SNL Cast Members With the Most Successful Movie Careers

Andy Samberg was on SNL for seven seasons, starting in 2005. Among his notable performances was his “Lazy Sunday” hip-hop parody video with cast member Chris Parnell. He started filming the lead role in the film “Hot Rod” in 2007, with the production support of Lorne Michaels.

Though Damon Wayans is best-known for his sitcom “My Wife and Kids” (2001-2005), he has had a successful movie career. One of his most popular movies is “Major Payne,” in which he plays a very strict and traditional officer who is recently discharged and tasked to lead a cadet academy. The Primetime Emmy-nominated actor has stayed mostly in TV. In his latest show, “Lethal Weapon,” he plays a veteran detective.

Jenny Slate appeared on SNL from 2009 to 2010. Slate, who is an actor and writer, has appeared in the films “The Sunlit Night,” “Venom,” and “Obvious Child” and voiced the animated movies “Zootopia,” “Despicable Me 3,” “The Secret Life of Pets.”

Christopher Guest is a well-known director (award-winning “A Mighty Wind,” “Almost Heroes”) and supporting actor (“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” “A Few Good Men,” “This is Spinal Tap”). Guest is famous for his ability to change his voice, making it easy to create unique characters.

David Spade appeared in condescending, bratty characters on SNL before shifting into movies. “Tommy Boy,” which also stars another SNL cast member Chris Farley, was one of his successes. Spade has also voiced animated films such as the Hotel Transylvania franchise and “The Rugrats Movie.”

Jim Belushi, who is also a musician occasionally performing with his Sacred Heart Blues Band, is best known for the comedy “Red Heat” with Arnold Schwarzenegger. The versatile actor, who is the younger brother of another former SNL cast member John Belushi, has 47 movie acting credits. He often plays co-lead in various film genres, including action and drama.

John Belushi was one of the original cast members of SNL, putting his stamp on the show with characters that were unpredictable and combustible. After appearing in the movie “Goin’ South” in 1978 with Jack Nicholson, he broke through to movie stardom in his role as the underachieving, fun-loving frat boy Bluto in the hit film “National Lampoon’s Animal House.” Following that triumph, he and fellow SNL regular Dan Aykroyd did the joint film projects “1941” and “The Blues Brothers.” Belushi’s career ended at age 33, when he overdosed on a combination of cocaine and heroin in 1982.

Janeane Garofalo’s best known acting roles in movies are the voice of Colette in “Ratatouille” and playing the leading role in “The Truth About Cats & Dogs” along with Uma Thurman. Garofalo has only two leading acting roles but 159 acting credits overall playing various characters on TV shows and mini-series that range from comedy to drama and animation.

Dana Carvey gained fame on SNL for his prissy church lady character as well as his impressions of President George W. Bush and presidential candidate H. Ross Perot. As for his motion picture career, Carvey’s greatest success was reprising his party-dude role with fellow cast member Mike Myers in the two Wayne’s World films that were box office hits. Carvey has also appeared in the Adam Sandler films “Little Nicky,” “Jack and Jill,” and “Sandy Wexler.”

Rob Schneider is a successful stand-up comic with an equally successful career in comedy feature films. The Primetime Emmy-nominated actor’s more popular movies include “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo,” “The Hot Chick,” which he co-wrote, and “Grown Ups.” Schneider often works with another SNL alum, Adam Sandler.

Anthony Michael Hall was already a movie veteran by the time he joined SNL for one season. He appeared as Chevy Chase’s son in “National Lampoon’s Vacation” in 1983 and also was cast in the John Hughes movies “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” and “Weird Science.” After his SNL stint, Hall appeared in “Edward Scissorhands” in 1990.

Bill Hader joined SNL as a featured cast member in 2005. Parallel to working on the show, he starred in several feature films, including “You, Me and Dupree,” “Knocked up,” and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.” After leaving the variety show, he found success with movies such as “Trainwreck” along with Amy Schumer, “The Angry Birds Movie,” and “Finding Dory.” His latest work is on HBO, where he stars and produces the dark comedy series “Barry,” for which he won two Primetime Emmy awards.

Canadian-born Martin Short was famous on SNL for his cringeworthy character Ed Grimley, a neurotic man with a prominent cowlick. Short has 101 acting credits. Among the more notable movies he appeared in are “The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause,” “Inherent Vice,” and “Three Amigos!”

Tracy Morgan is best known for the various characters he played as a cast member on SNL between 1996 and 2003. After that, his most famous role was that of Tracy Jordan in the hit sitcom “30 Rock.” Though Morgan has stayed mostly on TV, he has several successful movies, including “Cop Out” with Bruce Willis, “Death at a Funeral,” and “The Boxtrolls.”

David Koechner is a familiar face in motion pictures, with roles in films such as the two Anchorman movies that star Will Ferrell. Other notable screen appearances were in the movies “Waiting,” “Out Cold,” “Talladega Nights,” “Get Smart,” and “Thank You for Smoking.”

Amy Poehler found success on TV as an SNL cast member and public official Leslie Knope on “Parks and Recreation,” a role for which she won a Golden Globe in 2014. In movies, Poehler often stars along another SNL former cast member, Tina Fey. Poehler’s possibly most famous movie is the Oscar-winning animation “Inside Out,” in which she voices Joy.

Tina Fey has had success as a television writer and performer on shows such as “30 Rock.” Fey was an anchor on SNL’s Weekend Update and was known for her spot-on impression of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. On the big screen, the two-time Golden Globe winner has appeared in the movies “Wine Country,” “Sisters,” “Date Night,” and “Mean Girls.”

Chris Rock’s career has been so successful that he is one of the few former SNL members who have been impersonated on the show after his departure. The actor, writer, director, and comedian has won four Primetime Emmy awards for several programs. Some of Rock’s most popular feature films include “The Longest Yard,” “Head of State,” “Madagascar,” “Lethal Weapon 4,” and the Grown Ups movies.

Although he was hired by SNL as a writer, Jason Sudeikis eventually became a performer, appearing as an audience member who interacts with cast members and guest hosts. Sudeikis starred in the films, “Horrible Bosses,” “Hall Pass,” “We’re the Millers,” and “Horrible Bosses 2,” and voiced a character in the animated-comedy, “The Angry Birds Movie.”

According to New York Magazine, Kritsten Wiig has appeared in more sketches on SNL Season 34 than any other cast member — 124 sketches, or an average of 5.8 appearances per episode. Wiig has had a successful career starring in comedy feature films including “Bridesmaids,” “Zoolander 2,” and “Masterminds.” She has started to branch out, co-starring in action movies such as “Wonder Woman 1984,” “The Martian,” and “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.”

Before he ever appeared on SNL, Billy Crystal made American television history in 1977 when he played one of the first openly gay characterss on TV in the sitcom “Soap.” He joined SNL in 1984 and was known for his impressions of actor Fernando Lamas, talk show host Joe Franklin, and boxer Muhammad Ali. He shifted to motion pictures and appeared in films such as “Running Scared” and “Throw Momma from the Train.” He was propelled into movie stardom with the hits “When Harry Met Sally…” and “City Slickers.”

The Canadian Oscar-nominated actor (“Driving Miss Daisy”) is behind many of the most popular comedies of the last century, in some of which he also starred, including “The Blues Brothers,” “Ghostbusters,” and “Coneheads.” Aykroyd was also an SNL writer, winning an Emmy Award in 1977. He was also nominated for an Emmy for performing in the show.

After a year as an SNL cast member Chevy Chase left the show. He was the first Weekend Update anchor and became famous for his impression of a klutzy President Gerald Ford. Chase, known for his deadpan humor, had a successful film career in the 1980s with movies like “Caddyshack,” the National Lampoon films, and “Fletch.” Chase has returned to SNL for special appearances. However, his reputation as someone difficult to work with prompted producer Lorne Michaels to permanently ban him from the show.

Bill Murray, who was on SNL from seasons 2 to 5, is one of the most recognizable names in Hollywood. He is mostly known for being the leading character in comedies — “Groundhog Day,” “Ghostbusters,” “Caddyshack,” and “Moonrise Kingdom.” The versatile actor has also starred in acclaimed dramas such as “St. Vincent” and “Lost in Translation” for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar.

Long before he played the recurring role of Iron Man in the immensely successful films of The Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr. appeared on SNL. He did impressions of Elvis Presley, George Michael, Paul Simon, and Sean Penn, among others. Downey struggled with drug addition over the course of his career. Nevertheless, he has earned accolades for his work in films such as his Oscar-nominated roles in “Chaplin” and the comedy “Tropic Thunder.” Other notable screen credits include “Weird Science,” “Wonder Boys,” “Natural Born Killers,” and “Restoration.”

Canadian actor Mike Myers was a cast member of SNL from 1989 to 1995, during which time he was nominated for three and won one Primetime Emmy award. After leaving the show, he found success as the characters Austin Powers and Dr. Evil in the Austin Powers franchise, as well as Shrek in the movies of the same name.

Before appearing on SNL, Ben Stiller made his big screen debut in Steven Spielberg’s “Empire of the Sun” and “Hot Pursuit” in 1987. Stiller joined SNL for only four episodes as a cast member in 1989. He has returned since then as a guest host twice, and in 2018, he appeared in a recurring role as President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, Michael Cohen. At the movies, Stiller has appeared in “There’s Something About Mary,” the Meet the Parents films, “Tropic Thunder,” and the title character “Zoolander.”

Will Ferrell is best known as a leading actor in some of the most popular comedies in recent years, including the Anchorman franchise, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” “Blades of Glory,” and “Elf.” One of Ferrell’s recurring characters on SNL, Steve Butabi, was so popular that he starred in his own movie, “A Night at the Roxbury.”

Prior to his stint on SNL, Adam Sandler landed a recurring role as the Huxtable family’s friend Smitty on “The Cosby Show” while still attending New York University. After that experience, SNL cast member Dennis Miller caught Sandler’s act at a Los Angeles comedy club and recommended him to SNL producer Lorne Michaels. Sandler became a star through his characters cajun man, opera man, and his holiday ditty “The Chanukah Song.”

After SNL, Sander has enjoyed financial, if not critical, success in films such as the comedies “Airheads,” “Happy Gilmore,” “Billy Madison,” and “Big Daddy.” He also earned plaudits as a desperate debt-laden jeweler in the 2019 movie “Uncut Gems.”

Eddie Murphy was a regular cast member of SNL between 1980 and 1984, during which time he and Joe Piscopo dominated the show. After retiring from SNL, Murphy went on to have a successful career in comedy and music. Some of his most famous roles are in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise (a fourth movie was recently announced), “Coming to America,” “Harlem Nights,” as well as Donkey in the Shrek series. Murphy has also starred in critically acclaimed dramas such as “Dreamgirls” and, more recently, in “Dolemite Is My Name.”