For some celebrities, getting to host the late-night sketch comedy institution Saturday Night Live is a dream come true. For others, it’s just a way to promote their latest project. But for most actors, hosting SNL means getting to do something they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Unlike a movie or a TV show, SNL is live, fast-paced, and often completely ridiculous. While some hosts do have previous sketch comedy experience – such as former cast members who return to host – it’s a new challenge for many.
The best Saturday Night Live hosts use the gig as a chance to poke fun at themselves via their projects, personal lives, or even just their personalities entirely. Often, it starts with a monologue intended to get said famous person in on the joke from the start. Here are a few actors who weren’t afraid to be the butt of the joke on SNL.
1. Adam Driver Lampooned His Entire Personality For A Monologue
When Adam Driver hosted Saturday Night Live in January 2020, it was well after his breakout role as heartthrob Adam Sackler on Girls, his turns in various indie hits, and weeks after the premiere of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker. With all this, Driver has established an intense, brooding persona as an actor.
He kicked off his monologue by poking fun at the seriousness of his craft. “I was a little sad to say goodbye to 2019 because I’ve acted so much and so hard. I was yelling… I cried, I punched, I sang. All four emotions,” he said. He also starred in an Undercover Boss parody as Kylo Ren, further cementing his ability to poke fun at himself.
2. Willem Dafoe Went To Town On His ‘Expressive Face’
When iconic character actor Willem Dafoe hosted Saturday Night Live in early 2022, he started his monologue by recapping his early days in New York City. Then, he started in on what’s probably his best trademark, his extremely expressive face. Seriously, he’s got one heck of a memorable mug.
During the monologue, he claimed that when compared with him, actors like Al Pacino and Nicolas Cage are subtle performers. He also joked that lots of people tell him he should play the Joker. Always nice to remind people of a sociopath, eh?
3. Jeremy Renner Was Totally Cool To Clown On Hawkeye
Many have made light of the fact that, among the Avengers, Hawkeye seems like the least likely to be part of the team. Instead of superpowers or futuristic gadgets, he’s just really good at archery. He’s great with a bow and arrow… what else do you really need at the end of the day?
When Jeremy Renner hosted Saturday Night Live in November 2012, he poked fun at Hawkeye’s less-than-super vibe in a sketch called “Hawkeye Disappoints the Avengers.” In the sketch, Hawkeye quickly runs out of arrows during an alien attack, then serves as a human bludgeon wielded by the Hulk.
4. Robert Downey Jr. Made Light Of His Controversial Antics
Eons before Iron Man kickstarted the MCU (and about a decade after his short-lived stint as a cast member himself), Robert Downey Jr. hosted Saturday Night Live in late 1996. Earlier that year, the then-famously troubled Downey Jr. was arrested multiple times for drug possession.
Rather than avoid the topic, Downey Jr. took it head on during his monologue. He started by ironically downplaying the situation as an “uneventful summer” and then showed some goofy slides of what happened during his so-called summer vacation.
5. Adam Sandler Was Really Comfortable Making Fun Of The Fact He Got Fired From ‘SNL’
Adam Sandler debuted on Saturday Night Live when he was just 23 years old. He was fired in 1995 after five years on the show, along with Chris Farley. It was a cast shakeup after several years of sagging ratings. Of course, the firing didn’t hurt Sandler’s career, as he would star in cult ’90s classics like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore shortly thereafter.
When Sandler finally returned to the show in February 2019, 25 years after being fired, he made it the subject of his monologue. In classic Adam Sandler fashion, he sang a song about what it was like to get fired. Then, fellow SNL alum and fired cast member Chris Rock joined him to sing about his 1990s firing as well. He also pointed out that he’d made over $4 billion at the box office by that point.
6. Garth Brooks Made Fun Of Pretty Much Every Country Music Star
Garth Brooks’s Saturday Night Live hosting gig came in February 1998, when he also served as the musical guest. In one sketch with Will Ferrell, Tim Meadows, and Jim Breuer called “Garth Brooks, Real Cowboy,” Brooks plays a version of himself trying to fit in with three authentic cowboys. He starts by admiring his own wireless headset and 20 ft. jumbo screen. Then he complains about how laser-light shows dry out his skin. Brooks continues with more and more jokes about his concert cowboy persona, willingly undermining his image as an authentic country-western cowboy.
7. Nic Cage Poked Fun At His Whole Persona
One of former cast member Andy Samberg’s most popular characters was Nicolas Cage. Samberg impersonated the famously manic actor in a series of “Weekend Update” segments called “Get in the Cage with Nicolas Cage,” in which Samberg-as-Cage sits down with a well-known actor to discuss acting.
Then, in 2013, Nicolas Cage himself appeared in the segment, dressed exactly like Samberg’s Cage, continuing the grand tradition of celebrities appearing alongside their SNL doppelgangers. Like DeNiro before him, Cage spent most of the segment mocking Samberg’s impression.
8. Ashton Kutcher And Demi Moore Made Fun Of Their Age Difference
Plenty of celebrities have appeared on Saturday Night Live during a time when they’re also frequently appearing in the tabloids. This was the case when That ’70s Show star Ashton Kutcher hosted in 2005, and his then-partner Demi Moore joined in on the fun. They began dating two years earlier when Kutcher was 25 and Moore was 40 and would get married later that year. Kutcher addressed the situation head-on during his monologue, then brought his partner on stage. Moore was so game for the bit that she dressed in full-blown granny attire to sell the joke.
9. Miley Cyrus Was Game To Diss Hannah Montana And The Rest Of Disney
Miley Cyrus first hosted Saturday Night Live in March 2011, and after spending four years on the Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, she was eager to make fun of her showbusiness roots. In a sketch called “Disney Channel Acting School,” Montana led a group of hopeful child actors on various essential Disney exercises.
Her lessons ran the gamut, with examples like “being the loudest person in the room,” “reacting to stinky feet,” “eating then freezing,” “spying in a doorway,” and “entering on a scooter.” Anyone who watched Disney Channel programming in the mid-to-late-2000s will recognize each of these as genuine staples.