The Only 3 Celebrities To Host SNL More Than 10 Times
"Saturday Night Live" is NBC's weekly, live variety show that features comedy sketches, musical performances, and celebrity guest stars. Although the writers are free to mine the depths of popular culture to joke about, essentially, whatever they please, the standard focus for any given week is the current social craze. It is with that same energy that the celebrity guests are hired, too. Consider Zoë Kravitz, whose hosting gig coincided with her theatrical debut as Selina Kyle — aka Catwoman — in "The Batman."
With that in mind, for a guest to host more than once suggests impressive staying power in media. For a guest to host, say, more than 10 times? That suggests concrete stardom or, at the very least, solid friendships behind the scenes. Maybe both? Regardless, here are the only three celebrities so far to host "SNL" more than 10 times since the show's inaugural episode way back in 1975. (For the curious, there's a fascinating visual aid on this topic posted to the subreddit r/dataisbeautiful.)
John Goodman has hosted 13 times
John Goodman is an actor whose best-known roles really depend on the age group answering the question. To the oldest Millennials, Generation X, and Boomers, Goodman is celebrated for films like "The Big Lebowski" and his incredibly long-running TV series "Roseanne." But to the younger generations, he's Pacha in "Emperor's New Groove," he's Vice Dean Laybourne in "Community," and, most importantly, he's Sully in "Monster's Inc." If ever a career could be defined as possessing staying power, that career would be Goodman's.
As he's been around the block so many times (in a good way), his work has taken him to "Saturday Night Live" on more than one occasion. Goodman has hosted the variety show on 13 separate occasions, with his first appearance occurring all the way back in 1989. He admitted to Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" (via YouTube) that he'd wanted to join the "SNL" comedy roster in 1980 but bombed the audition. Obviously, he got his moment to shine, and shine, and shine.
Steve Martin has hosted 15 times
Steve Martin broke into widespread celebrity in the 1970s through his standup performances, following up his work as a staff writer for various TV productions. He's hardly slowed down since. In 2021, he created and starred in "Only Murders in the Building," a comedic murder mystery series for Hulu, alongside Selena Gomez and Martin Short. He and Short have appeared together in several films over the years, including "Three Amigos" and "Father of the Bride."
Martin, who's best known for classics like "Cheaper By The Dozen," "Roxanne," and "The Jerk," has so far hosted "Saturday Night Live" a grand total of 15 times over years. Although never officially a cast member, he also joined as a guest performer five additional times. His involvement with the variety show isn't a thing of the past, by the way. His most recent hosting appearance was in May of 2022, to coincide with the release of the second season of "Only Murders."
Alec Baldwin has hosted 17 times
Alec Baldwin starred in the NBC sitcom "30 Rock" alongside Tina Fey and Tracy Morgan, a series often recognized as based on Fey's own experiences as a writer and performer on "SNL." Baldwin has also turned in some serious dramatic performances — "The Hunt For Red October" and "Glengarry Glen Ross," for instance. For "Saturday Night Live," Baldwin has so far hosted 17 times, more than any other host in the entire history of the variety show.
In addition to hosting, Baldwin has been a frequent guest performer as well, especially in the late 2010s, an era in which his work largely involved his portrayal of President Donald Trump. In 2020, Baldwin gratefully retired his impersonation of Trump when the president lost his re-election bid. About the subject (according to EW), Baldwin tweeted from his since-deleted account, "I don't believe I've ever been this overjoyed to lose a job before!" Since then, Baldwin has not reappeared on "SNL."