by Robert Smigel, the man behind SNL’s TV Funhouse segments. Smigel was determined to get his new discovery on the show, encouraging him to audition in 1992, but he was turned down. Four years later, he was encouraged to audition for the cast again after writing freelance for the show for a number of years. He was turned down again. Hilariously, he spoke to Tracy Morgan on his talk show many years later, after remembering that they were at those auditions together. Morgan, who made it onto the show, completely forgot that Colbert was even there!
Lisa Kudrow
When someone is a part of one of the biggest TV sitcoms ever made, it’s easy to forget that they were in anything else. Lisa Kudrow might just be ‘Phoebe from Friends’ to most people, but she has had a great career outside of songs about pungent felines. Since the show wrapped up in 2004, Kudrow has appeared in movies like Easy A, Hotel for Dogs, and Booksmart. In TV-land, she has appeared in critically acclaimed series like BoJack Horseman and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, as well as executive producing the US version of Who Do You Think You Are?
Kudrow is the oldest of the six core Friends cast, so she had been around the block a few times before landing her career-defining gig. One of those trips included an audition for SNL in 1990. Producers Lorne Michaels and Marci Klein flew out to Los Angeles to watch a performance by comedy troupe The Groundlings, of which Kudrow was a member. Sadly, they opted to pick up Julia Sweeney instead, who was part of the cast for four seasons, while Kudrow would have to contend with hosting the show once in 1996.
Jennifer Coolidge
Another Groundlings member who tried and failed to go “Live from New York” was Jennifer Coolidge. After abandoning her plan to become a dramatic actor, the American Pie and White Lotus icon went into comedy, propping up her ambitions by waiting tables alongside fellow future star Sandra Bullock. A few years after her breakout role on an episode of Seinfeld, Coolidge plucked up the courage to try out for SNL. According to Marci Klein, via Variety, she was “so funny”, but alas, she “couldn’t get anybody to get it”. This was in 1995, a few years before she would rise to prominence as the original Milf.
Someone as determined and naturally captivating as Coolidge was never going to stay unappreciated for long. Off the back of American Pie, she appeared in movies like Legally Blonde and A Cinderella Story, before reinventing herself on TV through the sitcom 2 Broke Girls. She’s somehow never been asked to host SNL, but was parodied by Chloe Fineman and Ariana Grande in a sketch on the October 12th, 2024, episode. Considering she’s one of the most imitable celebrities in the world, it was only a matter of time.
John Goodman
John Goodman is an insanely funny man. As Walter Sobchak, the gun-toting loudmouth war enthusiast in The Big Lebowski, he has given one of the greatest comedy performances in movie history, managing to stand out in a film featuring a character called Jesus and an elaborate bowling dream sequence. To list his other achievements would take all day, but before he’d appeared in a single movie, Goodman decided to try his luck at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Having only just graduated university, the future star of Monsters Inc followed his heart to New York City. SNL was in a major slump period, with most of the big names that had launched it having left, and even Lorne Michaels himself was to be on a five-year sabbatical. With zero credits to his name, Goodman decided to bet on himself and try out for the show. He bombed hard. Following the “worst audition” of his career, the young performer picked himself up and embarked on his very impressive career. Before the decade was over, Goodman would appear on SNL as a host, the first of 13 appearances for the series that had turned him down.
Jim Carrey
Of all the ones that got away in SNL history, few are as shocking with the power of hindsight as Jim Carrey. From a young age, the future megastar knew he wanted to be a comedian. So, when he was still a teenager, he took himself off to New York and auditioned for the show. Jean Doumanian, who had recently taken over hiring duties after Michaels’ walkout, said no to the aspiring youngster, but thankfully that didn’t put him off. Five years later, he tried out for the show again, but was denied the opportunity to perform in front of a returning Michaels, as his lackeys had determined that he “wouldn’t like” Carrey’s material.
The Canadian went on to prove everyone wrong in 1990, when he began appearing on the rival sketch show, In Living Colour. It was here that Hollywood picked up on his talents and began casting him in movies. The rest, as they say, is history. There is every chance that being spurned by SNL made Carrey the man he is today, but it had to have been painful for everyone who rejected him to watch his meteoric rise. Lorne must have been fuming.
