Saturday Night Live has been an incubator for comedy film talent since the 1970s — producing names like Murray, Chase, Aykroyd, Radner, Belushi, and Martin — who have gone on to the world’s most famous comedy careers on the big screen. Other SNL cast members haven’t fared so well — despite at least a modicum of talent for feature films. Often, an early stumble in their transition from SNL to the screen has stunted the growth of SNL alums’ movie careers.
Once-marquee names like Oteri, Lovitz, and Fallon have fallen by the wayside when it’s come time to appear on celluloid. Some, like Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, were lucky enough to be ushered into late night careers by the powerful Lorne Michaels. Others have rarely been heard from again. The following are 16 SNL cast members who never quite materialized as film stars.
16 Cheri Oteri
Cheri Oteri rose to fame during the Will Ferrell Era of SNL in the late-’90s, joining Ferrell in the recurrent Spartan Cheerleaders sketches, as well as co-hosting the Regis and Kathy Lee-like Morning Latte. Her parody of Barbara Walters made her a big ’90s TV star, replete with plenty of daytime television appearances — but when it came to her film career, Oteri suffered a certain amount of failure to launch.
Early Movie Promise Led to a Later Career Downturn
Oteri landed some high-profile supporting comedy roles while still a member of the SNL cast, including in Liar Liar and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Still, Oteri never managed to star in her own comedy franchise, possibly owing to none of her SNL characters getting their own movie consideration from Lorne Michaels.
15 Julia Sweeney
Nothing signifies the changes in comedically-acceptable material quite like It’s Pat, the recurrent SNL sketch starring Julia Sweeney as Pat, whose gender ambiguity drives all the sketch’s jokes. Hindsight being 20/20, Sweeney has remarked more recently that “There’s no better way to work through your past than through art,” which she did by revisiting the character in the Showtime comedy Work in Progress.
How Pat Made Sweeney Famous, but Also May Have Derailed Her Film Career
When Lorne Michaels attempted an adaptation of It’s Pat for the big screen, the results were disastrous. The film only made 60 racks, and Sweeney’s film prospects were almost immediately dashed — even after her awesome cameo in Pulp Fiction. Sweeney got the last laugh in her late-career monologues — like the hilariously named Julia Sweeney: Older and Wider.
14 Joe Piscopo
Joe Piscopo went from doing the funniest Frank Sinatra impression in showbiz, to flexing his steroid-enlarged, veiny biceps on life-sized posters at the General Nutrition Center. Yup, when Piscopo’s film career didn’t really take off, he turned to promotional avenues, using his passion for bodybuilding as his spokesman superpower. If it seems incongruous for a former SNL cast member to become a bodybuilder — that’s because it is.
Piscopo Never Quite Took Off on Film
Despite some hilarious appearances in Johnny Dangerously and Wise Guys, Piscopo never really made it past playing thuggish characters in supporting roles. Never, that is, except the buddy cop/zombie movie Dead Heat, opposite the recently departed Treat Williams, no less! At its current 11% Rotten Tomatoes critical score, it’s not hard to see why that movie may have signaled the end of Piscopo’s film career.
13 Colin Quinn
The King of New York City Irish funnymen, Colin Quinn worked the city’s stand-up clubs along with SNL compatriots like Adam Sandler and Chris Rock in the ’80s before being added to SNL‘s cast during the show’s big, 1995 cast changeover. Quinn was something of a monologist, himself, leading to him slotting into Weekend Update as anchor after Norm Macdonald was fired, allegedly for his unrelenting jabs at O.J. Simpson. Quinn helmed Weekend Update for four seasons.
Colin Quinn Has Had a Prolific Career, Despite Never Getting Big Movie Roles
Thanks to his proximity to the Adam Sandler Universe, Quinn has proven able to string together film roles in Sandler films like Grown Ups 2 and That’s My Boy. Above all, Quinn’s had a standout career in television — seemingly pushing film aspirations to the back-burner.
12 Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson had an eight-season SNL career, that coincided with some of today’s biggest comedy stars, like Adam Sandler and Chris Rock. She made a name for herself on the show with her impressions of Roseanne Barr, Sally Struthers, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Jackson had some small roles in comedies like UHF and The Pick-Up Artist, but the films she appeared in rarely fared well.
Reasons Why Victoria Jackson Didn’t Have a Bigger Career
Jackson alienated some Hollywood folks when she became a card-carrying conservative and Tea Party member later in her career, and never quite had the acting chops or a go-to original character to develop into her own Lorne Michaels franchise. She still occasionally finds her way into films nowadays, but it’s rare.
11 Tim Meadows
Nobody is denying that Tim Meadows has had a very successful career, 40 years on from joining SNL cast-mate Chris Farley at Chicago’s improv-Mecca, Second City, before becoming one of SNL‘s longest-tenured cast members. Still, Meadows never climbed too far up the call sheet in his film appearances, save for Lorne Michaels’ attempt to make The Ladies Man into a franchise like Wayne’s World. The film bombed, and so too did some of Meadows early promise as a film actor.
Meadows Has Still Had an Exceptional Career in Movies
Despite missing his window for movie stardom in the ’90s, Meadows has used his SNL-alum status to great effect, acting in many a Happy Madison production and both incarnations of Mean Girls. His TV career has fared even better, thanks to regular roles in The Goldbergs, Space Force, BoJack Horseman, and The Mandalorian.
10 Horatio Sanz
Horatio Sanz life and career essentially went into free-fall after early-career success on SNL. Another SNL alum who came through the minor league affiliate Second City, the Chilean-born actor never got a major Lorne Michaels-produced film, as the SNL creator was moving away from producing films when Sanz was transitioning off the show.
Sexual Assault Allegations May Have Closed the Window on a Big Comedy Career for Sanz
Despite settling with his accuser and NBC having its share of the lawsuit dismissed, Sanz’s public image hasn’t quite recovered, though he still lands occasional comedy roles. Time will tell whether he creeps back into regular supporting roles in comedy.
9 Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch left the limelight on her own schedule, as she prioritized motherhood over continuing to pursue a career as a star when she started a family in her mid-40s. She has still amassed countless guest performances on television since her SNL days, despite never getting a film fashioned around her famous characters — nameably Debbie Downer.
Dratch Remains Better-Known for Her Face Than Her Name
Despite a ton of appearances in TV and film over the years, Dratch is still approached by fans mainly for Debbie Downer. She’s supplanted a prolific career with voice roles in major films like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
8 Chris Kattan
Chris Kattan may be the most-famous SNL cast member to never truly become a movie star (though fans of Night at the Roxbury might disagree). Despite his Groundlings pedigree and several of SNL‘s most-endearing late-’90s characters, Kattan didn’t even approach the level of fame of Night at the Roxbury co-star Will Ferrell.
Why Kattan Didn’t Translate to the Big Screen
Kattan has padded his career with plenty of voice acting roles and silly appearances in franchises like Sharknado, but the fact is, he never had a real starring role after Roxbury. Given his late-’90s promise, he may have hired a wrong talent agent… or two.
7 Jim Breuer
Jim Breuer had some hilarious roles in small comedy films in the late-’90s like Half-Baked, but his chance at stardom proved elusive by the turn-of-the-century. Breuer continued to put out sidesplitting stand-up specials, made hilarious appearances on The Howard Stern Show, and got occasional film roles — but he never quite broke.
Breuer May Have Been Too Weird for Mainstream Stardom
It seems like all of Breuer’s talents as a showman were antithetical to stardom, as he always seemed better in zany supporting roles. Certain comics simply don’t translate to leading roles in films the way others do, and Breuer did well to act within his realm.
6 Ellen Cleghorne
Along with Eddie Murphy, Ellen Cleghorne may be the most authentically-New York cast member ever to grace the hallways of Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Plaza — as she was as important to getting big laughs and diversifying the SNL cast in the ’90s as Murphy had been in the ’80s. Cleghorne was ‘funny funny’ — a naturally-gifted performer whose characters, like Queen Shenequa, slapped SNL‘s audience in the face with a rapturous confidence.
Ellen Cleghorne May Be SNL’s Most-Unsung Talent
Still, all the obstacles she faced as a performer on SNL were multiplied in the world of film. She was the only Black female voice on SNL to counter the sudden popularity of In Living Color, which had a much more diverse cast and scope than NBC’s late-night property in the early-’90s. Cleghorne got the shaft in the film world, as well, only getting brief cameos despite a wealth of talent. Despite her career setbacks, Cleghorne received her PhD in Performance Studies from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts — ever the NYC-product. It’s never too late for a Michaels-produced Queen Shenequa, right?
5 Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer is another SNL alum who burned brightly on the late-night sketch show, but faltered in the realm of film. Gasteyer was easily as famous as SNL co-star Will Ferrell in the late-’90s, with regular characters like National Public Radio Delicious Dish hostess Margaret Jo McCullen (a known-lover of Shweddy Balls).
How Ana Gasteyer Could Have Had a Bigger Presence in Film
Gasteyer didn’t have the traditional look for romantic comedy roles, and didn’t have SNL characters that could be easily adapted to a movie format. Every once-in-a-while, a TV performance like her appearance on Curb Your Enthusiasm would remind us how talented Gasteyer truly is.
4 Garrett Morris
One of the great comedy pioneers as the first Black SNL cast member and an original cast-member, as well, Garrett Morris may be the greatest talent with the least sunshine in SNL history. Despite helping make the late-night sketch show famous and recurrent roles on ’80s sitcoms like The Jeffersons, Morris faded away after his tenure on SNL.
Morris Only Managed Film Roles in B Movies
They were generally memorable roles, but Morris mostly played supporting roles in B-Movies like Car Wash and The Stuff. Had he come along 10-years-later, Morris may have had a career akin to SNL standouts Chevy Chase and Eddie Murphy.
3 Jan Hooks
Jan Hooks is one of the greatest talents ever to come through SNL, according to her cast contemporaries. When Phil Hartman was murdered by his wife, his close friend Hooks and the rest of the SNL cast were caught off guard. Jan Hooks gave a teary-eyed tribute to her cohort on the stage at Studio 8H. It was at that moment, we realized how much more we should have appreciated Hartman. When Hooks died 16-years-later, we harbored that sentiment all over again.
Jan Hooks Was Far Too Guarded to Become a Star
Hooks’ talent for sketch and her fearless SNL characters may have made her seem like a comedy actress who could rise to the level of a Gilda Radner or Julia Louis-Dreyfus. In reality, she shunned the spotlight — becoming a borderline recluse despite a few rare TV appearances.
2 Kevin Nealon
Another highly-decorated and long-tenured SNL cast member, Kevin Nealon has gone on to plenty of acclaim on TV shows like Weeds and Glenn Martin, D.D.S., but otherwise is generally confined to one or two episode character arcs on television. Same goes for film, where Nealon, like many on this list, generally only appears in Adam Sandler movies when it comes to the Silver Screen.
Nealon’s Specificity Held Him Short of Film Stardom
Nobody can deny Nealon’s originality, but that same uniqueness may have held him back from doing characters and starring in his own films. Rather than having a bevy of zany characters like SNL contemporaries such as Adam Sandler, Nealon had more of a recurrent, understated comedic style a la Norm Macdonald.
1 Beck Bennett
Despite becoming an eight-season cast-member on SNL, Beck Bennett never quite crossed-over to film the way his improv cohort Kyle Mooney has. Bennett found himself better-suited to straight-man characters on SNL, and could never quite duplicate Mooney’s unique nerdiness to garner significant supporting film roles.
Why You Should Expect Bennett to Stay Within the TV Realm
Despite some small film roles in comedies like Zoolander 2 and Bill and Ted’s Face the Music, Bennett’s talent isn’t best-suited to film — though his penchant for characters should keep him cast in television comedies for years to come. Short of doing a starring turn in a romantic comedy, it’s hard to see a big film crossover on the horizon.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
