There’s perhaps no show in the history of television that has launched more comedic movie careers than Saturday Night Live. The beloved late night staple has catapulted at least a few dozen people to Hollywood stardom or at least a sustained period of key supporting roles. Maybe it’s the sketch format that allows the cast to show a lot of range. Maybe it’s the show’s long history of success that convinces casting directors to give these particular up and comers a shot. Whatever it is, it’s worked with consistency for fifty years… for a percentage of cast members.
That’s the thing. Everyone talks about Saturday Night Live churning out the Bill Murrays, Eddie Murphys and Will Ferrell’s, but the show has had more than a hundred and fifty cast members over the years and while most have done other things, the majority have not gotten starring roles in movies or their own TV shows. That can be a tough pill to swallow for those who don’t find Hollywood superstardom. Just ask Seth Meyers.
The late night host, who eventually found his place and landed a long-running talk show, recently stopped by NPR’s Wild Card for an interview, and during the chat, he got really honest about his acting career and the frustrations he felt. He watched many of his colleagues land big roles outside SNL, but despite auditioning on a regular basis, he just kept losing role after role until eventually, he had to admit he’s not very good at acting. Here’s a portion of his really honest quote…
You know, being on SNL, obviously, there were a lot of people that I was colleagues with who both were on SNL and they were having robust acting careers outside of SNL. And I was covetous of that. And I mean, I guess it's ambition, I was like, “Oh, I want to be in movies, too.” And very slowly it dawned on me, and it probably should have dawned on me faster, “Oh, this isn't the thing I'm supposed to be doing. Like, I'm good at some other things, but being an actor isn't one of them.” And when I look back, I wasted a lot of time and put myself through a ringer that I could have avoided if I had just had the sense of like, “You know what, sometimes ambition for a thing is misplaced if you don't actually have the sort of underlying talent that you need to go along with it.
For Meyers, it was a process of figuring out what exactly he was good at and what that could lead into. For most people in any career, it’s hard not to look at their peers or people who had the same job before them and envision a direct path of where they could go next. At Saturday Night Live, it’s very hard not to fall into that trap because your workplace is literally filled with photos of some of the most successful people in the history of show business who once worked on the exact same stage.
I know we all know the names, but let me just run down a quick list of some of the all-time greats who found huge success in Hollywood. John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley, David Spade, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jason Sudeikis. It’s overwhelming to think about, but Meyers thinks it’s a mistake to focus on them and assume that’s what is in store for you too.
You walk down a hallway and you see pictures of former cast members and you think because you work at the same place they do, you're going to have the same career path, you know? But it's a mistake to say just because you got hired at the same place as Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell, that doesn't mean you’re going to have their career. And a lot of different people with a lot of different skill sets come through SNL. And so, you know, I'm very grateful that there was a patience with my time there that allowed me to find my fit.
Finding your fit is the key. Every cast member needs to do that on the show itself including Meyers who eventually found his place as Weekend Update host and Head Writer. Sometimes that’s by being a steady hand that can get a laugh or two in a supporting role in other people’s sketches. Sometimes that’s by doing little bits on Weekend Update. Sometimes that’s by being the star of the really weird concept sketches that go on at the end of the night. You just need to keep trying until you find your place.
The same thing applies for after your time on the show is over too. The most literal path is working as an actor and, of course, trying to take the Adam Sandler track to superstardom, but a lot of SNL’s most famous alumni didn’t do things the conventional way including Meyers himself. He’s got his own late night show, which is a path quite a few others have gone down including Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. There are also a lot of SNL vets who found stardom going the stand-up route. Chris Rock is probably the flashiest example of that, but there are tons of others including John Mulaney and Norm Macdonald. Other cast members have written books or created their own niche TV shows or become in demand voice actors. There’s no single right path.
You can catch Late Night With Seth Meyers on NBC. Over twelve seasons, the show has produced more than 1500 episodes, and the host recently re-upped his contract to keep appearing through 2028 in that same timeslot, which he's humorously made light of over the years. Not bad for someone who struggled to even land small supporting roles during his time on SNL.