Stars You Didn’t Realize Auditioned for SNL
Peacock’s SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night looks back on early auditions and reveals several surprises.
Every great career must start with an audition. To land a coveted spot on the cast of Saturday Night Live, comedians have five minutes to dive convincingly into characters and show producers they've got the comedic chops to make audiences laugh, all the while managing a bevy of nerves.
In the first episode of Peacock's new four-part docuseries on the iconic sketch comedy show, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, we get to watch some of the greatest performers of their generation audition their hearts out, though not everyone makes the cut. Among the stars who were up for the show, but never joined the regular cast, there are several notable names:
Jim Carrey
Early in his career, Jim Carrey auditioned three times for SNL, but never landed the show. He was just 18 during his first audition in 1980, the same year Eddie Murphy joined the cast, and went up against several SNL legends in subsequent tryouts, including Dana Carvey and the late Phil Hartman. The Golden Globe winner later said the rejections inspired him to work harder. In the docuseries' first episode, "Five Minutes," viewers get a glimpse of the young comedic genius in action.
Carrey's gone on to serve as Host three times.
RELATED: Will Ferrell Showed Off Something "That Rarely Anybody Can Do" During His SNL Audition
Stephen Colbert
The Late Show host Stephen Colbert became a national name on The Daily Show beginning in 1997, but before landing that gig, he tried out for Saturday Night Live, albeit unsuccsessfully.
“There’s a lot of people that I brought in, and I’m like, ‘I can’t believe we’re not hiring that person'” Marci Klein, SNL's head of talent from 1995 to 2013, revealed in the docuseries. Stephen Colbert was on the top of that list when he auditioned on July 31, 1996, at the age of 32. “For whatever reason, it didn’t happen. Obviously, he’s doing great,” she said.
Kevin Hart
The world knows comedian Kevin Hart for his brash stand-up specials and sharp wit, appearing in TV series like Peacock's Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist. But auditioning for SNL was a nerve-wracking experience. The up-and-comer did an impression of NBA player Avery Johnson, but there was one problem: "I did an impression of someone that no one knew," he'd recount to late night host Conan O'Brien.
Hart didn’t land a role on the cast, but there were no hard feelings. He has hosted SNL three times since.
Jennifer Coolidge
In her 1995 audition shared on "Five Minutes," we see White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge hamming it up in a blond bouffant wig. "[Coolidge] was so funny. I couldn't get anybody to get it," Klein lamented int the docuseries.
Though the Emmy winner didn’t make the cut, she loves the hilarious impressions of her that the show has aired. After cast member Chloe Fineman’s first parody aired in 2022 — “Jennifer Coolidge is Impressed by Christmas Stuff” — the actress gave a shout out on X, referencing her audition from decades ago.
“Congrats to the new cast members!! I know how hard it is to get on that show, I tried my ass off to be one but you actually made it!!” Coolidge tweeted at the time.
RELATED: How Do SNL Sketches Make It To Air? Peacock’s SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night Explains
Mindy Kaling
Mindy Kaling had already established herself as Kelly Kapoor in the NBC series The Office when she was invited to audition in 2005. Joining SNL was a “childhood dream” for the actress, so she worked out a deal with Office showrunner Greg Daniels to break her contract if she landed a spot on the cast. It didn't work out, but that didn't slow her down.
“I think the course of my career would have gone really differently had I left ‘The Office’ and done that instead,” she told “The Daily Beast’s” The Last Laugh Podcast.
Donald Glover
When Donald Glover hosted SNL in 2018, he reminded the world he auditioned for the show twice. “It truly is an honor to be hosting SNL instead of just auditioning for it, which I did twice. That’s not a joke, I’m still pissed.”
But Glover went on to great heights, starring in the beloved comedy series Community (2009-2014), winning an Emmy for his role as Earn Marks in Atlanta (2016-2022), and playing Lando Calrissian in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Jordan Peele
Peele was on the sketch comedy show MADtv when SNL approached him to audition in order to play the part of President Barack Obama in 2008. Parodying the 44th president was not meant to be, however.
In a clip of his audition, the young and enthusiastic comic brought his A-game and seemed destined for greatness even then. Peele went on to write, act, direct, and produce, mastering both comedy and horror. He won an Emmy for the variety sketch series Key and Peele in 2016 and an Oscar for the brilliant 2018 psychological thriller Get Out.
