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Saturday Night Live

Saturday Night Live

NBC 1975

A late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels. The show's comedy sketches, which parody contemporary culture and politics, are performed by a large and varying cast of repertory and newer cast members. Each episode is hosted by a celebrity guest, who usually delivers an opening monologue and performs in sketches with the cast, and features performances by a musical guest.
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The Top 10 Actors and Characters of Saturday Night Live (Ranked Cast in 2024)

Nancy Carell

#1 - Nancy Carell (Self - Correspondent)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Nancy Ellen Carell (née Walls) is an American actress best known for her comedic work on Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, and The Office.

Nancy Carell plays as Self - Correspondent in Saturday Night Live.
Nancy Carell is the top #1 member of the cast and appears in 2889 episodes.

Seth Meyers

#2 - Seth Meyers (Himself - Host)

Seth Adam Meyers (born December 28, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for serving as cast member and later head writer as well on Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2014. He notably anchored its news parody segment Weekend Update. After leaving Saturday Night Live, Meyers became the host of late-night talk show Late Night with Seth Meyers. Meyers has also appeared in various films and hosted several awards shows.

Seth Meyers plays as Himself - Host in Saturday Night Live.
Seth Meyers is the top #2 member of the cast and appears in 1115 episodes.

Darrell Hammond

#3 - Darrell Hammond (Self - Various Characters)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Darrell Hammond (born October 8, 1955) is an American actor, stand-up comedian and impressionist. He was a regular on Saturday Night Live (SNL) from 1995 until 2009, the longest tenure of any cast member. Upon his departure, Hammond, at age 53, was the oldest cast member in the show's history. Hammond has made more SNL appearances than any other cast member and has impersonated more than 107 celebrities (with former President Bill Clinton as his most frequent impression). As of May 8, 2011, he has appeared on the show seven times since leaving the cast. Description above from the Wikipedia article Darrell Hammond, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Darrell Hammond plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Darrell Hammond is the top #3 member of the cast and appears in 272 episodes.

Kevin Nealon

#4 - Kevin Nealon (Self - Various Characters)

Kevin Nealon is an American actor and comedian, best known as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1995, acting in several of the Happy Madison films, for playing Doug Wilson on the Showtime series Weeds, and providing the voice of the title character, Glenn Martin on Glenn Martin, DDS.

Kevin Nealon plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Kevin Nealon is the top #4 member of the cast and appears in 173 episodes.

Phil Hartman

#5 - Phil Hartman (Self - Various Characters)

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman  (September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic artist. Born in Brantford, Ontario, Hartman and his family immigrated to the United States when he was ten. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands like Poco and America. Feeling the need for a more creative outlet, Hartman joined the comedy group The Groundlings in 1975 and there helped comedian Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the screenplay for the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Hartman became well-known in the late 1980s when he joined the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live. He won fame for his impressions, particularly of President Bill Clinton, and stayed on the show for eight seasons. Called "the Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, Hartman won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. In 1995, after scrapping plans for his own variety show, he starred as Bill McNeal in the NBC sitcom NewsRadio. He also had frequent roles on The Simpsons as Lionel Hutz, Troy McClure and others, and appeared in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. Hartman had been divorced twice before he married Brynn (née Omdahl) in 1987; the couple had two children together. However, their marriage was fractured, due in part to Brynn's drug use. On May 28, 1998, Brynn shot and killed her husband while he slept in their Encino, Los Angeles, home, then committed suicide several hours later. In the weeks following his death, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly opined that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper...a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". Description above from the Wikipedia article Phil Hartman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia

Phil Hartman plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Phil Hartman is the top #5 member of the cast and appears in 153 episodes.

Colin Jost

#6 - Colin Jost (Self - Various Characters)

Colin Jost was born on June 29, 1982 in Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA as Colin Kelly Jost. He is a writer and actor, known for Saturday Night Live (1975), How to Be Single (2016) and ID Theft.

Colin Jost plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Colin Jost is the top #6 member of the cast and appears in 144 episodes.

Kate McKinnon

#7 - Kate McKinnon (Self - Various Characters)

Kathryn McKinnon Berthold (born January 6, 1984), known professionally as Kate McKinnon, is an American actress, voice actress, and comedian. She is best known for her sketch comedy work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and The Big Gay Sketch Show. She played Jillian Holtzmann in the reboot of Ghostbusters (2016). McKinnon is known for her strong character work and celebrity impressions. She is known for her impressions of pop singer Justin Bieber, comedian and television host Ellen DeGeneres, politician Hillary Clinton and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. She has been nominated for four Primetime Emmys, three for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and one for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics.

Kate McKinnon plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Kate McKinnon is the top #7 member of the cast and appears in 144 episodes.

Kyle Mooney

#8 - Kyle Mooney (Self - Various Characters)

Kyle Mooney is an American film, web and television actor, writer, and comedian, best known for his work on "Saturday Night Live". After attending University of Southern California, Los Angeles, he and three friends formed "Good Neighbor", a LA-based comedy troupe with an extremely dedicated YouTube following.

Kyle Mooney plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Kyle Mooney is the top #8 member of the cast and appears in 144 episodes.

Noël Wells

#9 - Noël Wells (Kelsey Bern (voice))

Noël Kristi Wells (born December 23, 1986), is an American actress, voice actress, comedian, director, musician, and writer. She is known for her role as Rachel on Master of None and as a cast member on Saturday Night Live for the 2013–2014 season.

Noël Wells plays as Kelsey Bern (voice) in Saturday Night Live.
Noël Wells is the top #9 member of the cast and appears in 139 episodes.

Will Ferrell

#10 - Will Ferrell (Self - Various Characters)

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Will Ferrell became interested in performing while a student at University High School in Irvine, California, where he made his school's daily morning announcements over the public address system in disguised voices. He started as a member of the Los Angeles comedy/improvisation group The Groundlings, where fellow cast members Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph and former Saturday Night Live repertory players such as Laraine Newman, Jon Lovitz and Phil Hartman began their careers. It was there he met Chris Kattan and the two became good friends and both went on to Saturday Night Live later. He has also appeared on several television programs, including Strangers with Candy, Grace Under Fire and Living Single during his time at The Groundlings. Will also lent his voice to the armless and legless dad of cartoon family The Oblongs. In 1995 he became a feature cast member at Saturday Night Live during the show's rapid re-casting. He was declared quite possibly the worst cast member ever during his first season. However, his talents of impersonations and range of characters shot him forward to making him arguably the greatest Saturday Night Live cast member ever. During his seven year run he is one of the few cast members to ever be nominated for an Emmy for a performance and played George W. Bush during the 2000 elections. He's appeared in every Saturday Night Live movie since his premiere on the show in 1995. In 2002 he left  Saturday Night Live and was the only cast member to ever receive a farewell from all the current cast members at the end of the season finale show. Since leaving the show Will has pursued a career in films. In 2000 he married and now lives in L.A.

Will Ferrell plays as Self - Various Characters in Saturday Night Live.
Will Ferrell is the top #10 member of the cast and appears in 139 episodes.

Last updated: may 12, 2024

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