Why Jim Carrey Was Rejected By SNL (& Every Time He's Been A Guest Host)

Jim Carrey is one of the most recognizable movie stars working and most people will know him for his comedy roles, so it may come as a surprise to learn that Carrey was turned away from SNL despite auditioning for the classic sketch series. Jim Carrey has gone from goofy comedies to blockbuster superhero films to children's fare to Academy Award-winning dramas and back to comedies. Each iteration of his career has just provided more evidence that he's a generational talent as a comedy and dramatic actor.

Jim Carrey honed his comedy skills on In Loving Color, a sketch comedy show that aired simultaneously for a few years alongside Saturday Night Live. A funny and absurd live series with some talented actors, In Loving Color would never be able to crawl out of the massive shadow cast by SNL. To this day, Saturday Night Live anoints the latest crop of comedy stars who often end up starring in movies or headlining their own TV shows. However, Saturday Night Live still gets it wrong from time to time, including when they missed out on casting Jim Carrey.

Lorne Michaels Never Got To See Jim Carrey's Audition

Carrey's First Audition Occurred When Michaels Left The Show

Jim Carrey auditioned for Saturday Night Live twice in his career. The first time was for the 1980-1981 season, which was also the season that Lorne Michaels and the entire cast left (via Uproxx). The new producer, Jean Doumanian, made some mistakes in casting the new talents. Carrey was only 18 when he first auditioned, and it's likely Doumanian did not want two teenagers in the cast after he reluctantly agreed to cast a then-18, Eddie Murphy.

Carrey was undeterred and auditioned for the 1984-1985 season. However, Michaels was not at Carrey's audition, and he explained that one of his staffers thought Carrey's act wouldn't please the exec (via VanityFair),

"I wasn't at the Jim Carrey audition but somebody who was there said, 'I don't think Lorne would like it,' and they were probably wrong, but it doesn't matter. Or maybe they were right—who knows? No one gets it all right."

Through a combination of bad luck and poor timing, Carrey never got to show Michaels what he had. Fortunately, everything worked out anyway.

Jim Carrey Has Hosted SNL Three Times

Carrey Has Also Appeared On The Show As A Guest

There were clearly no hard feelings between Jim Carrey and Michaels because Carrey ended up hosting the show three times, in seasons 21, 36, and 40. He also had a cameo in season 28 during a Foo Fighters performance, and he became a recurring guest in season 46 when he portrayed President Joe Biden. He also appeared in the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special.

Some of Carrey's notable impersonations include Joe Biden, Matthew McConaughey, and Jimmy Stewart. He's appeared in some memorable sketches, including one of the "Merryville Brothers: Trolley Ride" sketches, "Healing Conversations", the "Lincoln Ads" series, and the 40th Anniversary "Jeopardy" sketch, where he once again plays Matthew McConaughey, and records a voice-over of his thoughts that he plays, much to the annoyance of Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek.

How Missing Out On SNL Changed Jim Carrey's Career

Carrey's Career Took Off Despite Never Being Cast On SNL

While being rejected from SNL was probably a tough blow at the time, it probably ended up being the best thing that ever happened to Jim Carrey. With no SNL to fall back on, Carrey had to perfect his comedy stylings all on his own, taking bit parts where he could find them in movies like Peggy Sue Got Married and TV shows like The Duck Factory. His hard work paid off when he landed a role in the cast of In Living Color.

From there, his career exploded, specifically in 1994 when he was cast as the titular character in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. It's that work ethic developed from years of working on his own, and a tenacity and willpower that got him through not one, but two failed SNL auditions, that can be partially attributed to his success almost forty decades later.