Top 10 Best Saturday Night Live Actors

Live from your screen, it's a completely biased, highly debatable, and unnecessarily passionate argument about who crushed it the hardest on SNL. You've laughed. You've cringed. You've watched someone forget their lines and try to cover it with jazz hands. Now it's time to weigh in.

Some of these cast members were human Swiss Army knives. They did impressions, accents, wore wigs, and committed fully to fake mustaches held on by hopes and prayers. Others got by on pure chaos energy, flinging themselves into sketches like human cartoon characters with zero concern for personal injury or career longevity.

This list is your chance to give credit to those who made Saturday nights worth staying in for. Or at least gave you something to quote until your friends begged you to stop.

The Top Ten

Phil Hartman

Philip Edward "Phil" Hartman, September 24, 1948, to May 28, 1998, was a Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, voice actor, and graphic artist. He gained fame as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and for his voice roles on The Simpsons. Hartman also starred in the television sitcom NewsRadio... read more

This guy was always funny, no matter the character. That's why they knew to use him in a lot of the skits.
Will Ferrell

John William "Will" Ferrell (born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He rose to fame as a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live in the mid-1990s and became known for his improvisational comedy and memorable characters. Since then, Ferrell has starred in hit comedies... read more
Eddie Murphy

Edward Regan Murphy is an American comedian, actor, writer, singer, and producer. Murphy was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1980 to 1984. He gained fame through hit films such as Beverly Hills Cop, Coming to America, and The Nutty Professor, and has received numerous awards, including... read more
Chris Farley

Christopher Crosby Farley was an American actor and comedian, known for his loud, energetic comedic style.
He rose to prominence in the early 1990s as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1995.
Farley also had a brief film career, starring in Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly... read more

This guy was better than the whole original cast. There, I said it.

"Living in a van down by the river!" He was just hilarious!
Tina Fey

Elizabeth Stamatina "Tina" Fey (born May 18, 1970) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She is best known for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live. Fey also created and starred in the critically acclaimed comedy series 30 Rock and has received numerous Emmy... read more

There's ain't no party like a Liz Lemon party.
Dan Aykroyd

Daniel Edward "Dan" Aykroyd is a Canadian‑American actor, comedian, musician, businessman, and filmmaker. He first rose to fame as an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on Saturday Night Live. Aykroyd co‑wrote and starred in The Blues Brothers and Ghostbusters, two iconic comedy... read more
Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler is an American actress, comedian, director, producer, and writer. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, she became a founding member of the improvisational comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade. She gained widespread recognition as a cast member... read more
Dana Carvey

Dana Thomas Carvey is an American actor and stand-up comedian known for his work as a cast member on Saturday Night Live. He gained widespread recognition for his impressions and characters, including the Church Lady. Carvey also starred as Garth Algar in the Wayne's World films.

All of his impersonations were spot-on and pure genius. Phil Hartman was very very good also and personally my favorite, but my vote has to go to Carvey because of his amazingly funny Jimmy Stewart, Ross Perot, Tim McLaughlin, etc. mimics.

Definitely Dana Carvey. Have you seen his Jimmy Stewart impersonations?
Kenan Thompson

Kenan Thompson, born May 10, 1978, is an American actor and comedian. He gained early fame through the sketch comedy show All That and later starred in Kenan & Kel. Thompson has been a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live since 2003, making him the longest-tenured performer in the show's history... read more

He's hilarious as that Boston Red Sox player. I forgot the name of.
"He gave me a small box, and I opened it up and found..."
"BIG LUNCH"

I've never not laughed when Kenan Thompson was on stage. Enough said.
John Belushi

John Adam Belushi (January 24, 1949 - March 5, 1982) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and musician. He was one of the seven original cast members on Saturday Night Live, known for his intense energy and raucous comedic style.... read more

The Newcomers

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Aziz Ansari

Aziz Ansari is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his role as Tom Haverford on the NBC series Parks and Recreation. Ansari also co-created, wrote, and starred in the acclaimed Netflix series Master of None, which debuted in 2015.
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Laraine Newman

The Contenders

Kate McKinnon

Kathryn McKinnon Berthold, known professionally as Kate McKinnon, is an American actress, comedian, writer, impressionist, and voice actress. She was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2012 to 2022, where she became known for her character work and celebrity impressions. McKinnon has won two Primetime... read more
Bill Hader

William Thomas "Bill" Hader Jr. is an American actor, comedian, producer, and writer. He gained fame on Saturday Night Live, where he earned four Emmy nominations for his work.
Hader is also known for his involvement in South Park and the parody documentary series Documentary Now!, and he earned... read more

He is such a talented and exceptional performer, completely dedicated to every sketch. The fact that he was very anxious before the live shows but still nailed every single performance is so inspiring.

Even withstanding the fact that Stefon is the most overrated SNL character of all time, Bill Hader is the most talented, unique, and inspiring cast member ever. He arguably rivals Phil Hartman, Will Ferrell, Chris Farley, Amy Poehler, and Tina Fey.

Bill Hader is the funniest of all the cast. He has a gift of making a simple puppet hilarious.
Kristen Wiig

Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American actress, comedian, writer, and producer. She gained fame for her work on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live.
Her film credits include Bridesmaids, The Martian, Ghostbusters, and Wonder Woman 1984.
Gilda Radner

Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 - May 20, 1989) was an American actress and comedian. She was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live and became known for her memorable characters and sketches. Radner won an Emmy Award in 1978 for her work on the show.

I'm surprised Gilda isn't higher on this list. She really set the tone for not only future SNL cast members, but also for female comics in general. I think that before she came around, women were not seen as capable of succeeding in comedy.
They either played straight roles next to male actors, who were usually the ones doing all the physical comedy, or they played stereotypical "dumb girl" characters. But when Gilda came around, she dismissed all these previous stereotypes and just did her own thing. She really brought something very fresh, unique, and interesting to the table. She is the reason why we have comedians like Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon today.
She was just fearless on stage! Unfortunately, she passed away at a young age but she still managed to leave such a huge impact. I was not alive when she was performing on SNL but she still became a huge influence in my life.
Mike Myers

Michael John "Mike" Myers (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, and director who holds British and American citizenship in addition to his Canadian citizenship. He is best known for his role as Wayne Campbell in Wayne's World and for playing multiple characters in... read more

Wayne's World was awesome. He is so funny on it. He was the best.
Bill Murray

William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national attention on Saturday Night Live, for which he won his first Primetime Emmy Award. He later starred in a series of successful comedies, including Meatballs, Caddyshack, Stripes, Tootsie, Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters... read more

I never got this guy's humor until he did his Lounge Lizard character singing the Star Wars theme. Simply brilliant and a wry twist on an often over-portrayed icon of comedy. Bill Murray has also turned out to be a damn good screen actor as well.

Todd and the Lounge Singer are hard to beat.
Adam Sandler

Adam Richard Sandler is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer. He gained fame as a cast member on Saturday Night Live before transitioning to a successful film career. His movies have grossed over $2 billion at the box office worldwide, and he is known for hits like Billy Madison... read more
Jimmy Fallon

James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon is an American comedian, television host, actor, singer, writer, and producer. He is best known for hosting The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Before hosting his own late-night shows, he was a regular cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1998 to 2004.
Chevy Chase

Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase (born October 8, 1943) is an American comedian, actor and writer. He became the breakout cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live (1975-1976), where his recurring Weekend Update segment became a staple of the show. As both a performer and a writer on the series... read more
Maya Rudolph

Maya Khabira Rudolph is an American actress, comedian, and musician. She gained recognition as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 2000 to 2007. Rudolph has appeared in numerous films including Idiocracy, Away We Go, Grown Ups, Bridesmaids, Grown Ups 2, and Sisters, and has voiced characters in... read more
Seth Meyers

Seth Adam Meyers is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, and television host. He hosts Late Night with Seth Meyers on NBC. Before that, he was a longtime Saturday Night Live cast member and head writer, best known for anchoring the Weekend Update segment.
Norm Macdonald

Norman Gene Macdonald (October 17, 1959 - September 14, 2021) was a Canadian stand-up comedian, writer, and actor known for his signature deadpan style.
Early in his career, he wrote for the sitcom Roseanne and made guest appearances on The Drew Carey Show and NewsRadio. He then spent five years... read more

"Always remember, laughter is the best medicine... well, that is unless you're diabetic... then insulin is probably the best medicine!" Rest in peace, Norm, we love and miss you! Thank you for all the laughs!
Darrell Hammond

Darrell Clayton Hammond is an American actor, stand-up comedian, and impressionist. He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 2009, making him one of the show's longest-tenured performers. In 2014, he returned to the show as its announcer and is well known for his impressions of Bill... read more
Andy Samberg

Andy Samberg (born August 18, 1978) is an American actor, comedian, producer, writer, and musician. He is a member of the comedy trio The Lonely Island.
He was a cast member on Saturday Night Live, where he and his colleagues popularized the SNL Digital Shorts. He portrayed Detective Jake Peralta... read more
Molly Shannon