20 famous stars who couldn't get cast on 'SNL'

Jim Carrey is one of the funniest people in Hollywood, but he apparently wasn’t funny enough for SNL. He auditioned more than once and was rejected every time. He has hosted a number of times, though. 

What’s perhaps more interesting than learning who didn’t get the job on SNL is learning who did get it instead. When Geena Davis auditioned, she lost out to Pamela Stephenson. Just five years later, though, Davis went on to win her Oscar. 

Steve Carell auditioned for SNL in the mid-'90s, as did his wife, Nancy Walls. While Walls was hired, Carell was not. Another famous face to make it in the year that Carell was denied? Will Ferrell. 

Despite having somewhat of an in — her husband was an SNL writer for well over a decade —  Ellie Kemper didn’t make it on the show. The funny lady eventually was cast on The Office, though, and she worked with SNL alum Tina Fey on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. 

Stephen Colbert’s career has turned out fine, but it could’ve gone much differently. The late night host auditioned for SNL in the ‘90s, but he didn’t make it on. It’s hard to imagine why he didn’t get the gig, but he seems to be over it now. 

Kathy Griffin auditioned for SNL in 1990 and wasn’t asked to join the cast. Perhaps her life wouldn’t have been spent on the D-List had she made it onto the show. 

Aubrey Plaza had wanted to be on SNL her entire life, but unfortunately she didn’t make it on when she auditioned. She went on to star in Parks and Recreation, though, and she eventually got to host an episode of SNL. She also introduced a musical guest at the 50th anniversary special. 

Donald Glover didn’t make it onto SNL after auditioning twice, but in retrospect he was happy for it. The actor thinks his career would’ve turned out entirely differently had he been on the show. And he got to pull double duty as host and musical guest at the height of his Atlanta fame. 

Sometimes, even the funniest of people aren’t right for Saturday Night Live. Zach Galifianakis auditioned to be a cast member, but he was turned down. He did get offered a part-time writing position, though that only lasted a few episodes. The actor returned to host a few times in the early 2010s. 

Mindy Kaling’s dream was to be a cast member on SNL. She auditioned for the show after being hired as a writer for The Office. While Kaling was offered a writing job for SNL, she didn’t get offered a cast member position. Her deal with her boss at the time was that she could leave The Office if she were hired as a cast member at SNL, but since she was only offered a writing position, she couldn’t take the job.  

Kevin Hart has no shame about the fact that he auditioned to be on SNL and didn’t get the job. The stand-up comedian addressed it in his monologue the first time he hosted the show. 

Jordan Peele has proved himself to be a sketch comedy expert. He’s one half of the highly popular Key & Peele. But his sketch comedy career could’ve looked very different as he once auditioned for SNL. He didn’t get the gig, but he went on to do just fine. Academy Award-winning fine. 

David Cross has just as illustrious a career as any SNL star, and perhaps even more impressive than some. Still, his audition wasn’t impressive enough to land him a spot on the sketch comedy show. In fact, as he would admit, his audition bombed. 

John Goodman is a legend, known for films like The Big Lebowski and Monsters Inc., as well as sitcoms Roseanne and The Conners. But he, for some reason, didn’t get cast when he auditioned for SNL. The show is clearly a fan of Goodman, though. He’s hosted the show 13 times. 

It’s a good thing Lisa Kudrow didn’t get cast on SNL. She auditioned for the 1990-1991 season, and the one remaining spot went to Julia Sweeney. Kudrow, of course, went on to play Phoebe in Friends, and that role defined her career. 

Pee-Wee Herman was turned down from SNL. That’s right. When Paul Reubens auditioned for the show in 1980, it was Gilbert Gottfried who got the part. The rejection fueled Reubens, though, and he went on to create Pee-wee’s Playhouse. 

Jennifer Coolidge has been highly underrated her entire career. She auditioned for SNL the same year as Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri, but she didn’t get the part. And tragically, she still has yet to host the show. 

Marc Maron met with Lorne Michaels in 1996 to discuss possibly replacing Norm Macdonald for “Weekend Update.” Maron claims that he lost out on the job after taking a piece of candy from a bowl on Michaels' desk. Colin Quinn ended up taking Macdonald’s spot. 

Kel Mitchell and Kenan Thompson were Nickelodeon stars. The two starred in their eponymous show, Kenan & Kel, for four years and auditioned for SNL at the same time. Sadly, Mitchell didn’t get the job. 

Jack McBrayer is a bit of an NBC legend in his own right, but he hoped for it to look different. McBrayer auditioned for SNL, but he didn’t get it. He did, however, go on to play a TV-obsessed NBC page on SNL alum Tina Fey’s creation, 30 Rock.