The Best ‘Saturday Night Live’ Audition Ever, And 7 More ‘SNL’ Insights From Seth Meyers

Seth Meyers did an interview on the Dan Patrick Show the other day (full video below), and he was as charming as Meyers always is. He talked some about replacing Jimmy Fallon, confirming that his first guest will be Amy Poehler (“that’s locked down”) and suggesting that he’s lobbying Hillary Clinton to be his second guest. He also said that, contrary to earlier reports, he will not do double duty, and host both Late Night and “Weekend Update.” But mostly, he talked about his time at Saturday Night Live, his own audition (he did impressions of Russell Crowe, Hugh Grant, and David Arquette) and best and worst guest hosts. While Meyers didn’t say anything revelatory, I always get a kick out of hearing cast members discuss their time on the show, especially a guy like Meyers who has been there for so long.

Here’s an abridged version of the interview, specific to the Saturday Night Live questions.

1. Who was the Best Audition? — “Kristen Wiig, like, two lines in, it was like, ‘Oh great, so we’re going to hire her. She’ll be on the show for seven years.'”

2. Have you seen people fail in the audition and go on to be good in other things? — Jordan Peele (of Key and Peele), although Meyers’ says his audition was “great.”

3. Best Guest Host — “It’s hard to argue that anyone is better than [Justin] Timberlake. It’s always fun when someone like Jon Hamm comes in, who you don’t know is funny. It’s a gift every time he comes and hosts. Julia Louis Dreyfus, for me, was one [of the best].”

4. On Difficult Hosts — “It’s a really interesting place to try and be a diva. There’s just no time for it … When people won’t come out of their dressing rooms [like, famously, Steven Seagal] we kind of want to be like, ‘We just have to do the sketch without you. We have to move on.'”

5. A Story Attached to the Most Difficult Host, Without Naming Names — When people come through that are famous for maybe a scandal, or something about their personal life, that is, like, almost why they are famous, and then they want that to be off limits.” (He ruled out Lindsay Lohan, who he says “has always been a good sport,” so he’s probably referring to Paris Hilton?)

6. Which guest host has blown you away? — Timberlake, again, Jamie Foxx, and Jim Carrey, “who was one of the most magnetic people I’ve ever watched sitting in a chair … when [he] was getting $20 million a movie, he was worth every penny.”

7. On Sports Hosts — Peyton Manning was “the best,” Charles Barkley is great to spend a week with because he never says, “Oh, I shouldn’t tell that story,” Eli Manning was “a lot of fun,” and Tom Brady was “a smooth operator.” Andy Roddick and Jeff Gordon, however, Meyers describes as “an excellent tennis player and an excellent race car driver.”

8. Finally, Meyers revealed that he thinks that once Lorne Michaels leaves Saturday Night Live that Saturday Night Live will cease to exist. (Lorne Michaels is 69, by the way).

Here’s the full video, where he also talks about his stint at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner.

(via)

×