13 Stars Who Were Rejected By ‘Saturday Night Live’
“Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter and revealed that the iconic show—set to air its 40th anniversary special on Feb. 15—could have looked very, very different had he not rejected certain now-famous folks who tried out.
“Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell auditioned,” Michaels told THR when asked whether there was anyone he wished he’d hired. (Since then, Carell tweeted that he didn’t, in fact, try out for the show, but the tweet has since been taken down, so that one’s up in the air.)
“There were lots of people who you’d see how brilliant they were, but you knew on some level that it wasn’t going to work,” Michaels said, also revealing Jim Carey was a no-go.
We did some digging of our own, and came up with other stars who got the boot from the famous sketch comedy show. Take a look at the 13 celebrities below, and let us know who you think would have killed it on “Saturday Night Live.”
Stephen Colbert
He wasn’t ever on the show, but he did voice one half of its famous animated sketch “The Ambiguously Gay Duo.” Steve Carell was the other half.
Aubrey Plaza
The “Parks and Rec” funnygal admitted to The Guardian that—despite interning at SNL in 2005—she auditioned in 2008 and never made the cut.
Kevin Hart
The comedian hosted “SNL” in 2013, and admitted in his (amazingly impressive) monologue that he auditioned for the show but didn’t make it. He swore he had no hard feeling, since it was a long time ago. “Sixty seven months, 22 days, 6 hours.”
Lisa Kudrow
In the early ’90s, the show was looking to add several new cast members, and Lisa Kudrow—then part of L.A.’s famed comedy troupe Groundlings—was suggested to Lorne Michaels, who flew out to see her and fellow Groundling Julia Sweeney perform. Sweeney ended up getting role. Kudrow has since expressed gratitude that she didn’t get it.
Jack McBrayer
Lorne Michaels passed on McBrayer—who auditioned 15 years ago alongside former head writer and “Weekend Update” anchor Seth Myers—but he ended up getting cast in NBC’s hit “30 Rock,” which was produced by Michaels.
Jennifer Coolidge
Best known for playing Stiffler’s mom in the “American Pie” franchise and Elle Woods’ awkward manicurist BFF in “Legally Blonde” (and, to “Sex and the City” fans, a mentally unstable women who makes ugly purses), Coolidge auditioned for “SNL” alongside fellow Groundlings members Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, and Cheri Oteri. The three of them made the cut, but Coolidge did not.
“Me, Will, Chris, and Cheri were all flown in for the “SNL” audition. They chose Will and Cheri and not Chris and I, and six months later they called up Chris. I was the one who got rejected. I was spared a bullet. I think of all the demons, and playing-politics. The good thing was I might have become anorexic. But I probably would have self-destructed on “SNL,” she told Los Angeles magazine.
Kathy Griffin
The new “Fashion Police” host was also performing at the Groundlings SNL showcase at which Lisa Kudrow and Julia Sweeney auditioned.
“One night I had a meeting with Lorne Michaels, and he was a total asshole. So he was coming to see me, Lisa Kudrow, and Julia Sweeney in a Friday late show,” Griffin told Los Angeles Magazine. “Backstage it was ridiculous. One girl was in the other room audibly sobbing. [Fellow Groundling] Mary Scheer was throwing makeup in her bag and saying, “Let’s be honest-I deserve this as much as you guys.” I was like, “Jesus, just focus.” Lisa and I were really crushed. Julia just kicked our asses. She was perfect.
John Goodman
Goodman admitted in Live From New York that he tried out for “Saturday Night Live“ in 1980, but was passed over because he didn’t have a strong enough resume. Eight years later, he landed the role of Dan in “Roseanne,” and became a celebrated screen and stage actor—and one of the most famous “SNL” hosts in history, having helmed the show 12 times.
Zach Galifianakis
Galifianakis tried out for SNL at the end of the 1999-00 season and instead was hired as a writer, not a cast member.
Paul Reubens
In 1980, Lorne Michaels was replaced by Jean Doumanian, who built a famously abysmal cast that year. Paul Reubens—aka Pee Wee Herman—was a Groundling at the time and auditioned for the “SNL” but was passed over in favor of comedian Gilbert Gottfried, who was supposedly friends with a producers.
“I was so bitter and angry, I thought, ‘You better think about doing something to take this to the next level,'” Reubens told the San Francisco Chronicle. Apparently, on his plane ride home from New York, he came up with the idea for The Pee-Wee Herman Show. “I borrowed some money and produced this show. I went from this Saturday Night Live reject to having 60 people working for me,” he said.
Louis C.K.
The comedian tried out for “SNL” in 1993 was rejected, but his audition did reportedly lead a suggestion that comedy writer Robert Smigel hire him to be a scribe for Late Night with Conan O’Brien, which became his first TV gig.
Jim Carrey
Carrey auditioned for “Saturday Night Live” at a few points during the 1980s, and was rejected every time. He eventually went on to star in another ketch comedy show, “In Living color, in the 1990s. If you’re interested, here’s a good piece that examines whether Carrey would have found the same successes that he had on “Color” if he’d been cast on “SNL”
Donald Glover
In 2008, producers began searching for someone specifically to play presidential candidate Barack Obama in sketches. Glover—a writer for “30 Rock” at the time, auditioned for the gig, but producers ended up going with Fred Armisen (yep, who’s white.) Things didn’t turn out too bad for Donald, though: He landed a role on “Community” a year later, and made a name for himself in music under his stage name Childish Gambino.
All photos: WENN
