The Worst Saturday Night Live Hosts Of All Time, Ranked
The idea of hosting Saturday Night Live, an American TV institution, sounds super scary rather than super exciting. Even for professional actors or performers, it’s got to be nerve racking. But if you’re one of the many non-performers chosen to host, it’s probably even worse. What do footballers or multimillionaire entrepreneurs know about being funny, for instance? So it’s really no wonder that there have been so many cringy host performances over the years… and that those hosts have been rightly roasted for it!
40. Daniel Craig
Bond star Daniel Craig hosted a hilarious episode of Saturday Night Live in 2020. It was enough to redeem himself for his disastrous first attempt at hosting in 2012. On that occasion Craig tried his best, but it was painfully obvious why he’s not exactly known for being funny. Very awkward. It was also too obvious that he was reading from cue cards.
39. Robert De Niro
It’s kind of amazing that it took until 2002 for Robert De Niro to finally host SNL. This was the period when he’d had a few hit comedies, such as Meet The Parents and Analyze This under his belt. So maybe he felt more confident with tackling live sketch comedy. It’s a pity that he sort of crumbled as the night went along, though, too often resorting to cue cards. Maybe expectations were just too high.
38. Colin Farrell
At the height of his leading man fame in 2004, hellraising Irish heartthrob Colin Farrell hosted SNL. He made a big mistake by swearing during the closing recap, but his biggest gaffe came when he introduced the music act Scissor Sisters. He turned to Seth Meyers and joked, “Maybe you could get with one of those girls?” Sure, the band was camp, but there was only one female member. Oh dear.
37. Dwayne Johnson
Before you react with fury, yes, we know Dwayne Johnson is a five-time host of SNL and is generally a delight. But this entry is about his first time, way back in 2000. This was when he was a wrestler trying to break into movies, and the whole show played on this, even taking the spotlight away from Johnson with other wrestler cameos. He was also extremely wooden in the Clark Kent sketch. Sorry, Rock.
