After Jim Carrey supposedly closed the book on acting last year, a lot of people have found themselves revisiting some of his storied careerโs biggest moments. One moment that stands out is the time when 18-year-old Jim Carrey auditioned for Saturday Night Live (SNL) back in 1980. While he was ultimately unsuccessful, the resurfaced tape shows that his comedic talent was apparent from the very beginning.
The long list of stars created by SNL is perhaps only rivalled by the stars they have rejected prior to their big breaks. Louis CKโฆ Stephen Colbertโฆ Cameron Diazโฆ Donald Gloverโฆ and even Kevin Hart are just some of the notable names turned away.
Jim Carrey first auditioned for a spot in the SNL cast ahead of the showโs sixth season; the executives eventually chose Charles Rocket in his place. The star of Dumb & Dumber renown would later try again ahead of the eleventh season to no avail.
RELATED: Jim Carrey Agreed To Do โYes Manโ Without A Salaryโฆ And Ended Up Earning $50 Million
Despite this, Jim Carrey doesnโt seem at all bitter about how things turned out. Once he came to terms with the fact he wasnโt meant to work at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Carrey went on to star in the FOX sketch comedy series In Living Color.
The subsequent success that followed has seen him host SNL on three separate occasions, make brief appearances in seven other episodes, and even be the subject of impersonation by other people on the show twice.
Itโs interesting to note that in the same year Jim Carrey was rejected from SNL, Eddie Murphy was welcomed into the cast. Yes. The show had an opportunity to capitalise on the talents of both Jim Carrey and Eddie Murphy for pre-fame rates. Every. Single. Week. Instead, it produced what is widely acknowledged to be some of the worst seasons from its prolific 48-year run.
RELATED: Eddie Murphy Is Making His Comeback To The World Of Stand-Up Comedy
SNL producer Lorne Michaels has stated many times over the years that he wasnโt present for Jim Carreyโs audition and wouldโve hired him if present.
โWe have all the audition tapes,โ Lorne Michaels revealed in the book Live From New York: The Complete, Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live.
โCarrey, I think, auditioned for Al Franken the year I was executive producer and Tom Davis and Al were the producers along with Jim Downey.โ
โIn โ85 when Brandon got me to come back, his whole argument was I had to learn how to delegate. Dick had run it successfully that way, and so Tom, Al, and Jim did their stuff and I sort of approved things. But later that season, when Brandon was again thinking about cancelling the show, he told me: โYou have to completely take charge of everything again.'โ
What couldโve been, eh?
