In a candid and frequently hilarious chat with Stephen Colbert on Saturday, Julia Louis-Dreyfus reflected on her “miserable” time as a “Saturday Night Live” cast member, and how the experience taught her to make sure she always enjoyed every future job.
Speaking to Colbert as part of a benefit for Montclair Film at Newark’s New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Louis-Dreyfus explained how unprepared she was when she joined the show in the mid 1980s at the age of 21, not even finishing her studies at Northwestern University before heading off to New York.
“I was unbelievably naive and I didn’t really understand how the dynamics of the place worked,” she told Colbert. “It was very sexist — very sexist. People were doing crazy drugs at the time. I was oblivious. I just thought, ‘Oh, wow! He’s got a lot of energy!'”
She and Colbert then joked for a second that they couldn’t understand how anyone could ever perform inebriated, just before taking big sips from their cocktails.
Louis-Dreyfus, who went on to decades-long TV success with shows like “Seinfeld,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine” and “Veep,” explained that her time on “SNL” led her to develop a system that helped her choose her future projects.
“It was a pretty brutal time, but it was a very informative time for me,” she told Colbert. She said she realized then she wouldn’t do “anymore of this crap” unless “it was fun.”
“It is important and so basic, but I just felt like, ‘I don’t have to; I don’t have to do this, I don’t have to walk and crawl through this kind of nasty glass if it’s not ultimately going to be fulfilling,” she said. “And so that’s how I sort of moved forward from that moment and I sort of applied that kind of ‘fun meter’ to every job I’ve had since and it definitely has been very helpful.”
There was another benefit to the actress’ time on “SNL”: She met and bonded with Larry David, who would eventually put her in “Seinfeld.”
“Larry David and I had been on ‘SNL’ together my last year there because he was a writer, and we bonded because he was as miserable as I was,” she revealed, earning a laugh from the crowd.
Representatives for NBC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'SNL' 5-Timers Club: Most Frequent Hosts, From Alec Baldwin to Will Ferrell (Photos)
In the world of sketch comedy, there is no fraternity more prestigious than the "Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club." Those who have proven their worthiness by hosting "SNL" five times are invited into an elite circle, where they don luxurious satin robes, smoke expensive cigars and, for their entertainment, watch current cast members fight to the death.
Not counting his many guest appearances to play guys like Donald Trump, Baldwin has hosted 16 times, passing Steve Martin's record in 2011. Martin was there that night to demand a surprise drug test.
The esteemed president of the Five-Timers Club was also the fastest to get to that milestone, hosting his fifth less than two years after hosting his first. In total, Martin has hosted fifteen times, most recently in 2009.
Hanks' fifth go-around as host in 1990 was what spawned the Five-Timers Club sketch. But now his most famous contribution to the series is definitely David S. Pumpkins. In April 2020, he also hosted remotely during the first "at home" edition during the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.
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Buck Henry - 10
From 1976 to 1980, it was tradition for the "Heaven Can Wait" director to host the "SNL" season finale. In total, Henry hosted 10 episodes, including a Mardi Gras special.
The original anchor of "Weekend Update" hosted "SNL" eight times after being the first original cast member to leave in the middle of the show's second season.
Though we haven't seen her in a Five-Timers' robe, her portrait is in the club's luxurious quarters. She holds the record for youngest host ever, having appeared on the show at age 7 following the release of "E.T." in 1982.
Gould hosted the show five times in the '70s, but his sixth appearance was his last after being blindsided by the sudden departure of Lorne Michaels from the show in 1980.
Arguably the most famous "SNL" cast member among millennials, Tina Fey joined the Club in 2015 after a hosting career that included (and still includes) her famous Sarah Palin impression.
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Scarlett Johansson - 6
The actress made her fifth appearance in 2016, and kicked off her monologue by putting on a Five-Timers jacket handed to her by Kenan Thompson. (She hosted again with then-fiancé Colin Jost in December 2019.)
The pop star's fifth appearance in 2013 saw "SNL" bring back the "Five-Timers" sketch, as Timberlake's induction was celebrated with a brawl between cast members Bobby Moynihan and Taran Killam.
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Melissa McCarthy - 5
After a season of guest appearances as Donald Trump's White House Press Secretary, Sean Spicer, McCarthy grabbed her Five-Timers jacket in Season 42.
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The Rock - 5
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson hosted the finale of the 42nd season of "SNL"
Jonah Hill - 5
Hill's five appearances as host spanned a decade, with the first coming in 2008 and the fifth on Nov. 3, 2018.
Will Ferrell - 5
One of the most successful "SNL" alums of the '90s, Ferrell joined the club on Nov. 23, 2019. Among his most famous "SNL" bits were his George W. Bush impression and his recurring role as Alex Trebek on "Celebrity Jeopardy."
Paul Simon - 4
Technically, Simon only hosted four times, but he's been included in "Five-Timers Club" sketches since he was the musical guest on a fifth show. He also owns arguably the most emotional moment in the history of "SNL": his performance of "The Boxer" in the cold open of the first post-9/11 episode.
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TheWrap looks back at those who’ve joined the most elite club in sketch comedy
In the world of sketch comedy, there is no fraternity more prestigious than the "Saturday Night Live Five-Timers Club." Those who have proven their worthiness by hosting "SNL" five times are invited into an elite circle, where they don luxurious satin robes, smoke expensive cigars and, for their entertainment, watch current cast members fight to the death.