Pete Davidson is among the most successful and beloved Saturday Night Live alums of all time. However, it sounds like it took him a while to find his feet on the show.
For context, Pete joined SNL in 2014 when he was 20 years old, making him one of the youngest cast members ever. He was on the show for eight seasons, appearing in countless sketches and segments before announcing his departure in 2022.
As I’m sure you know, SNL launched Pete’s career (and led to some of his most high-profile relationships, too, but that’s a different story). And now, the 31-year-old has reflected on his early days in Studio 8H as part of Peacock’s new four-part docuseries celebrating the show’s 50th season, SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night.
“After my first year, I actually called for a meeting with Lorne, and I was like, ‘Please fire me,’” Pete recalled, referring to the creator of SNL, Lorne Michaels.
Looking back, Pete said he was acting like a “child.” And fortunately, Lorne rectified the situation with a bit of tough love, telling him: “You don’t figure it out until your third or fourth year… It’s just gonna suck for three or four years.”
Of course, everything worked out for the best, and Pete certainly has a lot of love for SNL and his former colleagues, having since returned to host the show in October 2023.
Ahead of his final episode as a cast member in May 2022, Pete issued an emotional statement in which he wrote: “I owe Lorne Michaels and everyone at SNL my life.”
“When I got the show, I was 20 years old, and I had no idea what I was doing. I still don’t but especially back then,” his statement read. “I got to share so much with this audience and literally grow up in front of your eyes. We were together through the good and the bad, the happiest and the darkest of times.”
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is now available to watch on Peacock.
