Saturday Night Live has been a staple of TV ever since its premiere in 1975. Thanks to the show's popularity, the careers of many iconic comedians and movie stars have been jump-started. In other cases, Saturday Night Live (or "SNL" as it's often referred to) is the pinnacle of success for up-and-coming comedy performers.
However, like any long-running show, some beloved cast members move onto better projects, while others hang out for nearly a decade. Certain time periods become regarded for the show's lineup of performers, and comparisons are drawn all the time. No fan can deny that these performers are truly the best SNL cast members ever.
Updated June 22, 2022 by Blaise Santi: Saturday Night Live's 47th season has finished airing as of May 2022. This season marked the departure of several of the show's cast members, including Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson. It also featured the return of many former cast members as hosts, such as Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis.
Even with these departures, the show still boasts one of the largest casts in its entire history. However, some cast members of SNL's past are irreplaceable. These comedians truly made the show their own during their time as part of the cast, with some of them still delivering great comedic work both on and outside the late-night program.
13 Tracy Morgan
It takes a true one-of-a-kind comedian to beat out Stephen Colbert for a spot on SNL. That honor went to Tracy Morgan, who was a cast member from 1996 to 2003. Tracy is a special kind of comic, one who delights audiences with his unique brand of humor, which often involves threatening to impregnate people.
Since leaving the cast, Tracy has remained SNL royalty. He's made frequent guest appearances during hosting gigs of his former cast mates, like Tina Fey or Jimmy Fallon. However, the only thing better than seeing Tracy be his usual self is his sketch work, with characters like Brian Fellows or Astronaut Jones.
12 Vanessa Bayer
Vanessa Bayer joined the cast of SNL in 2010, and for most of her time was the show's greatest secret weapon. It wasn't until she departed in 2017 that audiences truly felt the absence of her comedic genius. Some of her best roles include Weekend Updates characters like Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy and weatherwoman Dawn Lazarus.
However, Vanessa's greatest contribution to the show is her series of Totino's pizza roll ads. These fake commercials range from psychological horror to a foreign language romance. It's a great display of Vanessa's ability to combine campy, over-the-top comedy acting with the nuance of dramatic work.
11 Andy Samberg
Since its premiere in 1975, few changes have been made to SNL over the years. It takes a special kind of comedian to alter the trajectory of the show during their time on it. However, that perfectly describes the legacy of Andy Samberg, who was instrumental in the show's shift to creating content that would thrive on the Internet.
Alongside writers Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone, Andy is a third of "The Lonely Island," a musical sketch group. Together, the three crafted many Digital Shorts that lured in a whole new generation of viewers. It's hard to not see Andy's unique presence with sketches like "Lazy Sunday" and "Threw It On The Ground."
10 Cecily Strong
Cecily Strong made her SNL debut in 2012 at the start of Season 38. Within one year, she was promoted to a repertory player and co-anchored Weekend Update with Seth Meyers before his exit later that season. While her run on Weekend Update only lasted one season, she's one of the best when it comes to character work.
In recent years, Strong made waves with her impersonations of Fox News anchor Jeanine Pirro, former First Lady Melania Trump, and U.S. politician Marjorie Taylor Greene. Her Weekend Update appearance as "Goober the Clown" even earned glowing praise from critics and fellow comedy legends alike.
9 Phil Hartman
The late Phil Hartman already had an impressive comedy repertoire before joining Saturday Night Live in 1986. He was a part of the LA-based sketch group "The Groundlings," where he helped create the character of Pee-Wee Herman with Paul Reubens. However, it's SNL where Hartman truly shined.
Hartman earned the nickname "Glue" behind the scenes for his ability to "hold the show together." With characters such as Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer and impressions like Bill Clinton, Hartman brought an absurd sophistication to the show. True SNL fans understand his importance in the show's history.
8 Tina Fey
Tina Fey may be better known today for her work outside of Saturday Night Live, such as her successful sitcom 30 Rock. Her early years at SNL were spent battling sexism behind the scenes. Once she and Jimmy Fallon were cast as Weekend Update co-anchors, she began to thrive as one of the show's biggest stars.
Soon enough, Tina became the show's first female Head Writer. She appeared just in the nick of time, as the show was facing a decline in ratings after the loss of 90s stars like Chris Farley and Adam Sandler. Tina Fey helped shape Saturday Night Live into what it is today.
7 Kenan Thompson
Saturday Night Live is not Kenan Thompson's first brush with sketch comedy. Thompson started his career on Nickelodeon, starring in All That, then later a sitcom with Kel Mitchell called Kenan & Kel. By the time he was cast on SNL in 2003, he had almost a decade of comedy acting experience under his belt.
Luckily for audiences, Kenan continues to show up to 30 Rock. Currently, Kenan is the longest-running cast member in the show's history. He's been responsible for some of the show's best sketches, like "What's Up With That?" and "Black Jeopardy." No cast member has put in the work quite like Kenan has.
6 Kate McKinnon
Kate McKinnon's early years on SNL found her playing second fiddle to other female cast members. However, once she began playing Hillary Clinton during the 2016 election, her star power was finally realized. McKinnon soon began turning in diabolically funny performances for the next four years.
Kate was a beast when it came to character work. For example, there's Ms. Rafferty, a woman recounting her less-than-ideal paranormal encounters. In the show's pandemic run, Kate wowed audiences with Weekend Update's Dr. Wenowdis. It'll be a much different show after her departure at the end of Season 47.
5 Bill Hader
Like Phil Hartman, audiences have appreciated Bill Hader's work on Saturday Night Live more in hindsight. Bill was renowned for his impressions and characters, such as New York City correspondent Stefon, or Italian talk show host Vinny Vedecci. However, those performances did not come easy for Hader.
During press tours for his HBO show Barry, Hader recounted the intense anxiety and panic attacks he had performing live every week. It's crazy that Hader was able to churn out some of the show's most iconic performances while dealing with that struggle. It takes a very special kind of strength to pull that magic off.
4 Will Ferrell
Modern-day audiences know Will Ferrell from starring in Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Elf. However, his time on Saturday Night Live is one of the most flawless displays of comedic greatness the show's had. Ferrell rarely left an audience fighting back tears of laughter.
Whether he was wildly playing cowbell, caressing Rachel Dratch as one of the "Love-ahs," or posing completely nude for art students, Ferrell is a great example of true comedic commitment. Even his fellow cast members couldn't keep from breaking. His appearances as host have also been iconic.
3 Gilda Radner
No discussion of Saturday Night Live's greatest cast members is complete without mention of Gilda Radner. Gilda's an enormous part of SNL history, being the first person cast for the show. The decision was probably a no-brainer, given Gilda's many years of experience with National Lampoon.
In the five years that Gilda was on the show, she paved the road for future female comedians. She easily won the hearts of audiences with characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna. Unfortunately, Gilda's untimely passing prevents modern audiences from seeing her continue to be great.
2 Eddie Murphy
It's often said that Eddie Murphy saved Saturday Night Live from cancellation when he joined in the early 80s. Murphy exploded onto the show with characters like Buckwheat, Gumby, and Mr. Robinson. He even became the first cast member to host the show while still on the cast!
Years later, Murphy swore off returning to the show after a joke made by David Spade on Weekend Update. Thankfully, he made a triumphant return as host Season 45. He reprised all of his fan-favorite characters and completely blew the roof off 30 Rockefeller Center, even thirty years later.
1 Chris Farley
Watching Chris Farley perform is like watching someone resurrect the dead: you're witnessing magic. Farley joined the show in 1990, quickly befriending fellow castmates like Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Rob Schneider. Like Ferrell, Farley is a testament to how far passion can go in a comedy performance.
Farley was not afraid to leave it all on the floor at 30 Rock. With characters like Matt Foley, Bennett Brauer, and the Lunch Lady, Farley would stop at nothing to get the audience to laugh. However, his most endearing sketch is The Chris Farley Show, where he awkwardly interviews Paul McCartney, asking, "Do you remember when you were in The Beatles?"