The 10 most underrated 'Saturday Night Live' cast members of all time
You won't find Tina Fey, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray or Adam Sandler on this list
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What makes a "Saturday Night Live" cast member "underrated"? As you'll see in this gallery, it's no one thing in particular. Sometimes an actor's talent only becomes apparent through the prism of history. Others have had the unfortunate timing to appear alongside the show's breakout star. Yet other times, a string of solid, un-showy supporting roles didn't seem as vital to the show's success as the showier breakout characters. We here at HitFix hope to correct some of these oversights by highlighting the ten most underrated cast members in the show's 38-year history. Each was overlooked for different reasons. But all played a huge role in the show's place on the pop culture landscape.
Check out our list below. Do you agree with our choices? Vote in our poll below the story and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Check out our list below. Do you agree with our choices? Vote in our poll below the story and share your thoughts in the comments section.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupDaggor
March 17, 2013 at 2:00AM EST Reply to CommentTerry Sweeney? His comic performances all involved him acting jittery and leering at the camera. Horrible.
Adam K
March 17, 2013 at 3:03AM EST Reply to CommentI think you meant "Tracy Morgan" when you wrote "Tim Meadows". Meadows was always huge during his stint but SNL does have room for TWO black comics (Chris Rock will tell you there's really no place comfortably for one) and Morgan was "the Black guy" that got shuffled to the side. It wasn't until 30 Rock that his true talent shone through.
You also forgot to write "Jay Pharoah" He's not only a master impressionist but can play amazing non-famous characters as well (Attention teachers and students). He does an amazing Obama but the sketches the writers write for Obama are awful. Unfortunately, history will remember Keenan Thompson more than Pharoah, and they shouldn't
briguyx
March 17, 2013 at 3:24AM EST Reply to CommentI think it's hilarious that in an article about overlooked comedians on SNL, you went and got some of the photos wrong. That's definitely not Jan Hooks on her page and I think that may be a photo of Molly Shannon and not Ana Gasteyer...
March 17, 2013 at 3:44AM ESTbriguyx Sorry, all I saw was Phil. Darn teenie tiny screen!
March 17, 2013 at 3:58AM ESTjake
March 17, 2013 at 3:44AM EST Reply to CommentParnell and Hartman are underrated?
sepinwall Here's the argument I made for Phil when we were voting: Phil is clearly an inner circle SNL Hall of Famer, but he was never at any point the star of his particular cast. Carvey and Lovitz were the headliners when he arrived, and then Myers, Farley, Sandler, etc got more attention in his later years. We were told to vote based on how they were perceived during their time on the show.
March 17, 2013 at 9:59AM ESTprettok I see your point about Hartman not being the star attraction, but that still is NOT the definition of "underrated". Nobody ever underrated Hartman, not critics, not fans, not colleagues. There was never a point when Hartman was neglected or underused on the show, or when anybody thought he should be dropped from the cast. (Something that did happen briefly to Parnell admittedly)
March 17, 2013 at 11:15PM ESTDavid D.
March 17, 2013 at 9:46AM EST Reply to CommentI think Hooks and Dunn are the best actresses the series EVER had, and I can't choose one over the other. And I would agree that Hartman shouldn't be on an "underrated" list -- as far as I'm concerned, he's at the very top as an MVP.
aszure
March 17, 2013 at 9:56AM EST Reply to CommentRIP Phil Hartman. Aside from a few of the 70's cast, he was the most brilliant thing to ever happen to SNL
Jeff F
March 17, 2013 at 10:12AM EST Reply to Comment+1 for Tracy Morgan over Tim Meadows on this list. Morgan even had bits where he referred to himself as "the other black guy" on SNL.
Ken from Chicago
March 17, 2013 at 10:57AM EST Reply to CommentI've always thought Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks were the best male and female (post-Not-Ready-For-PrimeTime-Players) SNL members.
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.arts.tv/t7l3GuOM4i8/ecUtRkM-xkIJ
DylanS
March 17, 2013 at 11:05AM EST Reply to CommentI think Keenan Thompson ought to be considered as well, he has been one of the shows most reliable laugh getters since his arrival, and he's been there a while now, yet nobody really acknowledges him. That ought to put him into consideration.
AL
March 17, 2013 at 11:18AM EST Reply to CommentAnyone who gets the least votes should be considered the most underrated. Since Nasim Pedrad doesn't have the nostalgia factor and is still in the cast, I think her only competition in this poll is Al Franken. Maybe 10 years later, People remember her as a strong unappreciated performer but not now;A very morbid process.
leahblizz
March 17, 2013 at 11:45AM EST Reply to CommentNo Darrell Hammond? Will Forte was another overlooked cast member who was always hilarious on the show but never went on to have a breakout career. If it wasn't for Portlandia, Fred Armisen might've made this list, but now I guess he's a big deal.
Joyeful While I agree that Darrell Hammond was awesome, I don't think he was AS underrated as these folks. Hammond's impressions of Bill Clinton are pretty much the gold standard to this day; people knew how great he was. Plus he had one of the longest tenures on the show ever (if not the longest).
March 17, 2013 at 12:56PM ESTHeather
March 17, 2013 at 12:13PM EST Reply to CommentPhil Hartman underrated? I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Joyeful
March 17, 2013 at 12:56PM EST Reply to CommentYES to Norm MacDonald being on this list.
Anita
March 17, 2013 at 2:16PM EST Reply to CommentDefinite yes to Norm. Breuer should be here.
Matt
March 17, 2013 at 5:08PM EST Reply to CommentColin Quinn.
Ted
March 17, 2013 at 7:14PM EST Reply to CommentHow can you even call Phil Hartman underrated?
Ted
March 17, 2013 at 7:15PM EST Reply to CommentHow can you possibly call Phil Hartman underrated?
s
March 17, 2013 at 9:00PM EST Reply to CommentI'd go Cheri O'Terri. She was the most versatile woman during the Will Ferrell years, even more so than Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer. She never had a problem going full out weird and was in one of the best recurring sketches, the Spartan Cheerleaders.
Mike
March 17, 2013 at 10:12PM EST Reply to CommentMelanie Hutsell; Jim Breuer; Ellen Cleghorne are a few that come to mind that deserve a spot. As far as this list, id go with Norm McDonald or Chris Parnell
Jess I was thinking Melanie Hutsell and Ellen Cleghorne too. Siobhan Fallon comes to mind as well.
March 18, 2013 at 8:45AM ESTRoy Munson
March 17, 2013 at 10:36PM EST Reply to CommentNorm was brilliant.
Best Update host ever
Jan Hooks? She was good ...not great.
I thought everyone considered Hartman a legend so not sure why he's included on the list
prettok
March 17, 2013 at 11:31PM EST Reply to CommentWhat the neck does "MOST underrated" mean anyhow? Isn't that a contradiction in terms?
Shouldn't it mean people like Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller or Julia l. Dreyfuss, whose talents weren't appreciated or recognized at the time? Or shouldn't you include people who were truly UNDERrated, like Colin Quinn, Harry Shearer, Jim belushi, and all the female cast members who were on the show at the same time as Kristen Wigg.
Stormshadow4life
March 18, 2013 at 11:18AM EST Reply to CommentIt's been said before, but Phil was never "overlooked". Sure, he might not have been the #1 star, but never "overlooked".
Aside from that...my vote would probably go to Norm (his delivery just makes everything hilarious) or Parnell.
BillWaltonFanClub I couldn't agree more and also want to shout out some praises to Tim Meadows, Kevin Nealon and Will Forte! Norm def sadly takes the cake by far as perhaps the funniest underrated comic of our time period.
April 17, 2013 at 1:37AM EST