The Best Cast Members In SNL's History, Ranked

Back when it premiered under the name "NBC's Saturday Night" on October 11, 1975, nobody could have predicted how successful the show now known as "Saturday Night Live" would become. From movie stars to late night hosts, the long-running sketch series has churned out some of the biggest names in Hollywood in its five decades on the air. The show's influence has remained strong since it became a staple on American television, with its impact on popular culture and politics well noted: It has even been given credit for swinging presidential elections with its scathing weekly satire.

Over the course of 50 seasons, "SNL" has given a platform to some of America's most talented and beloved comic minds. Putting together a list of the very best of them is no easy task, and ranking the greats from best to worst is even trickier. However, we think we've cracked the formula for ranking "Saturday Night Live" stars: These fifteen cast members aren't just ranked based on how funny they are, but also on their versatility and the impact they had on the show itself during their time on it. From worst to best, here are the greatest cast members in "SNL" history.

Amy Poehler really did it all on "Saturday Night Live." She joined the show in 2001, quickly making herself indispensable in a cast already stacked with talented people like Tracy Morgan, Ana Gasteyer, and Rachel Dratch. However, despite the high bar, it took less than six months for the Upright Citizens Brigade co-founder to be promoted to a Repertory Player. A few years later, she joined Tina Fey on the first all-female Weekend Update desk, a role she held until December 2008. 

Poehler's on-screen range speaks for itself, from her esteemed Hillary Clinton impression and her fast-talking "Bronx Beat" co-host, to beloved sketches like "Colonel Angus Comes Home" and the show-stopping "Sarah Palin Rap." Poehler's biggest contribution to the show may have been off-camera. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter about her, "SNL" alumnus Seth Meyers said: "Amy took it upon herself to make ['SNL'] a good environment, not just for the people who work there, but for the people who just spent a week there."

Maya Rudolph joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 2000, bringing all her Groundlings experience to the halls of Studio 8H. At a time when the show was filled to the brim with talented women, Rudolph made a name for herself by being one of the most musically gifted cast members in "SNL" history, which is most evident in "National Anthem," where she shines as an overzealous contest winner singing the titular song at a baseball game. Rudolph's impressions, such as Oprah Winfrey, also established her as a comedic tour-de-force. She'll likely be best remembered for her take on Kamala Harris, which is what ultimately led to her returning to "SNL."

Rudolph started playing Harris when she was still a senator, to great success. The Democrat's political ascension meant that Rudolph was needed back at 30 Rockefeller Plaza — she was asked to return for the show's 50th season, coinciding with the 2024 presidential election. Rudolph wasn't even living in New York at the time, but, despite this, coming back to play Harris was an easy decision. "This is so much bigger than me, and this is about something very important," Rudolph told Variety. "I'm thrilled to be associated with it, and I'm also glad that I've played her and everyone's cool with it. She likes it."

As one of the original cast members on "Saturday Night Live," Dan Aykroyd was instrumental in establishing the show's voice in its most formative years. Aykroyd quickly made a name for himself with characters like sketchy toy mogul Irwin Mainway, and many will remember him for co-hosting Weekend Update with Jane Curtin. Perhaps Aykroyd's biggest legacy from "SNL," however, is his partnership with fellow Not-Ready-For-Primetime-Player, John Belushi.

Together, the two became the premier comedy duo of the show's early seasons, thanks largely to their show-stopping Blues Brothers. Belushi and Aykroyd starred in the very first feature film based on an "SNL" sketch (1980's "The Blues Brothers") and, even though Belushi was an indelible comedic talent in his own right, it was Aykroyd's writing and behind-the-scenes relationships with everyone, including the crew, that made him one of the show's most influential voices in those years.

Cecily Strong may go down in history as one of the most under-appreciated "Saturday Night Live" cast members. There was obviously no shortage of her throughout her decade-long run on the show, including her unforgettable Weekend Update characters like Cathy Anne or The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With a Party. Even her political impressions, like her Melania Trump, were well received — in fact, Melania apparently liked it. However, it was Strong's heart that really made her an irreplaceable part of "SNL" history.

The best example of this is Goober the Clown, a shockingly vulnerable Weekend Update piece in which Strong comments on U.S. abortion bans while dressed as a clown, sharing, "I know I wouldn't be a clown on TV here today if it weren't for the abortion I had the day before my 23rd birthday." As Austin Butler (one of the best first-time hosts of "Saturday Night Live") sang during Strong's goodbye episode, it's just so blue without her.

Kenan Thompson could have left "Saturday Night Live" a decade ago, and he'd still have earned his spot on this list. As it is, he's the longest-serving cast member in the show's history: He joined in 2003 and is still going strong to this day. He had a solid comedy background prior to his casting thanks to Nickelodeon's "All That." By the time he got to 30 Rock, he was well accustomed to showmanship, which was on full display in sketches like "What's Up With That?" 

As the years have gone on, he's become one of the show's most valuable and varied cast members, able to be the centerpiece of a sketch, the straight man, the sarcastic game show host, or simply someone who pops in for a one-liner. Take, for instance, "Diner Lobster," in which Thompson plays a crustacean version of Jean Valjean, or "Black Jeopardy," where he hosts a game show that always trips up its white contestants. Even Thompson's Weekend Update characters are reliably strong additions to any "SNL" episode. While a lot of "SNL" stars have described the pressure that comes with being on the show, Thompson has shown no signs of slowing down.

When Will Ferrell joined "Saturday Night Live," the show was in a rough place after losing the majority of its cast in 1995. However, from the late '90s to the early 2000s, it wasn't a stretch to say that Ferrell was the show's biggest star. He certainly had a lot of screen time to himself during his tenure on the program thanks to his impersonation of U.S. president George W. Bush, which was widely praised.

Perhaps Ferrell's biggest strength, however, was making his fellow sketch performers break character, as he did in some of the best "SNL" skits of all time. However, Ferrell doesn't place as high as he perhaps could have done on this list due to the fact that many of his most iconic sketches have, by his own admission, aged pretty poorly, including his impression of Janet Reno. "That's something I wouldn't choose to do now," Ferrell told The New York Times in 2024.

Kate McKinnon was a huge presence on "Saturday Night Live" between 2012 and 2022, becoming indispensable during the Trump administration with her variety of political impressions, including the likes of Kellyanne Conway, Robert Mueller, Lindsey Graham, and Rudy Giuliani. When McKinnon had the spotlight in a sketch, she could work an audience like no other, and she even rivaled Will Ferrell in terms of her ability to break her castmates.  

McKinnon's greatest legacy on "SNL" will certainly be the colorful characters she introduced into the show's canon, from Colleen Rafferty in the "Close Encounter" sketches to Sheila Sovage in "Last Call." Viewers got a reminder of just how great McKinnon is when she returned to host the Christmas show in December 2023. "It's something I always wanted to do," she said during an appearance on "Late Night With Seth Meyers," adding, "The dream was to be on the show, and the exponential dream was to host the show — which is like, beyond the imagination."

For someone who had no real aspirations to be on "Saturday Night Live," Bill Hader was a gift to the show's cast. He quickly made a name for himself with an arsenal of celebrity impressions, including Al Pacino, James Carville, and Vincent Price. Even his fellow castmates could tell a star was born, as Andy Samberg later told Grantland. "The first episode, when he did Pacino, the crowd went f*****g bananas," Samberg said, adding that he thought to himself, "This dude's gonna destroy."

However, it was when he was paired with writers like John Mulaney and Simon Rich, or actors like Kristen Wiig and Fred Armisen, that Hader was his best self. Characters like Stefon and Herb Welch became hits with "SNL" viewers. Outside of character work, sketches like "Short Term Memory Loss Theater" and "Puppet Class" showcased how Hader could excel with clever writing and the right supporting cast. It's surprising to learn how Hader really felt during his time on "SNL," because few cast members have meshed with their co-workers as well as he did.

The Lonely Island's journey from Berkeley, California to internet stardom was unconventional, but it signaled a huge shift in "Saturday Night Live" as the sketch series entered the modern age. Andy Samberg joined "SNL" in 2005, bringing along with him two integral writer-directors: Akiva Schaffer and Jorma Taccone. Together, the trio began self-producing short videos aired as "SNL Digital Shorts," and it wasn't very long before the filmed sketches became a staple of the show.

While Samberg didn't often shine in live sketches (notable exceptions being "Blizzard Man" and "The New Boyfriend Talk Show,"), he became the face of Digital Shorts. "Lazy Sunday," "D*** in a Box," and "Natalie's Rap" were all early examples of viral videos in YouTube's infancy, while sketches like "Laser Cats" and "Dear Sister" helped usher in a new voice for the series based in online humor. Samberg's role in modernizing "SNL" cannot be understated.

What's there to say about Norm Macdonald that hasn't already been said? The stand-up comedian was never known as a sketch savant during his years as a cast member in the mid-90s, but he's regarded as one of the best "SNL" Weekend Update anchors in the show's history. Part of that is due to Macdonald's trademark dry humor; snarky to the point that he ran the risk of alienating audiences. But he had his style and he stuck to it relentlessly. In fact, his jokes during the O.J. Simpson trial are what resulted in his firing in 1998. 

Norm Macdonald's devastating death in 2021 caused many to retrospectively admire his contributions to the Weekend Update position, particularly the segment's current anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che. There's even an X account, "Norm Macdonald Joke of the Day," which recaps the comedian's best headlines from Weekend Update. On the rare instance when Macdonald was in a live sketch, like the time he played an exasperated gang leader in "Cobras & Panthers" or impersonated Burt Reynolds for "Celebrity Jeopardy," they were often highlights of their respective episodes.

Tina Fey has had a huge impact on "Saturday Night Live" behind the cameras as well as in front of them. She was the first female head writer of the show, a position she held even before she officially joined the cast in 2000. Soon enough, she and Jimmy Fallon began to co-anchor Weekend Update, but Fey also proved that she was a great character performer with sketches like "The Bush Twins' Secret Language" and "Nerd Chat Line." She's often remembered for her impression of Sarah Palin, which she brought to the show in guest appearances after her departure from the main cast in 2006.

Beyond her characters, Fey (who cut her teeth as a member of The Second City) helped shape "SNL" behind-the-scenes, telling Variety that she felt like a natural leader when she became head writer. "You're taking other people's sketches, and you don't take them away and manhandle them," she said. "You try to sit there with them to figure out, 'How can we help you make the best version of what you were hoping to do?'" Fey is often credited with transforming the show from a boy's club to a springboard for funny women, and has even been floated by Lorne Michaels himself as his potential successor.

When Phil Hartman was a cast member on "Saturday Night Live," he was nicknamed "The Glue" by his castmates, as Julia Sweeney explained to Grantland. "People like Phil make it safe for people to be crazier," Sweeney said. "They're the gravitas. It's not going to go completely off the rails if Phil's in the sketch." Hartman kept the show together and elevated his co-stars with a selflessness that endeared him to everyone. And yet, what made Hartman such a well-regarded comedian was his ability to go a little crazy himself, as evidenced with iconic sketches like "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer."

On top of his sillier characters, Hartman also contributed some integral political impressions to the show, including Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton. "President Bill Clinton at McDonald's" is often referenced as one of the best political sketches in the history of "SNL," with Rolling Stone placing it in the top five. As the magazine put it, Hartman "delivered one of the show's all-time great Presidential impressions in this sketch, which puts Bill Clinton's charm, appetites and grasp of world politics into a single package." Hartman made his final appearance on "SNL" in 1994 and was tragically killed in 1998, when he was at the height of his powers.

Eddie Murphy's tenure on "Saturday Night Live" is the stuff of legend, but it's even more incredible when you realize that Murphy was only 19 years old when he was cast in 1980. One of the few cast members Lorne Michaels can't take credit for discovering, Murphy ruled "SNL" throughout the early '80s while also steadily building a successful career as a movie star with roles in "48 Hrs" and "Beverly Hills Cop." His star power is credited with saving the show from a low point, with writer David Sheffield claiming (via The Ringer) that it "would've been canceled without Eddie."

Murphy's best characters, like Mr. Robinson and Gumby, are still as hilarious now as they were in back 1980s, and Murphy's impressions of celebrities like Stevie Wonder, James Brown, and Bill Cosby make you forget you're watching Eddie Murphy, they're that good. Even the pre-taped sketch "White Like Me" feels like a flash-forward to the show's Digital Shorts future. Murphy's legendary "SNL" status was on full display when he returned to host in 2019, with his reprisal of Buckwheat in the sketch "Masked Singer" being met enthusiastically by cast and audiences members alike.

It might sound like an overstatement to say that the world of comedy hasn't seen the likes of Chris Farley since his passing, but it's true. Farley was a master of physical comedy, which was frequently on display in sketches like "Van Down By the River" and even on Weekend Update pieces as the self-loathing Bennett Brauer. Farley was made of special stuff, and the cast at the time knew it. During an appearance on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Adam Sandler said: "If you wrote Farley into a skit, you knew it was probably gonna get on," when discussing the origin of the duo's "Herlihy Boy" sketch.

Many of Sandler's most successful moments on the show included Farley, but Farley didn't need the aid of his castmates to thrive, as evidenced in sketches like "Schiller Visions: Hidden Camera Commercials." Among his most surprising sketches on "SNL" is "The Chris Farley Show," a talk show where the normally loud and bombastic comedian would stumble his way through awkward interviews with celebrities. There are simply too many iconic Farley sketches to name here, which is a testament to how much he brought to the show. Sadly, Farley died in December 1997 when his star was on the rise.

Many longtime fans of "Saturday Night Live" will tell you that Gilda Radner is the best the show has ever had. She was notably the first person cast on the show, which set the stage for the kind of performers that would thrive on "SNL." Lorne Michaels paid tribute to Radner in her obituary in The New York Times, saying, "I felt there was a remarkable quality to her, a goodness which came through whatever she was doing." Many comedians have singled out Radner as a formative comedic voice in their upbringing, especially women, who had few role models in entertainment at the time. 

Ultimately, Radner's greatest strength was making the audience fall in love with her, even when she was playing intentionally obnoxious characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna or Emily Litella. "Baba Wawa at Large" is a great example of Radner's ability to completely disappear into a character, and "Rock Against Yeast" was a great showcase of her range as a performer. It's a shame that Radner is among the ranks of "SNL" actors who have passed away, because if she were alive today, she'd surely be proud to see what "SNL" has become thanks to the hard work of early contributors like her.