Will Ferrell's SNL Audition Showed Off Something "That Rarely Anybody Can Do"
Ferrell would quickly go down as one of Saturday Night Live's legendary performers, but before that, he had to nail those critical "five minutes."
There’s no telling where comedy legend Will Ferrell would be today if he hadn't nailed his Saturday Night Live audition.
It’s been just over three decades since the Elf and Anchorman star first visited NBC's Studio 8H to appear before a talent evaluation panel — including SNL creator Lorne Michaels — and turned out a performance that showcased his comedic range, fearlessness and penchant for the eccentric that would soon become hallmarks of his time on the iconic sketch show.
The critical five minutes for SNL hopefuls, which Ferrell nailed, are the focus of the first episode of Peacock's four-part docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, available to stream now. It captures the nerve-wracking exhilaration and, often, poignant emotion of the audition process.
In Ferrell's case, it was a tour de force.
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What did Will Ferrell do for his SNL audition?
Ferrell began his 1994 audition with an impersonation of famed Chicago Cubs broadcaster Harry Caray, except Ferrell’s spin had Caray reading for a dramatic play. Donning a white wig and Caray’s trademark jumbo-sized eyeglasses, Ferrell brought a bobble-headed version of the baseball announcer that would return for several SNL sketches over the years.
Next, Ferrell adopted a distinctive Massachusetts accent to portray then-U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy trying his hand at stand-up; he'd appear as Kennedy twice during SNL’s Season 22.
Audition attendees such as Michael Shoemaker, who worked as a producer on SNL from 1990 to 2009, were taken by Ferrell’s “Get Off the Shed” bit, where he played a seemingly prototypical family man hosting a backyard barbecue who goes from mild-mannered to explosively angry because his kids won't — you guessed it — get off the shed.
That fully formed concept would become Ferrell’s on-air debut and the first live sketch following SNL's Season 21 cold open.
“‘Get Off the Shed’ was, right away, it was a sketch in his first show,” Shoemaker told SNL50. “We knew right away that it would work. What Will does, that rarely anybody can do, is scream funny … I’ve seen a million people try.”
For the last part of the audition, Ferrell played an office worker who instructed his secretary to hold his calls so he could play with cat toys by his lonesome.
“There’s a point where I’m rolling around on the ground, in complete silence, playing with cat toys. And I’m thinking, ‘Oh, it’s over. It’s just over now,’” Ferrell said of his audition in an August 22, 2013, interview with the New York Times.
But it would only be the beginning of Ferrell’s acclaimed career in comedy.
How long was Will Ferrell on SNL?
Ferrell joined the cast in Season 21 (1995-1996) and stayed until the end of Season 27 (2001-2002). During his seven-year tenure, he performed as some of SNL’s greatest characters, including recurring impersonations of Alex Trebek on "Celebrity Jeopardy," then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, and "Inside the Actor’s Studio" host James Liption.
Ferrell’s role as Gene Frenkle in Season 25's classic “More Cowbell,” was so indelible it's been given its very own episode in SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night.
Ferrell’s 1994 audition is one of several featured SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night's first episode, titled “Five Minutes.”
“Helmed by Emmy-winning director Robert Alexander, ‘Five Minutes’ illuminates the SNL audition process, pulling back the curtain to share never-before-seen audition footage and firsthand stories from some of the show’s most iconic cast and writers as they reflect on how they prepared, and what happened in those potentially life-changing minutes onstage,” as previously reported.
Cheri Oteri, who joined SNL at the same time as Ferrell, recalled her and Ferrell’s return to New York City for follow-up meetings, where they'd both learn they were cast in the show. Oteri's meeting was first and she found out both had made the cut, but she played it cool when she saw him in the waiting area so she wouldn't spoil his moment.
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“When he did his, and he walked out, I waited for him, and we held hands through the parking lot and just screamed,” she said in the docuseries. “I called my dad; he called his mom … from a payphone.”
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night executive producer Morgan Neville told NBC Insider he was surprised looking at "how emotional it was" for cast members past and present to look back at their audition tapes. "But then when I thought about it, you know, those five minutes that each of those performers had was probably the most important five minutes of their career. It's the moment their life changed. So it's hard to think of, for most people, of having a moment like that where everything is riding on it,”
Additional reporting by NBC Insider Digital Correspondent Stephanie Gomulka.
Originally published Jan 16, 2025.
