SNL’s Seth Meyers was forced to admit the painful truth about his acting career

There is perhaps no show in television history that launched a greater comedy career than Saturday Night Live. Favorite nighttime product catapulted at least a few dozen people will become a Hollywood star or at least a long period of key supporting roles. Perhaps it is the sketch format that allows the actors to show great range. Perhaps it’s the show’s long history of success that convinces casting directors to pass up the chance on these particular audiences. Whatever it was, it worked consistently for fifty years… for a certain percentage of actors.

Here’s the thing. Everybody’s talking about Saturday Night Live churning out Bill Murray, Eddie Murphys and Will Ferrellx, but over the years, the series has featured over one hundred and fifty actors, and while most of them have gone on to do other things, most of them haven’t gotten starring roles in movies or their own TV shows. This may be a hard pill to swallow for those who don’t consider Hollywood a superstar. Just ask Seth Meyers.

The late-night host, who eventually found his groove and hosted a long-running talk show, recently stopped by NPR Wild Card for an interview, and during the conversation he spoke very honestly about his acting career and the disappointments he experienced. He saw many of his colleagues get bigger roles outside the company. SNLbut despite regular auditions, he continued to lose role after role until eventually he had to admit that he was not very good at acting. Here’s part of his really honest quote…

You know, being on SNL, there were obviously a lot of people that I was co-stars with who were both on SNL and they had successful acting careers outside of SNL. And I craved it. And I mean, I think it’s ambition, I thought, “Oh, I want to be in movies too.” And very slowly it dawned on me, and probably should have dawned on me faster: “Oh, this is not what I should be doing. Like, I’m good at some other things, but being an actor isn’t one of them.” And when I look back, I realize that I wasted a lot of time and forced myself to go through a call that I could have avoided if I had that feeling of, “You know what, sometimes ambition for something is misplaced if you’re not in fact, you have some underlying talent that you need to go along with it.

For Meyers, it was a process of figuring out what exactly he was good at and where it could lead. Most people in any career have a hard time not looking at their peers or people who had the same job before them and imagining a clear path they could take next. IN Saturday Night LiveIt’s very difficult not to fall into this trap, because your workplace is literally filled with photographs of the most successful people in the history of show business who once worked on the same stage.

I know we all know these names, but let me list briefly some of the greats of all time who has achieved huge success in Hollywood. John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray Eddie Murphy, Julia Louis-DreyfusMike Myers Adam Sandler, Chris FarleyDavid Spade, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Jimmy Fallon, Kristen WiigBill Hader Jason Sudeikis. It’s hard to think about, but Meyers says it would be a mistake to focus on them and assume the same thing will happen to you.

You walk down the hallway and see pictures of former actors and think that because you work in the same place as them, you’ll have the same career path, you know? But it would be a mistake to say that just because you’re hired at the same place as Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell doesn’t mean you’ll have their careers. And there are a lot of different people coming through SNL with different skills. And so, you know, I’m very grateful for the patience that I had there that allowed me to find what was right for me.

Finding your fit is the key to success. Every cast member got to do this on the show itself, including Meyers, who eventually found his place as Weekend Update anchor and head writer. Sometimes this comes from being a solid person who can make you laugh a few times while playing a supporting role in other people’s sketches. Sometimes this requires a little work on the Weekend Update. Sometimes it happens being a star really weird concept sketches that happen at the end of the night. You just have to keep trying until you find your spot.

The same applies after your time on the show is over. The most direct route is to work as an actor and, of course, try to take an Adam Sandler track to superstardom, but many SNLThe university’s most famous alumni, including Meyers himself, did things differently. He has his own late-night show, which has been followed by many others, including Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. There are also many SNL veterans who have found fame in stand-up. Chris Rock is probably the biggest example of this, but there are plenty of others, including John Mulaney and Norm MacDonald. Other actors have written books, created their own niche TV shows, or become in-demand voice actors. There is no one right way.

You can catch Late Night with Seth Meyers on the NBK channel. The series has produced over 1,500 episodes over twelve seasons, and the host recently extended his contract to continue appearing in the same time slot until 2028. which he humorously neglected for many years. Not bad for someone who struggled to get even small supporting roles during his time on the show. SNL.