Rock told PEOPLE the memorable piece of wisdom the ‘SNL’ creator gave him when he was struggling financially early in his career
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NEED TO KNOW
- Chris Rock shared a bit of advice Lorne Michaels gave him about struggling financially early in his career
- Rock tells PEOPLE the Saturday Night Live creator’s piece of wisdom about being a “broke” entertainer was “the best thing”
- The comic, who recently premiered his new movie Misty Green at the Toronto International Film Festival, got his start on SNL in the ‘90s
Money and fame can be difficult to navigate. Chris Rock has done it for decades, with the help of a kernel of wisdom Lorne Michaels shared with him early on in his career.
The actor-comedian, 61, recently shared “the best thing” the 81-year-old Saturday Night Live creator and showrunner told him when he was a “broke” entertainer just starting out on the long-running sketch comedy show years ago.
SNL was Rock’s launchpad for fame in the early ‘90s, marking the start of a decades-long career as an actor, comedian and — for a string of features and specials in the 2000s and early 2010s — director. Recently, he got behind the camera once again with his new movie Misty Green, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 12, and hits theaters on Oct. 9.
Speaking with PEOPLE at TIFF alongside Misty Green star Rosalind Eleazar, Rock shares Michaels’ early words that stuck with him throughout his career.
Credit: Julien M. Hekimian/Getty
“I’ve gotten lots of great stark feedback. Hey, Lorne Michaels told me the best thing. He said, ‘Everyone loses their first money, but if you’re talented, you’ll make more,’ ” Rock recalls with a laugh.
Upon sharing Michaels’ early-career advice, the Everybody Hates Chris actor remembers thinking that it was a “good” outlook on being a struggling performer in the entertainment industry.
Rock adds, “You’re like, ‘Hey, it’s a good way to look at it. Don’t be sad. You’re broke. Yeah, you didn’t know what to do.’ ”
Rock was discovered by SNL legend Eddie Murphy at just 19; he officially joined the cast in 1990 when he was 25. The Grown Ups star shot to fame as a regular SNL cast member until 1993, and he has since returned to host the show four times.
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In a recent interview with Variety, Rock similarly joked that he has not been “broke a day since” meeting Michaels — and shed a bit of light on their relationship.
Rock was featured in Lorne, the 2026 documentary about the SNL creator, alongside fellow comics Tina Fey, John Mulaney and more. Of the film, the Everybody Hates Chris actor joked, “It’s the best doc ever where you don’t learn one thing about the guy. The most interesting people in the world — who do not tell you about him.”
“But I met Lorne Michaels and haven’t been broke a day since,” he added. “That is my guy.”
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Elsewhere in his chat with Variety, Rock revealed that he thinks of his time on the sketch comedy series as his “college” years.
“Chris Farley and me and Adam [Sandler] and David Spade shared an office,” he remembered fondly in the interview, which was published Sept. 8. “We would go, ‘Oh, let’s make a McDonald’s run.’ ‘Carolyn Bessette’s here tonight! You gonna talk to her?’ ‘No, you talk to her.’ Then she came in with JFK. ‘Oh, that’s what she’s going for.’ It was a magical time.”
“All you remember are the friendships,” Rock continued. “I didn’t go to college, but those would have been the years I was in college.”
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