Saturday Night Live has launched the careers of many famous comedians and performers. But for every cast member (or writer) who breakouts from SNL and achieves superstardom, there are plenty of others who failed miserably during their tenure on the show.
Stars who bombed as Saturday night live cast members
Before he was Iron Man, an Avenger, or a 1980s teen heartthrob, Robert Downey Jr. was a member of the Saturday Night Live cast during the doomed 1985-86 season. Only 20-years-old at the time, Downey was part of a mixed bag cast that failed to resonate with viewers or critics.
On the heels of Black Panther, Boseman hosted SNL in April 2018. The episode notably featured a Black Jeopardy sketch in which the Marvel actor portrays T’Challa and calls out Karen for putting raisins in her bland ass potato salad. The clip went viral in the wake of Boseman’s passing, amassing nearly 30 million views to date.
Chris Hemsworth once hosted Saturday Night Live, so it’s no surprise that we got an Avengers sketch. To be completely honest, they didn’t hit it out of the park, but you have to keep in mind that they weren’t going to make any deep cuts that only nerds will appreciate.
Samuel L. Jackson has made a lot of appearances as Nick Fury, but he’s only ever hosted “SNL” once. This sketch from January 10, 1998 puts Jackson up against other “SNL” cast members in “audition footage” for the role of Vincent Vega in “Pulp Fiction.”
Tied with Paltrow for the lead on this list of hosts is Scarlett Johansson, who has also headed up the sketch show three times. Johansson made back-to-back appearances in seasons 31 and 32 and was last seen hosting in season 36.
The last Marvel actor to host “SNL” was “Guardians of the Galaxy’s” Chris Pratt. With his comedy background and gleeful, limitless energy, the actor behind Peter Quill proved himself as an all rounder.