The ensemble sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live has been going strong since October 11, 1975. The quality has certainly ebbed and flowed, but regardless, it has consistently given rise to some of the funniest people in entertainment. Even now, nearly fifty years after its inception, it is still popularizing comedians - many of whom have gone on to enjoy very prosperous and successful careers.

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One of the primary "gimmicks" of Saturday Night Live is the use of a guest host - a popular person (usually a celebrity, but not always) who is promoting a new piece of work or who is generally just "in the news."

Their quality varies wildly, though.

Best: Tom Hanks

david s pumpkins SNL costume

Tom Hanks is known for being one of the greatest working actors of this generation. He is a six-time Oscar nominee (and two-time winner), and he has even received the Presidential Metal of Freedom. But even though most people know him for his dramatic work, Hanks is considered very funny as well. His monologues are always great, and his character of David S. Pumpkins is perhaps the most bizarre, yet hilarious, characters in Saturday Night Live history. No one really understands it, but that's what makes it so funny.

Worst: Donald Trump

Donald Trump on SNL

Donald Trump was a very poor fit for Saturday Night Live. Not because he's a controversial figure, but because he's not very funny. Despite being a lightning rod of parody on Saturday Night Live, Trump has actually hosted the show on two separate occasions - once in 2004 and again in 2015 when he was running for President. The latter was seen as particularly egregious, as people criticized Trump for coming across as egotistical and unwilling to make light of himself.

Best: Scarlett Johansson

If SNL asks someone to return five other times, chances are they're doing something right. Like Hanks, Johansson is primarily known for her dramatic work, but she is also wickedly funny and surprisingly great at impressions. Johansson's first hosting gig was on January 14, 2006, and she has since returned a total of five different times, the most recent being on December 14, 2019. Her impressions of Ivanka Trump and Miley Cyrus are particularly great.

Worst: Adrien Brody

Adrien Brody on SNL

Brody made history on May 10, 2003, as he became one of the few celebrities to be banned from ever hosting Saturday Night Live again.

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It all came down to a horrendous Jamaican character. While introducing Jamaican artist Sean Paul, Brody came out adorned in fake dreadlocks and sporting a Jamaican accent. It was criticized for being wickedly offensive. Not only that, but Lorne Michaels supposedly hates improvisation. Suffice to say, Brody was never asked to return to the iconic stage.

Best: Justin Timberlake

Timberlake has hosted Saturday Night Live on five separate occasions - 2003, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2013. Timberlake has a few good impressions up his sleeve - Ashton Kutcher, Elton John, and Michael Bolton among them - and his collaborations with Jimmy Fallon are always a treat. Plus, his D*** in a Box skit with Andy Samberg is now part of Saturday Night Live legend.

Worst: Tom Green

Tom Green and Lorne Michaels on SNL

Tom Green's popularity peaked in the late 90s and early 2000s with his work in The Tom Green Show, Road Trip, and the infamously terrible Freddy Got Fingered. His brand of low-brow humor (sucking a cow's teat being one of his greatest accomplishments) did not translate over to Saturday Night Live. Many people thought that Green's particularly offensive and outrageous sense of humor was not suited for Saturday Night Live.

Best: Christopher Walken

Everyone remembers the iconic Cowbell skit involving Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell. It's part of Saturday Night Live history.

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The segment aired as part of the April 8, 2000 episode. But that was just one of seven hosting gigs, and Walken has killed it each and every time. His recurring sketches (like The Continental) are gold, and he's even been given a Best Of episode to celebrate his storied history on the show. It seems like the dramatic actors always make for the greatest hosts.

Worst: Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton and Keenan Thomson on SNL

Paris Hilton was never really known as an actress. Hilton was the Kardashian of the 2000s - known for little else but being rich and famous. She was an heiress known for partying, socializing, being wealthy, and goofing around on The Simple Life with Nicole Richie. She infamously hosted SNL on February 5, 2005, and her flat delivery made it abundantly clear that she was not an actress. Not only that, she allegedly antagonized Tina Fey, who called her "a piece of s***."

Best: Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump on SNL

Alec Baldwin and Saturday Night Live was a match made in comedy heaven. Baldwin's first hosting gig was on April 21, 1990, and he has since hosted the show seventeen times - a record for Saturday Night Live. His impression of Donald Trump has become particularly popular, with many of his segments going viral. Baldwin was never really known for his comedic chops, but SNL proved everyone wrong.

Worst: Steven Seagal

Steven Seagal on SNL

It wasn't just that Steven Seagal was horrifically bland, emotionless, and utterly tuned out. It's also the behind-the-scenes drama, which includes Seagal pitching inappropriate sketches (like sexual assault jokes on national TV) and being a general nuisance to the SNL crew. Both David Spade and Lorne Michaels have since spoken negatively of Seagal's appearance, with Lorne Michaels calling him the worst Saturday Night Live host of all time.

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