Saturday Night Live has been around since the mid-70s! With 48 seasons, it has become the longest-lasting sketch comedy show of all time. It’s no wonder every aspiring comedian or improviser wants to be on this show.
After all, stars such as Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, and Bill Hader got their big break on SNL. Even Aubrey Plaza tried to make it into this beloved comedy show, even with a failed audition, she still got a small job on SNL!
Through the almost five decades since its first live show, countless celebrities have hosted SNL. But, believe it not, many other stars have turned down gigs on this iconic late-night show! One of them being none other than Julia Roberts.
The Pretty Woman star has turned down hosting SNL on more than one occasion.
Julia Roberts Comes From A Family Of Actors and Performers
Julia Roberts’s parents, Betty Lou Bredemus and Walter Grady Roberts, are one-time actors and playwrights. The pair first met while performing in theatrical productions for the armed forces. They later co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta. They later ran a children’s acting school in Decatur, Georgia. Their love for acting was passed down to Julia and her brother Eric Roberts and, later down the line, her nice Emma Roberts.
Julia moved to New York City shortly after graduating from high school to pursue a professional acting career.
There, she signed with the Click Modeling Agency and enrolled in acting classes. This paid off. In 1987, Julia landed her first television appearance in the first season of the series Crime Story, starring Dennis Farina.
However, Roberts wouldn’t make her big screen debut until a year later, when she starred in the dramedy Satisfaction (1988) alongside Liam Neeson and Justine Bateman. A year later, she had a small appearance opposite her brother Eric in the movie Blood Red. But she wouldn’t gain international stardom until she starred in the independent rom-com Mystic Pizza.
A year later, Roberts landed a leading role in the film adaptation of Robert Harling’s play Steel Magnolias (1989), which also starred Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and Daryl Hannah. Believe it or not, Roberts was not the first option for the role. In fact, the filmmakers wanted either Laura Dern or Winona Ryder to star in the film but the casting director insisted they see Roberts. As Harling revealed, they knew that Julia was the right choice for the role on first sight, “She walked into the roo, and that smile lit everything up and I said, ‘that’s my sister,’ so she joined the party and she was magnificent.
Roberts ended up getting both her first Academy Award nomination (as Best Supporting Actress) and first Golden Globe Award win (Best Supporting Actress) for her performance in this film. Since then, Roberts has coined more than 60 acting credits and won multiple awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Awards.
Julia Roberts Has Turned Down Hosting Saturday Night Live for This One Reason
Many actors would die for the opportunity to guest host Saturday Night Live. But not Julia Roberts. Without actually confirming whether she had ever been asked to appear on the show, Roberts told EW Radio in 2017 why she hasn’t appeared on this popular late-night comedy show.
“I’m too scared,” she told Cagle when he asked why she’s never appeared on an episode of this beloved comedy sketch show. “I mean, I would do it with Alec [Baldwin], if we could be comedy partners just doing skits.” Throw in some Christmas sweaters and weird voices and Roberts might just be game. “Wouldn’t that be fun?” she asked Cagle.
It’s hard to think that a talented actor like Roberts wouldn’t kill it on SNL. After all, the actress has starred on more than one comedy in the past. But who know, maybe fans will get to see her guest host this late-night sketch show in the future.
Julia Roberts Isn’t The Only Star Who Has Turned Down SNL
Believe it or not, Julia Roberts is not the only celebrity who has said no to hosting SNL. For example, Jennifer Aniston once chose Friends over being on SNL!
“We wanted Aniston to be on the show with us,” Adam Sandler revealed on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2011. He recalls that while he was a cast member in the early ’90s, he once saw Aniston come in to the SNL offices for a meeting with producer Lorne Michaels. “I was like, ‘Wow, I’m gonna be working with Aniston,'” Sandler recalled thinking before learning that she turned down Michaels’ offer.
Other celebrities who turned down SNL include Orlando Bloom, Mindy Kaling, who was working on The Office when she was offered an audition for this comedy show, Schitt’s Creek star Catherine O’Hara, Johnny Knoxville, and The Beatles!