Pete Davidson has Lorne Michaels to thank for helping him not give up on his Saturday Night Live career.
In the new Peacock docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, Davidson, 31, revealed he almost walked away from the NBC comedy series after one season. “After my first year, I actually called for a meeting with Lorne and I was like, ‘Please fire me,’” he shared in the series’ first episode, which dropped on Thursday, January 16. “And he was like, ‘Why?’ I was like, ‘I don’t belong here. Everybody here’s so talented, and they don’t want to be my friend.’”
Davidson jokingly compared himself to acting like “a child,” adding, “I was like, ‘Nobody wants to be my friend.’ And he said, ‘You don’t figure it out until your third or fourth year. … It’s just gonna suck for three or four years.’ I was like, ‘All right,’ and he was right.”
Davidson became one of the youngest people to join the SNL at just 20 years old during season 40 in 2014. The comedian is one of several past and present SNL stars to appear on SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night. In the series’ first episode, Davidson poked fun at himself while revisiting his in-studio audition.
Related: Pete Davidson Reveals His ‘Saturday Night Live’ Salary
Saturday Night Live might be a lot of people’s dream job, but Pete Davidson says the salary isn’t all that great. In a video commemorating SNL’s 50th anniversary shared via the New York magazine Instagram account on Wednesday, December 4, Davidson, 31, was one of several past and current cast members to reveal what they […]
“How the f— did I get this show?” he joked while watching the audition footage. “It’s wild to see the hope in one’s eye. I didn’t know whether to do impressions or standup. And then I called my buddy and I was like, ‘Should I do impressions?’ He’s like, ‘Can you?’ I was like, ‘No.’ He’s like, ‘Well, you should do standup.’ Maybe two times in six minutes, someone just went, ‘Ha!’ And I was like, ‘That was terrible. There’s no way I’m getting it.”
Davidson announced he was leaving SNL after eight seasons in May 2022. “I appreciate SNL always having my back and allowing me to work on myself and grow,” he said during his final Weekend Update appearance on the season 47 finale that same month. “Thank you to Lorne for never giving up on me or judging me even when everyone else was and for believing in me and allowing me to have a place that I could call home with memories that will last a lifetime. So, thank you guys.”
Davidson went on to make his SNL hosting debut on the October 2023 season 49 premiere.
The Bupkis star got sentimental while reflecting on his time as a cast member in the Peacock docuseries, sharing, “This is a really tough job, but you go through all the emotions with these people. But you all love each other at the end of the day. So, this is a really difficult place to leave, but you don’t ever, really, truly leave.”
He continued: “I grew up here. I was like a kid when I came in. And I’ll always be proud, I’ll always be grateful and I’ll always miss it.”
Saturday Night Live returns with host Dave Chappelle on Saturday, January 18, followed by Timothée Chalamet on Saturday, January 25. The show will celebrate its milestone 50th season with a three-hour primetime anniversary special on NBC and Peacock on Sunday, February 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
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