Who is Saturday Night Live's (SNL) youngest cast member ever? The NBC late-night sketch comedy created by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol debuted in 1975 and continues to be on the airwaves almost five decades later. Airing weekly, SNL is now in its 47th season with 930 episodes in total. The show will continue in the foreseeable future with no signs of slowing down.
Because of its long history in the airwaves, SNL has functioned as the launching pad for many prolific comedians. Given its pressure-packed live shows, it serves as a great training ground for many aspiring Hollywood stars. Several of its former members even branched out and became full TV and movie actors, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Pete Davidson, Adam Sandler, Eddie Murphy, Bill Hader, and Robert Downey Jr. The casting process for SNL is a rigorous one, so even getting on the show is already a massive deal.
Being a member of SNL is an impressive feat, much more so if one does it at a very young age. Throughout its almost 50-year-run, the comedy has brought in a lot of young talents like Louis-Dreyfuss, Downey, and Eddie Murphy boarding the show when they were just 21, 20, and 19 years old, respectively. SNL's youngest cast member ever, however, is Anthony Michael C. Hall, who joined when he was just 17 years and 6 months old. He was regular cast member during season 11 in 1985. Before SNL, Hall already made a name for himself debuting when he was just 7 years old starring in many commercials. He then became a staple of John Hughes films like National Lampoon's Vacation and classics Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.
Why Anthony Michael Hall Was Fired From SNL
Despite his popularity, not to mention comedic skills, Hall was unfortunately fired from SNL after just one season. For context, it was Michaels' first season back in the show after briefly departing it. The producer hired an all-new cast that was a mix of familiar faces like Hall and Randy Quaid and fresh ones such as Jon Lovitz and Nora Dunn. The show struggled to find its footing and many of the cast members of SNL season 11 never came back. Despite being an established film star, Hall he had a difficult time adjusting to the live setting. Hall affirmed this in an interview in 2008, saying that he thought "people that found the most success came from a stand-up background where they had their own material and they had that competitive nature."
After his brief stint in SNL, Hall continued his career on the big screen. He starred in Edward Scissor Hands, The Dark Knight, and Community. Despite this, he never returned to Saturday Night Live even as a host. He did express his desire to do so in 2011.