Saturday Night Live is known to be a launchpad for comedians to find public attention and notice, then subsequently achieve their own success. Some cast members find success outside of the show and some are either forgotten or lay low. Nevertheless, each cast member got their chance to shine in the variety show’s forty-five seasons.
For that, there are some featured players who did not make it to the repertory cast (except for one who has yet to make it) who actually made a great impression. So, here are the 10 best featured cast members who never became repertory players.
Tom Davis
As the later half of “Franken & Davis”, Tom Davis endured a lot during his tenure on SNL with their tandem and writing efforts. For his writing credits, he created the “Theodoric of York, Medieval Barber” sketch, the “Nick the Lounge Singer” segment, the “Coneheads” and “The Continental” with Christopher Walken.
For his tenure as a featured player, he famously voiced a kid that Dan Aykroyd’s Jimmy Carter pestered over. He continued his career with his comedic partner on films like Trading Places and The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash but never became a long term SNL regular.
Dean Edwards
For his tenure in SNL, Dean Edwards gave a lot of impressions of many notable African-American personalities, including Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker, Don Cheadle, Colin Powell, Randy Jackson, Serena Williams, Billy Ocean and many more. His lineup of impressions are impressive but the show did not give much airtime for Edwards to shine. Thus, he sadly left the 28th season.
Outside of SNL, he attained success with voicing Donkey (for Eddie Murphy) for the Shrek special Scared Shrekless hosting the TVone show Vidiots and having his YouTube channel, “deanedwardscomedy”.
Tim Robinson
Before having his own Comedy Central show Detroiters and his solo Netflix outing I Think You Should Leave, Tim Robinson joined SNL as cast member for the 38th season but transitioned to writer for the next season.
However, during his tenure, his memorable parts include the old man Carl, who gets insulted by Bobby Moynihan’s Niff and Cecily Strong’s Dana in the firing sketches, the guy in the Z-shirt commercials with Kevin Hart and a background character in a Californians sketch. Since then, Robinson has gained moderate success outside of SNL.
Bowen Yang
Though he just got his start on SNL’s 45th season, Bowen Yang gained widespread attention as the show’s first Chinese-American cast member. Initially, he appeared in the show as Kim Jong-un in one cold open on the 44th season, where he was assigned to the writing staff.
On his debut season, he gave his impressions on Kim and Andrew Yang. Yet, he brought significant characters to life, like Representative Chen “Trade Daddy” Biao (who became the incompetent health minister during the coronavirus outbreak) and a raunchy Sara Lee representative.
Paul Brittain
Paul Brittain is surprisingly an underrated featured player with many memorable characters in his bag for the show. He famously played the childlike, playful Lord Cecil Wyndemere. He also was “Funky Boy” Goran, who keeps screaming “Oooh, funky boy!”, and the sex counselor Vincent, who does the weirdest counseling in the business.
Apart from the celebrity impressions he gave for Ron Paul, Johnny Depp (in that Top Gun audition reel spoof), Harry Reid and Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, he maintained a small yet bright presence for two solid seasons.
A. Whitney Brown
Here is an underrated performer (who started as a staff writer) who, in his tenure for SNL’s transitioning period, provided enough bite for the Weekend Update segments. His commentary part, entitled “The Big Picture” with Dennis Miller, is a liberal take on daily issues that made it feel fresh at that time. His stand-up routines really shined through those segments.
Because of that, he received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Show and became one of the original correspondents on The Daily Show from 1996 to 1998.
Mike O'Brien
To those who have seen Booksmart, Mike O’Brien played the creepy pizza delivery guy whom Amy and Molly came across. Before that part, he had a prominent presence in SNL as a staff writer and a featured player. In his screen presence, he played an old-timey salesman with Tina Fey, an eccentric mobster alongside Edward Norton, and a coarse-voiced cop-turned-voice actor opposite Charlize Theron.
Even after he left the cast, O’Brien contributed great filmed sketches in the showing including the “The Jay-Z Story”, “Grow a Guy” and “Monster Pals”.
Jay Mohr
Jay Mohr is perhaps a notorious example of SNL’s backstage drama. Those are all outlined in his memoir Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live, which described his problematic tenure.
Looking back on his time as a featured player, he got to be part of the Total Bastards Airline sketch and played the James Barone character. He also lent impressions of Joe Perry, Sean Penn, Ricki Lake and famously Christopher Walken. After his time, he appeared in several films, like Jerry Maguire and Paulie.
Paul Shaffer
The band leader to end all band leaders, Paul Shaffer is a mainstay in the SNL gang who never became an official part of the Not Ready for Prime-Time Players. Apart from other sketches, he famously played the pianist for Nick the Lounge Singer, played by Bill Murray, and gave a Don Kirshner impression. But he mostly played for the house band for SNL from 1975 to 1980.
After the show, he became the bandleader for David Letterman on his shows from Late Night (1982-1993) to the Late Show (1993-2015).
Don Novello
The chain-smoking priest with the long hat, the circular shades and the seedy facial hair, the character of Father Guido Sarducci is one of the most recognizable characters in Saturday Night Live. On the course of 31 appearances, Fr. Sarducci was inserted in many cold opens, fake commercials and Weekend Update segments. He even hosted twice.
It's all thanks to Don Novello for the creation of this sardonic correspondent for The Vatican Enquirer. He got inspiration for the character from a series of celebrity letters under the penname Lazlo Toth. This got the attention of SNL producer Lorne Michaels, who hired Novello as a writer and let him conceive the famous Father Sarducci. That alone made him a very successful featured player who did not become a repertory player.