12 SNL Stars Who Had A Rough Time Working On The Sketch Comedy Show

Earlier this year, "Saturday Night Live" celebrated its 50th anniversary with a star-studded anniversary special on NBC. Among all the best moments from the "SNL 50" anniversary special, one that might stick out to casual fans of the show is the SNL Digital Short in which Bowen Yang and Andy Samberg sing about the fact that "everyone who ever worked at 'SNL' had anxiety."

The reason this short's premise may be surprising is that "Saturday Night Live" seems like the dream job. However, if you keep up with any of its stars after they leave the show, a lot of them have been open about how difficult of a workplace it really is. Little sleep, tons of pressure, and the eyeballs of America on you can ruin the fun for even the most beloved "SNL" stars.

For these 12 former cast members of "SNL," they owe a lot to Lorne Michaels and NBC, and they may even have a lot of fond memories of their time on the show. However, they also have admitted to struggling a lot with various aspects of working in Studio 8H at 30 Rockefeller Center, whether it's outdated office politics or their own mental health. At the very least, great comedy came from all of them. 

When it comes to the most iconic names to come out of "SNL," John Belushi is certainly up there. To commemorate the show's 40th anniversary, Rolling Stone published their ranking of all the "SNL" cast members, and Belushi was given the coveted #1 slot, writing, "Belushi was the 'live' in 'Saturday Night Live,' the one who made the show happen on the edge." However, the behind-the-scenes stories about Belushi's behavior is the stuff of legend, and the fact he almost refused to sign his contract right before the first episode is proof that his feelings of doing "SNL" were mixed at best.

Even "SNL" producer Lorne Michaels thought Belushi would be a nightmare for "Saturday Night Live," in spite of his clear comic genius. Belushi was fired several times due to his frequent drug abuse and reckless behavior, and he notably had a feud with the show's first breakout star, Chevy Chase, out of jealousy over getting more attention from the audience. That eventually led to a brawl when Chase returned to host for the third season of "SNL," and Bill Murray got roped into Belushi's drama.

Belushi was, for better or worse, a firecracker in both his professional and personal life, all of which was exacerbated by Belushi's own struggles with the idea of being famous thanks to "SNL." He often flip-flopped back and forth between feeling like he could do "SNL" for the rest of his life and feeling like he never wanted to step foot on stage ever again. 

Jane Curtin is one of the only main actors still alive from the first ever episode of "SNL," but unlike the rest, she didn't have the kind of wild and crazy reputation as some of her more famous co-stars. Of the entire original cast, Curtin's reputation around the offices of 30 Rock was that of being level-headed, sober, and professional. Knowing the kinds of characters that made up Curtin's co-workers, she didn't always get along or feel understood by figures like Belushi, Chase, or even Lorne Michaels.

On "Watch What Happens Live," Curtin commented on the sexism that was prevalent behind-the-scenes of "SNL" in the '70s, saying, "There were a few people that just out-and-out believe that women should not have been there and they believe that women were not innately funny." Curtin was also an outsider among her "SNL" brethren for the fact that she never revered Michaels. In fact, she even fully stopped talking to him after growing frustrated with Michaels' lack of intervention in Belushi's behavior. 

Most surprisingly, Curtin doesn't have a lot of love for those early seasons she was on the show and has even expressed feeling disdain for the audience for finding what they were doing funny. However, she did return to the show for the 40th anniversary to join Amy Poehler and Tina Fey on "Weekend Update," so hopefully the past is in the past. 

Laraine Newman was very young when she got her start on "SNL," as both her and Dan Aykroyd were the youngest original cast members at 23 years old each. However, it wasn't just her age that made Newman feel out of place at "SNL," but the fact that she was, at her heart, a Los Angeles girl. Because working at "SNL" required Newman to uproot her life from California to New York, she felt very uncomfortable with the way of life out there, and to this day even claims to hate being in New York. 

Of course, like many of the other performers in the show's original cast, Newman also faced some pretty serious drug addiction issues as a result of her being on the show. While Belushi was notorious for using cocaine, Newman got involved with heroin and developed an eating disorder. In an interview with the High Times in 1978, Newman claimed, "Without incriminating anybody, I'd say that we're always a little stoned."

Newman has also spoken about her experiences as a woman on the sketch show, from been given the label of being the show's "sex symbol" to fielding fan mail from creeps who wanted to do things to her that aren't fit to write on this here website. 

These days, the fact that Julia Louis-Dreyfus was ever even on "SNL" as a cast member is probably not a widely known fact. Although she later found huge success with both "Seinfeld" and "Veep," producer Dick Ebersol had plucked Louis-Dreyfus from The Second City along with her cast-mates Brad Hall (Louis-Dreyfus' future husband) and Gary Kroeger. 

Of course, it was already a challenge to be on "SNL" for Louis-Dreyfus, given the fact that the show was practically ruled by Eddie Murphy during her tenure. On top of that, Louis-Dreyfus struggled to navigate the behind-the-scenes culture, telling SiriusXM, "I came out of ['SNL'] thinking, 'This wasn't as fun as I've had doing, like, improv shows and Second City and all that kind of stuff back in Chicago and ... if that doesn't exist, I'm not gonna do this."

Things worked out well for the 11-time Emmy winner, and though being on the cast of "SNL" wasn't the right fit, it did introduce her to one curmudgeon of a writer who was there for one season during her time: Larry David, who later chose his former co-worker to become the "Seinfeld" star that made the sitcom a success, according to Jerry Seinfeld himself. Louis-Dreyfus has also come back to host "SNL," becoming the first-ever female cast member from the show's past to do so, which is probably an honor all on its own. 

Chris Rock joined "SNL" in what can only be described as a murderer's row of comic minds. Rock shared his first episode with Chris Farley, and that season also saw the introduction of Adam Sandler and Julia Sweeney, in addition to returning cast members Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Jan Hooks, and Mike Myers. Plus, the behind-the-scenes talent in the writer's room has Conan O'Brien, Bob Odenkirk, and Robert Smigel in the ranks.

Although being on "SNL" certainly raised Rock's popularity as a stand-up, on the show itself, Rock struggled to be seen as more than a token black performer. As he told Marc Maron on the WTF Podcast, he refused to be a part of sketches that he felt used him for his skin color. When it was later discovered that Rock planned to leave the show and join the cast of "In Living Color," he was fired, though by that point it was mutual.

Sadly, "In Living Color" lasted less than a month after Rock joined the cast, but 30 years later, Rock is considered to be one of the greatest stand-up comedians of all time. Whether you've seen the best Chris Rock movies or not, you know his voice and cadence. As of the show's 50th season, Rock's one hosting gig away from joining the Five Timers' Club, too. 

The mid-90s were a troubled time for "SNL." Following the loss of big stars like Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman, and Jan Hooks, "SNL" was on the verge of cancellation for its 20th season, which was quite a bad atmosphere for new hires to enter into. That being said, Janeane Garofalo had some real potential coming into "SNL" in 1994, coming off the cast of the just-cancelled "Ben Stiller Show," but what should've been a dream come true for the comedienne turned into her worst nightmare.

Particularly, the show was endangered by a New York Magazine article, "How 'Saturday Night Live' Became a Grim Joke," that examined its behind-the-scenes struggles. Garofalo is a major focus of the article, as a new cast member who describes her experience on the show as "the most miserable experience of my life," feeling like she was walking on eggshells after failing to work well with the cast and writers of the time. A friend of Garofalo's added, "She's absolutely destroyed as a person. The show has beaten the s**t out of her."

Things haven't been so bad for Garofalo since leaving "SNL," garnering two Emmy nominations for her work on "The Larry Sanders Show" and being part of beloved movies like "Wet Hot American Summer" and "Ratatouille." However, given how she's talked about "SNL" during and after her time on it, she probably won't be hosting anytime soon. 

Bill Hader didn't initially have his sights set on becoming a cast member on "SNL," but after actress Megan Mullaly saw him at a Second City improv show, Hader was asked to audition for "SNL" and he joined the cast in 2005 alongside Andy Samberg and Kristen Wiig. Quickly, Hader became one of the greatest performers in the show's history, inventing iconic characters like Stefon and Herb Welch, and perfecting impressions of Keith Morrison, James Carville, and Vincent Price. 

However, in the years since leaving the show in 2013, Hader's been open about how his time on "SNL" was marred by extreme anxiety and depression. The pressure of doing live TV was even enough to make Hader physically ill during the come-down after a particularly stressful episode. In an interview with Grantland, Hader recalled having to hide his panic attacks from his co-stars, "It felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I couldn't breathe, I started sweating ... I remember getting my makeup taken off and saying, 'I don't know what's going on out there. I don't know what just happened.'"

Eventually, it took Lorne Michaels personally telling Hader he was doing a good job to get him to calm down. Still, the extreme anxiety and panic Hader experienced ended up informing his character in his HBO series "Barry," a skilled hitman who wants to be an actor. 

Opposed to cast-mates like Hader, there were definitely times that Samberg felt right at home on "SNL". It was only a few episodes into his run on the cast that "Lazy Sunday" blew up on the Internet, turning Samberg into the show's newest star overnight and practically forcing the show into the digital era. Still, that success wasn't without its downsides, especially as his time on "SNL" came to an end. 

Talking to Kevin Hart on why he left "SNL," Samberg felt the show's long hours were weighing on him, saying, "I was falling apart in my life ... It's basically like four days a week you're not sleeping, for seven years. I just kind of fell apart physically." On "The Lonely Island and Seth Meyers Podcast," where Samberg, Jorma Taccone, Akiva Schaffer, and Meyers reminisce their years on "SNL," Samberg describes many instances where iconic digital shorts like "D–k in a Box" (and less-iconic ones like "Daiquiri Girl") were the product of those hours and hours of overworking. 

However, Samberg's attitude towards being on "SNL" has certainly improved in recent years, with the former cast member returning in the 50th season to portray presidential candidate Kamala Harris' husband Doug Emhoff, which also led to him creating new SNL Digital Shorts and appearing in other live sketches. 

Jenny Slate joined the cast of "SNL" in 2009, but her only season on the show got off to a rough start with her very first episode. In a sketch called "Biker Chick Chat," Slate accidentally dropped the F-bomb, a mistake that followed her for years after. Although she was fired at the end of the season, Slate says it wasn't because of the cursing. In an interview with InStyle, Slate said, "I didn't do a good job, I didn't click. I have no idea how Lorne felt about me. All I know is, it didn't work for me, and I got fired."

Additionally, Slate entered "SNL" during a transitional period, when the show was first starting to gain traction online, and she felt very sensitive to criticism on social media and comment sections. The way she describes her experience at "SNL" is feeling small and losing confidence in her comedic voice, and it ended up informing a series of animated shorts she co-created the following year: "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On." The video series went viral and later turned into a feature-length film, a lovely slice of whimsical, melancholy magic that was nominated for an Academy Award. 

It's possible that Slate's career would've gone a completely different direction if she had both enjoyed her time at "SNL" and also didn't get fired, but not getting a second season ended up being the best thing for her career. 

When Jay Pharoah was on "SNL," he felt like a star in the making. He joined the cast in 2010 and remained on the cast for six seasons before getting fired ahead of the premiere of the show's 42nd season. During those six years on the show, Pharoah became known for his incredible gift of impressions, not only inheriting the role of playing President Barack Obama from Fred Armisen but also debuting memorable impersonations of Denzel Washington, Shaquille O'Neal, Jay-Z and Kanye West. 

However, following his firing, Pharoah had some pretty harsh words about how he was treated at "SNL." In an interview with Hot97 (via Variety), Pharoah claimed to have felt under-utilized and cornered into being the "impressions" guy, saying, "They put people into boxes and whatever they want you to do, they expect you to do. And I'm fiery. I'm not a yes n—a." 

Nowadays, Pharoah is a little more grateful for how prepared being on "SNL" has made him for new opportunities, such as hosting "The Quiz with Balls," a game show on Fox that premiered in 2024. He's also lent his gifted skills with impressions to shows like "Family Guy" and "Robot Chicken," giving him an outlet for the thing he became known for most during his six years at 30 Rock. 

If you were to tell a young Pete Davidson who was cast on "SNL" at 20 years old that he'd be one of the biggest stars to emerge from the show in recent years, he'd probably look at you like you were crazy. Alas, Davidson ended up at "SNL" despite not expecting to stick around, becoming a frequent and reliable guest on "Weekend Update," but it was really his whirlwind and public romance with former host Ariana Grande that made his star burn so much brighter on the show.

However, the relationship's quick end and subsequent fallout ended up weighing heavily on Davidson, especially as the show continued to make reference to it. Speaking on Jon Bernthal's podcast "Real Ones," Davidson admitted, "I'd be sitting in the back watching the cold open and — the cold open [is] topical, political humor, whatever's in the culture. And then, making fun of you ... And you're like, 'I'm a f—ing loser, man.'" 

Additionally, Davidson spent a lot of his time on "SNL" struggling with his own mental health, with a public Instagram post referencing suicide prompting a wellness check from the NYPD at the show itself. Thankfully, Davidson's doing much better these days, and even has a baby on the way with actress Elsie Hewitt. He's also been very open about how helpful Lorne Michaels has been in his personal journey, and he returned to host "SNL" in 2023. 

Melissa Villaseñor may be one of the most underrated "SNL" cast members in recent history, having spent six seasons on the show, but she ultimately never felt like she ever really "made it" on the cast. Like Jay Pharoah before her, Villaseñor is a gifted impressionist, and she got many opportunities to show that off on the show with impersonations of Lady Gaga, Gwen Stefani, Dolly Parton, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But some of her best moments have gone practically unnoticed (for instance, her "Weekend Update" piece "Every Teen Girl Murder Suspect on 'Law & Order'"). 

As to why she left "SNL," Villaseñor attributes it to her own mental health, which began to worsen for her as the seasons went on. Speaking to the Last Laugh podcast, Villaseñor claimed, "It was, I think, at the end of the day, about my mental health. Last season I had a couple of panic attacks ... I always felt like I was on the edge of a cliff every week."

Fortunately, Villaseñor has had a much better time post-"SNL," continuing to do stand-up and lending voice work to animated series like "Rock Paper Scissors," "Max & the Midknights," and "Primos." It's a shame she never got to become a bigger star on "SNL," but given that she had first auditioned for the show way back in 2009, hopefully she's grateful to have just finally gotten on it.