live from New York it's gonna get weird
hey everyone I'm Rebecca and welcome to
watchmojo.com is black I hate you sweet
Jesus that means we're looking at the
most unique and unexpected experiences
that performers had during their
auditions for Saturday Night Live but
they don't necessarily have to have been
successful auditions all right let's get
to the list if you like what you're
hearing be sure to check out the full
song at the link below
[Music]
number ten to prop or not to prop bill
hader auditioning for Saturday Night
Live can be a nerve-wracking experience
should you go with what you know and do
the stand-up set you've perfected for
years or should you try something fresh
and new for Lorne Michaels & Company
these thoughts were running through the
mind of Bill Hader as he recalled
stepping into a 30 rock elevator and
seeing another comedian holding a bunch
of props that comedian oddly enough was
future SNL cast member Andy Samberg who
was auditioning the same day P encounter
probably led both to second-guess the
whole prop thing but now we know that
both hater and Samberg ended up just
fine okay and Anthony what is your
puppets name number nine is New York
okay Seth Meyers so the show is live
from New York
meaning that working in the city that
never sleeps should be sort of a given
right well for some reason Lorne
Michaels still went ahead and asked Seth
Meyers whether or not he'd be able to
live in NYC should he be given a spot on
the cast Myers was doing a final meeting
with Michaels before being offered the
job and he told the New York Times that
he couldn't help but wonder if quote
anyone blew it at this stage it's not
like the iconic sketch comedy show could
be held anywhere else especially not for
the convenience of a new cast member
number eight contractual obligations
Mindy Kaling the office has seen its
share of alumni trying their hands at
joining the cast of Saturday Night Live
Twice Yerger and slot Steve Carell once
auditioned alongside his wife Nancy
walls they passed on Carell but offered
walls a spot during the show's 21st
season Mindy Kaling also auditioned for
SNL during the second season of the
office making a deal with showrunner
Greg Daniels that she could be let out
of her contract if approved as a cast
member she was offered a writing
position on the show but that wasn't
part of the deal so she stayed on the
office despite knowing the potential for
parlaying that position into an eventual
slot on the main cast what might have
been sometimes I get so bored I just
want to scream and then sometimes I
actually do scream I just sort of fuel
out with the situation calls for number
seven time crunch Kristen Wiig we
mentioned earlier about how stressful
choosing material for an SNL audition
can be
and this also applies to making sure
everything is timed correctly sometimes
down to the millisecond everybody just
has to act natural can you do that soon
naturally yes yes I'll just look at my
hand Kristen Wigg had this nailed down
for her turn at bat for the SNL cast
after being told that all auditions had
to be five minutes maximum
we told the New York Times that she even
brought a stopwatch in order to make
sure her material could fit in the
allotted time then when she was actually
in the 30 rock building she heard that
other performers were doing sets in
excess of 10 minutes which really let
the wind out of her sails number 6 the
right obama donald glover okay so how
did this not become a thing donald
glover wasn't auditioning to become a
member of the Saturday Night Live cast
its featured players or even on the
writing team but threw his hat into the
ring to play former President Barack
Obama during the show's 2007-2008 season
Glover was already writing and
performing on the 30 rock TV show
alongside Tina Fey and had proven his
strength at comedy and we think he could
have done a very presidential job with
his impressions the role was eventually
given to cast member Fred Armisen
however leaving us all to imagine the
scenario in our heads until the end of
time number 5 Loren laughing on the
inside
Jimmy Fallon Lorne Michaels is the
ultimate deciding factor when it comes
to landing a job with SNL and meetings
with him can go a myriad of different
ways Jimmy Fallon was waiting three
hours for his meeting when he was
informed by an assistant that Chris
Farley was kept waiting over eight then
there was when Fallon was told by no
less than three people not to be
dissuaded if Lorne didn't laugh during
his audition
his reaction quote he's doing a comedy
show why does he not like to laugh it
ended with Jimmy doing an Adam Sandler
impression for Lorne which he must have
found funny whether he showed it or not
number four no women this year Rachel
Dratch there's been an ebb and flow to
the cast of Saturday Night Live with
performers of different genders races
and sexual orientations passing through
over the years as a result sometimes
casting directors are looking for
different things depending upon what
kind of holes they need filled within
the featured players Rachel Dratch
didn't get in the door during her first
audition for the show with SNL hiring
Jimmy Fallon Horatio Sanz
and chris parnell in her place she was
told the show quote wasn't hiring women
that year which is a funny thing to hear
but Dratch told the New York Times that
she eventually felt quote at peace with
the decision number three don't do Mary
Katherine Molly Shannon hey sometimes
you just shouldn't listen to anyone
other than yourself Molly Shannon
certainly followed her instincts when
she auditioned for SNL and was told that
Lorne Michaels would quote hate her
character of Mary Katherine Gallagher
sure it would have been easy for Shannon
to listen to this bad advice from one of
the show's talent scouts but she
listened to her gut and eventually
created an iconic character for the ages
I want to be a singer just like you do
the lesson here go with what you know
even if what you know was doing an
awkward accident-prone armpit smelling
Catholic schoolgirl obsessed with
Meredith baxter-birney number two
awkward callback Will Ferrell well
Ferrell was back in New York for his
second meeting with Lorne Michaels so he
sat down and started to go through his
act Michaels told him that he basically
needed to come up with something
entirely new Ferrell had actually
planned an elaborate joke for the
meeting bringing along a briefcase full
of fake money to offer as a bribe we're
doing the interview now not you but the
atmosphere was tense and he changed his
mind at the last minute I'm Will Ferrell
and this will be the voice of the
Chicago Cubs mr. Harry Carey the next
day he ended up doing a sketch about a
businessman who rolls around on the
floor playing with cat toys which he was
sure bombed tell Don Jacobs to hold yes
no I'm busy thank you fortunately he was
wrong or we would never have gotten more
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number one persistence pays off Eddie
Murphy Oh an eviction notice
Eddie Murphy wasn't even 20 years old
when he felt the urge to inundate an SNL
talent coordinator with daily phone
calls for a week begging for a chance to
get on the show that coordinator
eventually relented intending to use
Eddie as a non-speaking extra in the
background
Eddie perhaps predictably killed at the
audition and he was made a full member
of the SNL cast episode of 2019 but if
you're black this is the first episode
since I left back in 1984
Murphy served as one of the shining
stars and saving graces for the show's
tumultuous sixth season known as SNL 80
and went on to not only become a series
staple but an absolute comedy icon maybe
you should consider giving me my own
slack you know that means I'm a totally
continued experienced do you agree with
our picks let us know in the comments
and hey if you're a fan of the song
playing right now be sure to check out
the music video for it right here
[Music]