Since the fall of 1975, “Saturday Night Live” has been an American institution, entertaining millions of television viewers each week. Created by Lorne Michaels, NBC’s live sketch comedy show has launched the careers of dozens of actors, such as Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chris Farley, and David Spade. Although landing a spot as a cast member on SNL is no guarantee of world-wide fame and success (does anyone remember Morwenna Banks or George Coe?), it certainly ups one’s chances.
With SNL being such an iconic show, it is no surprise that thousands of aspiring cast members have auditioned over the years with hopes of one day becoming a Saturday Night Live Featured Player. Here are eight SNL hopefuls who auditioned for the show and failed, yet went on to have incredibly successful careers.
John Goodman. In 1980, Goodman failed to turn heads at his SNL audition, losing the spot to Joe Piscopo. Goodman got the last laugh, however, since he has hosted SNL 12 times since his failed try-out and has also returned for 9 cameo appearances. All told, Goodman has appeared in more episodes (21) than the following regular cast members: Janeane Garofalo (14), Beth Cahill (13), Damon Wayans (12), and Gilbert Gottfried (12).
Jim Carrey. Carrey auditioned for the show several times throughout the 1980s, first in the 1980-1981 season, before landing a spot on “In Living Color”. Carrey parlayed his “In Living Color” fame into one of the most successful Hollywood careers ever. Like many comedians who bombed their SNL auditions, Carrey eventually appeared on the show as a guest host, once in 1996 and again in January of 2011.
Paul Reubens. Reubens auditioned unsuccessfully for SNL’s Season 10 (1984-1985). The spot went instead to Billy Crystal. One is left to wonder just what might have been if Reubens’ man-child alter-ego, Pee-Wee Herman, would have become a recurring SNL character. Reubens guest hosted one episode of SNL in 1985.
Geena Davis. Davis, who became one of the leading Hollywood movie stars of the 1990s, auditioned for SNL for their 1982-1983 season, but lost the spot to Pamela Stephenson. In 1989, Davis appeared as a guest host on the show.
Lisa Kudrow and Jennifer Aniston. In 1990, both future “Friends” stars tried out for Saturday Night Live, and both failed to turn heads. The spot went to Julia Sweeney instead. Aniston claims to have been offered a spot as cast member but declined. Whether that is true or not, both Aniston and Kudrow have returned as guest hosts.
Dane Cook. Before earning worldwide fame for his fratboy brand of comedy, Dane Cook headed to New York for an SNL audition, which he ultimately lost to Will Forte in 2002. Cook has returned twice to host the show, thanks in part to his comedic roles in the films “Employee of the Month” and “Good Luck Chuck”.
Steve Carell. Carell had some stiff competition when he auditioned for SNL in 1995. Despite being a very funny man, Carell ran into a comedy roadblock by the name of Will Ferrell, who got the spot instead. Despite bombing his SNL audition, Carell went on to become one of the most beloved actors in television, playing the role of Michael Scott on “The Office”, and has starred in several films. Carell twice hosted SNL; once in 2005, and again in 2006.
These big-name stars who failed to earn a cast member spot may have gone on to bigger and better things, but their choosing to audition for SNL is a testament to the show’s legacy.
Sources:
http://www.saturday-night-live.com/qanda/guests.html
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Trivia/SaturdayNightLive
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072562/trivia
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000607/bio
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000120/bio