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Aubrey Plaza -

Aubrey Plaza had the opportunity to host an episode of 'SNL' in January 2023, finally receiving her time in the spotlight. During an appearance on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,' she explained her unsuccessful audition tactic. "I remember one character I did was like a Puerto Rican news reporter that was always trying to make all of the news stories sexy, even if they were horrific news stories. I was just trying to like, sex up the news or something.” Her second character was “a pill-popping housewife that had a show called ‘Celebri-Tails,’ where I would just name celebrities and name what kind of tail they would have if they had a tail." Apparently, her skits didn't pass muster with Lorne Michaels! 

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Lisa Kudrow -

During the 1990s, Lisa Kudrow was affiliated with The Groundlings, an improv and sketch-comedy school in Los Angeles. It was reported that the school's founder gave a favorable recommendation for Kudrow to Lorne Michaels, but Michaels ultimately chose Julia Sweeney instead of her.

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Lisa Kudrow -

Michaels later mentioned in an interview with Vanity Fair that he found Kudrow's audition to be "brilliant," but he believed she wasn't the right fit for the show back then. Kudrow felt devastated and expressed to Vanity Fair that she began to doubt if anything good would ever come her way. However, she later secured the most significant role of her career on 'Friends' and even went on to host 'SNL.'

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Jim Carrey -

A team member declined Carrey's audition for the 1980-1981 season, and 'SNL' executive producer Lorne Michaels revealed that he never had the opportunity to view it.

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Jim Carrey -

Carrey, despite being rejected, achieved immense success as a comedic genius in various films. He also had the opportunity to host 'SNL' multiple times. Notably, he portrayed Joe Biden during his Democratic presidential campaign in six episodes.

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Donald Glover -

The multi-talented star auditioned for 'SNL' twice and faced rejection both times.

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Donald Glover -

Although he didn't make it, he later achieved success as an actor, writer, producer, and musician. Furthermore, he is one of the rare stars who both hosted and performed as a musical guest on 'SNL', an accomplishment he achieved in 2018.

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Stephen Colbert -

In a recent interview with GQ, Stephen Colbert revealed that he was turned down as a cast member in 1992. Nevertheless, he later joined the show as a writer and voice actor. One of his notable contributions was his involvement in the beloved cartoon 'The Ambiguously Gay Duo,' where he worked alongside Steve Carell.

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Stephen Colbert -

Colbert successfully gained fame through his comedic role in politics on Comedy Central's 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report.'

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Kathy Griffin -

Kathy Griffin, another Groundlings member, was rejected by Lorne Michaels at the same time as Lisa Kudrow 

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Kathy Griffin -

Both Kudrow and Griffin acknowledged the profound sense of loss they felt at the time. While Griffin humorously claims she is not yet over it, she has undeniably established herself as a renowned comedian in her own right.

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John Goodman -

Actor John Goodman auditioned for 'SNL' in 1980 during Jean Doumanian's tenure as producer, but was not selected.

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John Goodman -

After being rejected, he got a big part on ABC's 'Roseanne.' This led to fame in both TV and movies, and he ended up hosting 'SNL' over twelve times!

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Mindy Kaling -

Mindy Kaling revealed on the 'The Last Laugh' podcast that she had an opportunity to try out for 'SNL' while filming season two of 'The Office.' Greg Daniels, the showrunner of 'The Office,' agreed to release her from her contract if she received an offer. Unfortunately, Kaling was not successful in her audition for 'SNL.'

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Mindy Kaling -

However, they did offer her a writer position on 'SNL,' and Kaling wanted to accept it. Nevertheless, Daniels reminded her that he only agreed to release her if she got a role on the show. Consequently, Kaling remained committed to 'The Office,' a decision that ultimately shaped her entire career.

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Zach Galifianakis -

A compilation of audition tapes and rejections from cast members was released for 'SNL's 40th-anniversary special. Among them was Zack Galifianakis, without his signature beard, auditioning in 1999.

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Zach Galifianakis -

In an interview with GQ, the actor shared that even after not being chosen, he spent a couple of weeks working as a part-time writer for the show. He soon found success as a popular comedy star, starring in successful films such as 'The Hangover' (2009) and taking on lead roles in television, including 'Baskets.'

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Jennifer Coolidge -

Jennifer Coolidge, a fellow member of The Groundlings improv-comedy school, got the opportunity to audition in 1995 along with fellow group members Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan, and Cheri Oteri. Regrettably, she was the only person from the group who did not secure a role.

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Jennifer Coolidge Jennifer Cool -

In 2004, she mentioned in an interview with Los Angeles Magazine that not being part of the show was perhaps the best option for her as she didn't believe she could have managed the emotional strain. Following that, she gained recognition through successful movies such as 'American Pie' (1999) and 'Legally Blonde' (2001). More recently, she emerged as the standout talent of the widely acclaimed series 'The White Lotus.'

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Paul Reubens -

The late Paul Reubens, yet another member of The Groundlings, had already honed his character Pee-Wee Herman prior to his audition for the 1980 season of 'SNL'. However, in a 2006 interview with Entertainment Weekly, he admitted that he was aware he wouldn't be cast as soon as he spotted Gilbert Gottfried at the audition room, as their acts were remarkably alike.

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Paul Reubens -

Despite being rejected, he used the experience as motivation to create his own comedy series called 'The Pee-wee Herman Show,' resulting in a level of success he could never have imagined. 

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Marc Maron -

In 1998, Marc Maron, then a young writer, penned an article about his encounter with Lorne Michaels a couple of years earlier. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of Marc taking over the 'Weekend Update' segment. Marc had a theory that the bowl of candy on Michaels' desk served as a test, and he made the decision to take a piece.

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Marc Maron -

"As soon as I took the candy I swear to God Lorne shot a look at the head writer that clearly connoted to me that I had failed the test. I walked out of there thinking I ruined my career because of a Jolly Rancher. I don't even like Jolly Ranchers." Despite this incident, Maron has gone on to have a successful career as a stand-up comic, writer, and podcaster.

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Kevin Hart -

Kevin Hart has frequently discussed his unsuccessful 'SNL' audition, as he did during his inaugural hosting of the show in 2013. He described imitating Robert De Niro through facial expressions and doing an impression of Denzel Washington from 'Training Day' (2001), even though he had not seen the movie.

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Kevin Hart -

After getting rejected, he transformed his act and quickly gained fame for his stand-up comedy and roles in comedic films.

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Kerri Kenney-Silver -

During an interview on Marc Maron's podcast, Kenney-Silver revealed that she tried out for 'SNL' after the cancellation of MTV's sketch-comedy show 'The State.' According to her, the audition was "terrifying," she didn't get any laughs, and didn't make the cut.

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Kerri Kenney-Silver -

Kenney-Silver went on, however, to star on shows like Comedy Central's 'Reno 911!' instead.

Sources: (Vanity Fair)(GQ)(The Guardian)(GQ)(Entertainment Weekly)(Air America)(Los Angeles Magazine)

See also: Stars who were told they would never make it

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