The Best Actors Who Are SNL Alumni
With Bill Murray's excellent supporting work in the limited release Get Low (expanding to other cities soon; watch for our upcoming review and an interview with director Aaron Schneider), it got us thinking about the history of Saturday Night Live and the actors who graduated from that school of super-stardom. Who has done the most with their degree? Who has used the show as a launching platform to the most notable film careers?
We decided to stick with SNL alumni who jumped from TV to film simply because it's near-impossible to compare what Tina Fey is doing on 30 Rock with what Will Ferrell has done on the big screen. Making that distinction leaves out the great Fey, Phil Hartman (who never did anything as great as his work on Newsradio; sorry Houseguest fans), Sarah Silverman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Amy Poehler. We love them all but a small role in School of Rock and starring in Baby Mama aren't getting you on this list. We also tried to look at the entire career. If this was 1990, Chevy Chase and Dan Akyroyd would probably top the list but recent career choices haven't been as kind. Finally, we tried to divorce the opinion from their work as a part of the not-ready-for-primetime players. These aren't our ten favorite "Best of" DVDs from the SNL catalog. (Chris Farley would be number one.) So, with the dozens of actors who have tried to make the jump from the world of Lorne Michaels to that of the big screen, who has achieved the most air?
We decided to stick with SNL alumni who jumped from TV to film simply because it's near-impossible to compare what Tina Fey is doing on 30 Rock with what Will Ferrell has done on the big screen. Making that distinction leaves out the great Fey, Phil Hartman (who never did anything as great as his work on Newsradio; sorry Houseguest fans), Sarah Silverman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Amy Poehler. We love them all but a small role in School of Rock and starring in Baby Mama aren't getting you on this list. We also tried to look at the entire career. If this was 1990, Chevy Chase and Dan Akyroyd would probably top the list but recent career choices haven't been as kind. Finally, we tried to divorce the opinion from their work as a part of the not-ready-for-primetime players. These aren't our ten favorite "Best of" DVDs from the SNL catalog. (Chris Farley would be number one.) So, with the dozens of actors who have tried to make the jump from the world of Lorne Michaels to that of the big screen, who has achieved the most air?
giaquinto - 24. Jul, 11:37
