Saturday Night Live
SNL50 : Beyond Saturday Nightis a of late - released four - part docuseries streaming on Peacock that offer a spirit at several surprisingSaturday Night Liveaudition tape measure . 2025 marks the fiftieth day of remembrance ofSaturday Night Live , one of thelongest - melt down TV show of all time . To observe this major milestone , there are several newspecials aboutSNL’s50th day of remembrance , the first of which isSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night .
There were a issue ofshocking reveals inSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , although it was n’t quite the hit objet d’art that some had been expecting . Nevertheless , the docuseries did allow steel - raw insights into the audition physical process forSaturday Night Liveand play up some of the best , most memorable , and most disgraceful auditory sense inSNL’shistory . Of theSaturday Night Livecast phallus audition picture inSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , these 10 stage the most surprising in terminal figure of their mental object , their influence on the plaster cast penis , and/or their point of succeeder .
10Tracy Morgan
Tracy Morgan’s Emotional Response To His Audition Proved How Meaningful These Auditions Are
Comedian and actor Tracy Morgan was a regular cast fellow member onSaturday Night Livefrom 1996 to 2003 . Morgan was one of the first faces inSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , speaking about his experience auditioning in the episode " Five Minutes . " What shit Morgan ’s audition such a surprise is not its content ( although his Biscuit character become on to be very pop ) but rather his reception to watch it .
Morgan watches the audition tape inSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , getting increasingly aroused , clapping , laughing , and saying"This is crazy . “At one stage , after Morgan reveal he even remembers when he wrote the textile , he seems to wipe a snag from his oculus . It ’s easy to empathize why Morgan has this response , and it ’s revelatory about this experience and the impact ofSNL . For many on the show , view their audition magnetic tape is an opportunity to jump correctly back into the moment when they got their bounteous break .
9Will Ferrell
Ferrell Impressed The Producers With His Unique Audition Material
Will Ferrell became one of the greatestSaturday Night Livecast members of all clip , withLorne Michaels himself ranking Ferrell as one of the top two or threeSNLcast members in the show ’s decennium - farsighted history , according toThe Hollywood Reporter . However , Ferrell was n’t all that surefooted going into the audition . In fact , even after his audition conclude , he recollect he ’d done horribly , which was a sentiment many of hisSNLcounterparts shared .
Evidently , that was n’t the sheath , as the producers were captivate by Ferrell and his unique characters and horse sense of wit . One of the support - out moments from his auditory sense — which finally made it into a skit onSaturday Night Liveas well — watch Ferrell rolling around on the floor and take on with cat toys . Whereas Ferrell was disturbed he ’d blend too far , the producer were thrilled to see something truly brand - new . This character work was at long last employed throughout Ferrell ’s fourth dimension onSNLand in his movie and TV roles since .
Will Ferrell is one of the funniest actors of his generation , and he has star in plenty of hilarious clowning motion-picture show since his SNL mean solar day .
8Kenan Thompson
Thompson’s Audition Was More Than Twice As Long As A Typical Audition
Kenan Thompson’sSaturday Night Liveaudition was more than double as long as the average , induce it to stand out . Typically , SNLauditions are compact , ply roughly 5 minute long and providingSNLproducers with a quick sentiency of the mortal ’s comedic chop , asSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night’sepisode " Five Minutes " makes light . Thompson certainly break with this custom in his 11 - instant - long auditory sense , during which he did a number of impression , include of Bill Cosby . However , intelligibly , that strategy worked in Thompson ’s favor .
Thompson isthe foresightful - runningSaturday Night Livecast memberof all metre . He began onSNLin 2003 , and he remains on the show to this day , give him an overall 22 - year running ( so far ) on the show . That does n’t meanSNLhas been all that Thompson has done , however . Thompson had his big respite on Nickelodeon’sKenan & Kel , which ran from 1996 to 2000 , and he has since appeared in many major movie and TV shows , including as a representative player in theTrollsfranchise .
7Heidi Gardner
Gardner Also Cried While Watching Her Tapes Back
Like Tracy Morgan , Heidi Gardner get quite emotional look on her audition tapeonSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , asking those behind the photographic camera if other former casting members had cried watching their older audition tapes back too ( the answer was yes ) . Isabella Stewart Gardner belong on to explain that she had n’t ever check the tape before and was disturbed she would never be able to because she may be too critical of herself . In the end , though , Gardner was majestic of what she see on the covert .
InSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , Gardner explained,“I can not trust I did that , just as far as , like , that ’s a lot of pressure . “Like Morgan ’s response , Gardner ’s response to watching her old hearing tapes reveals both how intense this auditory sense process is forSaturday Night Liveand how profound an impact being onSNLcan have on someone and their career . While Gardner ’s audition may not have been all that ' gaga ' in terminus of its capacity , it ’s affecting to see her hard response to these magnetic tape .
6Kristen Wiig
Impressively, All Of Wiig’s Audition Characters Made It Onto The Show
Saturday Night Liveauditions are notoriously daunting , but that did n’t seem to be too big an obstruction for actress and comedian Kristen Wiig . Rather impressively , all the characters Wiig try out with eventually made their way ontoSNLas character . The most famed of these was likely Target Lady , although Wiig had a number of vivid theatrical role both in her sense of hearing and throughout her prison term onSaturday Night Live .
Wiig had a comparatively long consort onSNL , appearing on the show for 7 year , from 2005 to 2012 . During those years , Wiig was get laid for her character workplace — the very thing that had made herSaturday Night Liveaudition such a achiever . The same skill curing is clear in Wiig ’s characters in various moving picture and display , admit as Annie inBridesmaidsand the phonation of Lucy in theDespicable Mefranchise .
Wiig was bonk for her character work — the very thing that had made herSaturday Night Liveaudition such a success .
Custom Image by Ana Nieves
5Fred Armisen
Armisen’s Audition Was An Immediate Hit
SNL50 : Beyond Saturday Nightalso showed the audition telecasting of actor and comedian Fred Armisen , who was a cast extremity onSaturday Night Livefrom 2002 to 2013 . Armisen , who also had not seen his audition video before , laughed along with the clip and explained that he had drawn inspiration from musician Tito Puente for the drummer persona used in his hearing . The character borrowed from Tito Puente ’s vivify comedic stylus and took vantage of Armisen ’s real - living drummer science as well .
harmonise toSNLproducer Michael Shoemaker,“You hump in good order away that would be a character on the show , whether he was screwball or not . “This proved true , as this character conk on to come along onSaturday Night Livewell after Armisen ’s audition . This case of character employment would also become a staple of Armisen ’s on the show .
4Bobby Moynihan
Moynihan’s Response To His Audition Tape Was One Of Pure Embarrassment
Although many formerSaturday Night Livecast members were beguiled or even go to tear when reckon their honest-to-god audition tape , Bobby Moynihanwas thoroughly humiliated by what he saw . As shortly as his audition clip began play , Moynihan said,“Oh no … Oh , Bobby . “Moynihan then explained that the character he portrayed in his auditory modality magnetic tape was actually based on someone he had previously worked with .
The auditory sense tape insure Moynihan donning a durag , the retentive strands of which he trifle with as though they are whisker . Moynihan also adopts an accent for the audition ( which seems to in part be why Moynihan responds with"Oh no " ) and a more florid posture . Despite Moynihan ’s embarrassment , this audition clearly did the prank , as he was a mold member onSaturday Night Livefrom 2008 to 2017 .
Saturday Night Live is among the longest - fly the coop boob tube shows of all time , but the show has caused a number of controversies over the years .
3Kate McKinnon
Kate McKinnon’s Penélope Cruz Was A Massive Hit
Kate McKinnon was one example of anSNLcast member who was tally at the end of the season , make her a snatch of a wild card . Nevertheless , McKinnon’sSaturday Night Liveaudition , in which she impersonate actress Penélope Cruz in a moisturizer commercial message , was a major smasher . In the audition , McKinnon hilariously tend lower and lower into her hot seat as she pitch the generic lines used in so many moisturizer commercials .
McKinnon landed the job following her celebrated sense of hearing and then had a recollective run onSaturday Night Liveas a mold penis , from 2012 to 2022 . That decade see a number of brilliantKate McKinnonSNLsketches , some of which let in McKinnon ’s fan - favorite stamp of Hillary Clinton . In the time since , McKinnon has had many movie and video role showing off her drollery accomplishment , including as Weird Barbie in 2023 ’s bash - hit movieBarbie .
2Andy Samberg
Andy Samberg Came Prepared With Many Props
Actor and comedian Andy Samberg may be well hump for the major roles he has under his bash now , such as Jake Peralta onBrooklyn Nine - Nine , but he was as uneasy as anyone else when he auditioned forSaturday Night Live . That was cleared in the numeral of props he contribute alone , which Samberg himself poked fun at while watching the hearing tape back inSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night . In addition to using multiple airplane propeller to his advantage , Samberg also made use of belief in his auditory sense .
InSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Night , Samberg watched as his audition tape played , let in his depression of Jimmy Fallon , another formerSNLcast phallus . Samberg explained that he knew Fallon had done an opinion of yet another formerSNLcast penis , Adam Sandler , when he auditioned , make it a bit of a tradition . According to Shoemaker , he knew Samberg was good for the job simply from the way he hold up his hand when he referred to himself as a"triple threat . "
1Bill Hader
Hader’s Al Pacino Impression Got Some Laughs During The Audition
IfSNL50 : Beyond Saturday Nightmade one aspect of auditions clean , it was that they could be fairly awkward for the person auditioning , as it was unusual for anyone watching to express joy . That was plainly no problem for Bill Hader , though , asHader ’s Al Pacino impression have some actual joke during his audition . To make his audition stand out even more , Hader was n’t just Al Pacino — he was Al Pacino losing his pettishness over a cantaloup vine .
For the producer , this was not only peculiar but also subverted expectations enough that Hader immediately grabbed their attention . This proved to be the perfect rule , as Hader ’s unique impression got him a role onSNL , where he stayed for eight old age . Although these audition are n’t inevitably ' wild ' in the way one might await ofSaturday Night Liveauditions , SNL50 : Beyond Saturday Nightrevealed how each of these audition tapes ( and , at time , the comic ’s responses ) each withstand something surprising and strange .
