The best performers of SNL alumni on film by year

One of those mega-lists I made because I had too much free time yet again (thanks, quarantine!), this is a cross-referenced list of any appearance I saw by an SNL alumni or cast member in a film. To keep me making more meaningless lists, donate on Patreon 

2019:

The contenders:

Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is My Name; Adam Sandler Murder Mystery; Chris Rock, Dolemite is        My Name; Ana Gasteyer, Wine Country; Tracy Morgan, What Men Want; Chris Parnell,                   Laundromat; Rachel Dratch, Wine Country; Amy Poehler, Wine Country; Maya Rudolph, Wine        Country; Tina Fey, Wine Country; Jason Sudeikis, Booksmart; Kristen Wiig, Where’d You Go Bernadette;  Michaela Watkins, Brittany Runs a Marathon; Nassim Pedrad, Aladdin; Pete Davidson, What Men Want; Mikey Day, Brittany Runs a Marathon

Notes:
This year was highlighted by two tour-de-force performances as Adam Sandler and Eddie Murphy both were in Oscar contention for Uncut Gems and Dolemite is My Name respectively. Murphy even hosted for the first time since his stint in the 1980s in promotion of the film.

2019 also featured a convenient vehicle for the ladies of SNL circa the Tina Fey era to just be themselves on screen. What’s exciting about Wine Country is that there’s the entire Dratch-Fey-Poehler-Rudolph crew together but the film makes room Ana Gasteyer too (who technically overlapped with that crew a little) and two of the writers behind the scenes  in Emily Spivey and Paula Pell. Spivey and Pell has been emerging in voice over work and more.  A nice merging of generations.

Elsewhere, Pete Davidson plays half-against type as a fratty closeted gay guy in What Men Want, Michaela Watkins continues her run in meaty supporting roles, Nassim Pedrad shines pretty heavily in a role that matches her ethnicity, and the current cast’s best newcomer Mikey Day has a one-scene role in his first movie debut since SNL (as a writer, he made his way into a Taran Killam vehicle Brother Nature a couple weeks before his on-screen SNL debut).

MVP: Eddie Murphy, Dolemite is my Name-Believe all the Oscar hype. It has always been apparent in whatever you’re watching Eddie Murphy that he’s a man who’s elated when he’s performing and that makes him a perfect fit for this historical character.

Runner-Up: Michaela Watkins, Brittany Runs a Marathon- A very complex and evolving relationship with the film’s protagonist.

2018:

Nora Dunn, Tag

Mike Meyers, Bohemian Rhapsody

Adam Sandler, Hotel Transylvania 3

David Spade, Hotel Transylvania 3

Sara Silverman, Wreck It Ralph 2

Tracy Morgan, The Clapper

Rob Riggle, Night School

Andy Samberg, Hotel Transylvania 3

Michaela Watkins, Ibiza

Jenny Slate, Hotel Artemis

Taran Killam, Night School

Vanessa Bayer, Ibiza

Pete Davidson, Set it Up

Jon Rudnitsky, Set it Up

Melissa Villasenor, Wreck It Ralph 2

Notes: 

We’re getting to the point where cast members of the 2010s are starting to get cast like it ain’t no thang. Jon Rudnitsky, Vanessa Bayer, Pete Davidson, and Taran Killam are all getting decent screen time in their movies. Tracy Morgan, who was recovering from a life-threatening car crash at the time, has a nice juicy role here in a supporting aspect to Ed Helms. Melissa Villasenor (who I’m not crazy about) is in a voice-over role but I wonder if she’ll ever start to get cast in films as a live-action actor.

Mike Meyers hasn’t had as much of a career post-Love Guru landed himself in Bohemian Rhapsody but it wasn’t well-received (as was the rest of the film) because it was historically inaccurate, reeked of nepotism (Mike Meyers popularized Queen’s magnum opus in Wayne’s World, they were likely returning a favor), and was largely superfluous.

MVP:  Tracy Morgan, Clapper-Simply because it’s nice to see him again and this is a meaty supporting role that still retains Tracy’s Tracyisms.

Runner-Up: Taran Killam, Night School-Killam plays a principal who was bullied by Kevin Hart and Ben Schwartz and the role serves as a reminder that Killam didn’t necessarily feel the need to cultivate a sense of cool (Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, and Andy Samberg couldn’t drop that veneer when needed) .


2017:

Jim Belushi, Wonder Wheel

Sara Silverman, Battle of the Sexes

Molly Shannon, The Little Hours

Will Ferrell, The House

Amy Poehler, The House

Fred Armisen, The Little Hours

Rob Riggle, How to be a Latin Lover

Jason Sudeikis, Colossal/Downsizing
Andy Samberg, Brigsby Bear

Kristen Wiig, Downsizing

Michaela Watkins, The House/Brigsby Bear

Noel Wells, Mr. Roosevelt 

Kyle Mooney, Brigsby Bear
Beck Bennett, Brigsbty Bear

Sasheer Zamata, Lainie and Diedre Rob a Train

Aidy Bryant, The Big Sick

Notes: Well, sometimes the casting powers that be have bizarre ideas. Woody Allen hadn’t yet been re-cancelled so he still had his pick of any actor in Hollywood and he chose Jim Belushi?

Source: BaltimoreBlack.com

Good news: Sasheer and Aidy are cast in films I saw this year. Bad news: I’m not sure Sasheer established enough of a niche that she’ll be long remembered after SNL. Aidy might be typecast by her physical limitations though The Big Sick was a very body-positive portrayal of her.

MVP: Jason Sudeikis, Colossal-He grows from passive-aggressive friend to bad news to full-on villain over the course of the film. It’s frightening.

Runner-Up:  Sasheer Zamata, Deidra and Lainey Rob a Train-She gives the story a necessary punch by portraying well her character’s anxiousness that someone, anyone get accepted to college

2016:

Dan Aykroyd, Ghostbusters*

Bill Murray, Ghostbusters*

Christopher Guest, Mascots

Kevin Nealon, Popstar: Never Stop Popping

Ben Stiller, Don’t Think Twice

Tim Meadows, Popstar:  Never Stop Popping

Sara Silverman, Popstar: Never Stop Popping

Maya Rudolph, Popstar: Never Stop Popping

Tina Fey, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Jason Sudeikis, Race

Andy Sandberg, Popstar: Never Stop Popping

Bill Hader. Finding Dory*/Popstar: Never Stop Popping

Kristen Wiig, Ghostbusters

Jenny Slate, Zooptopia

Kate McKinnon, Ghostbusters/Finding Dory*

Cecily Strong, Ghostbusters/The Bronze

Kyle Mooney, Hello My Name is Doris

Leslie Jones, Ghostbusters

Chris Redd, Popstar: Never Stop Popping

Notes:

Two comic forces with singular brands--Christopher Guest and Andy Samberg (or more accurately, Samburg and his two Lonely Island mates)—both made films true to their style that I would count among the funniest of the decades. For Guest, it was his sixth such mockumentary and for Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, and Jorma Taccone, it was their first written collaboration on the big screen.  Next up, I’m hoping Kyle and Beck do a movie drenched with 90s irony.

There was also the reboot of Ghostbusters which provided some cameos and chances for Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones and Kristen Wiig to shine which was controversial for non-existent reasons.

By my estimation the film was a solid popcorn movie though not something I remember heavily four years later.

Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray are cameos and Ben Stiller just plays himself so I’m not sure how much they should count.

Source: Graffiti with Punctuation

MVP: Chris Redd, Popstar: Never Stop Popping-In the category of best role before landing an SNL spot (minus the 1984 or 1985 casts where they intentionally cast stars), this should be up there. Redd was initially considered for 2016’s SNL cast and then got bumped to a 2017 debut where he still killed it anyway.

Runner-Up: Andy Samberg, Popstar: Never Stop Popping-I’m not suggesting Samberg’s a great actor but when he’s going off his (and the Lonely Island’s) own material, he’s a lot funnier. Samberg often relies too heavily on goofy expressions and lazy drawling (like the Blizzard Man) but it works to perfection here. Write to your strengths, guys.

2015:

Garrett Morris, Ant Man*

Chevy Chase, Hot Tub Time Machine 2

Dan Aykroyd, Pixels

Adam Sandler, Pixels/Hotel Transylvania 2

David Spade, Hotel Transylvania 2

Chris Parnell, Hotel Transylvania 2

Fred Armisen, Staten Island Summer

Amy Poehler, Inside Out

Bill Hader, Inside Out

Andy Samberg, Hotel Transylvania 2

Kristen Wiig, The Martian

Bobby Moynihan, Staten Island Summer

Kate McKinnon, Staten Island Summer

Cecily Strong, Staten Island Summer

Mike O’Brien, Staten Island Summer

Colin Jost, Staten Island Summer*

Source: StudioScoop

Notes:

It isn’t some old-timers comeback that Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, and Dan Aykroyd are on here. All of their roles are tiny. Colin Jost, of all people, premiered Netflix’s very first streaming films with Staten Island Summer and got several of his buddies in on the action. It’s actually not that bad of a role for Mike O’Brien (who has since turned into writing). Kristen Wiig appears in everything and is in a prestige movie again in a part that’s quasi-humorous but mostly straight.

MVP: Amy Poehler, Inside Out- Watching Joy learn the film’s moral is like if Leslie Knope got whacked in the head and given a stern talking to stop being so cheerful all the time.

Runner-Up: Adam Sandler, Hotel Transylvania-Generally, I rank live acting over voice-over acting (the degree of difficulty is considerably more, I’ll die on that hill) but there are a couple stand-outs here. I didn’t know that Adam Sandler had that kind of voice range when I saw this film. For a guy who plays multiple variations of his man-child shtick every year, it’s hard to remember that Sandler has talent.

2014:

      Bill Murray, Grand Budapest Hotel* 

      Joan Cusack, Welcome to Me

      Robert Downey Jr, The Judge/Chef

      Chris Rock, Top Five

      Sarah Silverman, A Million Ways to Die in the West

      Dean Edwards, Top Five*

      Jason Sudeikis, Horrible Bosses 2

      Kristen Wiig, Welcome to Me 

      Casey Wilson, Gone Girl 

      Jay Pharoah, Top Five

      John Milhiser, Camp Takota

      Leslie Jones, Top Five

Notes: Not much of a year: Bill Murray and Joan Cusack were both cameos and a lot of the supporting roles in Top Five are very thin. It’s kind of nice to see one-season wonder John Milhiser in a film after a brutal season in which six new cat members were debuted at once and torn apart by the press for being too white. On the other hand, Camp Takota (an experimental project by three YouTubers) turned out horribly and Milhiser didn’t make the case in this film that SNL should have be sorry for sacking him. Kristen Wiig (after Girl Most Likely and Skeleton Twins) was starting to really pigeonhole herself here as the go-to for dour women in indie movies. Robert Downey Jr., who is not a comic actor anyway, was so depressing in The Judge it felt like if Tony Stark had served hard time.


On the bright side, Sarah Silverman plays well off the anachronistic musings of Seth MacFarlane’s underrated Western send-up, Casey Wilson gets to do something, and Chris Rock makes his most personal movie to date. It’s also an upside that Jay Pharoah and Dean Edwards get to be in movies at all.

MVP: Sarah Silverman, A Million Ways to Die in the West-Silverman plays as a prostitute who’s saving herself for marriage. It’s a nice absurdist set-up made better that’s enhanced through Silverman committing to the bit.

Runner-Up: Casey Wilson, Gone Girl-It’s not a comic role but it’s a nice, plump supporting role. I’d put Chris here but that’s more a triumph of directing and writing than acting. When you write your own script, you often can play yourself.

2013:

Christine Ebersole, Wolf of Wall Street
Billy Crystal, Monsters University
Ben Stiller, Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Julia Sweeney, Monsters University

Will Ferrell, Anchorman 2/The Internship

David Koechner, Anchorman 2

Chris Parnell, Anchorman 2

Tina Fey, Admission/Anchorman 2*

Maya Rudolph, Turbo

Amy Poehler, Anchorman 2*

Will Forte, Nebraska

Rob Riggle, The Internship

Jason Sudeikis, We’re the Millers

Bill Hader, Turbo

Kristen Wiig, Girl Most Likely/Secret Life of Walter Mitty/Anchorman 2

Michaela Watkins, In a World

Taran Killam, 12 Years a Slave

With three movies in one year, Kristen Wiig was one busy bee. It’s hard to imagine that someone who came in on the tail end of the Fey/Dratch/Rudolph/Poehler era would carve such a strong niche afterwards amidst those strong personalities overshadowing her. A lot of that is that she has favored status with Lorne Michaels. Jason Sudeikis was coming into his own as a standard leading man on the level of Paul Rudd and Steve Carell and We’re the Millers is an able vehicle for his path-of-least-resistance dude persona.

Where do people stand on The Secret Life of Walter Mitty? It's a breezy family comedy that really feels at home in the 90s and seems to be on-brand for Ben Stiller-directed work since Night at the Museum.

Over half the cast members on this list come from Anchorman which includes a Fey/Poehler cameo that I’m not sure is even worth counting here.

The most noteworthy inclusion is Will Forte in Nebraska who must have had the audition of his life because he somehow got cast as the lead in an Alexander Payne film. Way to go Will. Still, there were two or three performances that moved me more:

MVP: Kristen Wiig, Anchorman 2-By starring in three movies in one year, Wiig increases her chances so it’s a little bit of a cheat, but she shows different sides of herself in all three films. Will Ferrell might be the MVP but he’s recreating a character he did before, so let’s acknowledge the fact that creating a woman as believably dumb as Brick Tambland is no easy task.

Runner-Up: Michaela Watkins, In a World-One of Lorne Michael’s biggest mistakes proves herself adept at sly character work yet again. She steals several scenes that straddle the line between comedy and drama as she deals with a marriage on the rocks (her slow seduction towards a charming hotel guest is nicely played), a needy sister and a difficult dad.

2012:

Dan Aykroyd, The Campaign

Bill Murray, Hyde Park on Hudson/Moonrise Kingdom

Martin Short, Madagascar 3

Joan Cusack, Perks of Being a Wallflower

Ben Stiller, Madagascar 3

Chris Rock, Madagascar 3

Sara Silverman, Wreck It Ralph

Will Ferrell, The Campaign/Casa de Mi Padre

Cheri Oteri, Bad Parents

Chris Parnell, The Dictator

Horatio Sanz, Wreck It Ralph

Fred Armisen, The Dictator

Bill Hader, Men in Black III

Nassim Pedrad, The Dictator

Notes: There’s an overwhelming amount of contenders here whose presence I didn’t remember until I looked through the IMDB cast lists: Aykroyd, Short, Cusack and Sanz are all eliminated. Will Ferrell taught himself Spanish just so he could sell the idea of a telenovela and it works beautifully. Sure helps ease the disappointment of his other major release this year in The Campaign. Elsewhere on the spectrum of wrong turns was Billy Murray in Hyde Park on Hudson or as Vanessa Bayer put it, “The film where the guy gives his cousin the hand job.”

MVP: Will Ferell, Casa de mi Padre-Talk about committing to the premise. Ferrell not only sounds believable as a Spanish speaker but he sounds believable as a Hispanic soap opera character. One of the most underrated comedies of the decade.

Runner-Up: Sara Silverman, Wreck-It Ralph-I was almost considering putting Fred Armisen in here (kind of a short list) for a memorable scene in The Dictator out of a need to recognize live performance over voice over. At the same time, can you imagine Wreck-It Ralph working as well without Princess Venelope’s spunk and sweetness?