Actor and former “Saturday Night Live” star Bill Murray said performing on the famous sketch comedy show is very different and more difficult for talent today than when he was on the program 49 seasons ago, saying screen time is limited now and everyone is vying for their moment to shine.
“People talk about ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and I still hear people say, ‘Oh, the only good time was the first group.’ And I say, ‘Well, that’s not true,” Murray said while on “Late Night With Seth Meyers” Tuesday. “The first group was the most exciting group because it was brand new. But there’s a learning curve that goes with doing the show, and it takes you about a year or even more to learn how to do it.”
The comedian went on to tell Meyers, who is also an “SNL” alum, that not only do you have to get accustomed to the format of the show, but today there are more cast members competing for air time.
“When we did it, there were only seven of us on the show. Now there’s 20, 25 people fighting to be on the show,” Murray said. “And you don’t get enough reps, you don’t get enough playing time to really get to learning.”
Watch Murray’s full interview below:
“SNL” debuted in 1975 with Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, George Coe, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman, Michael O’Donoghue and Gilda Radner. Murray joined the group in 1977 and stayed on the show for three seasons before departing in 1980. His most famous sketches were “Bill Murray’s Apology,” “Nick the Lounge Singer” and “The Nerds.”
Despite how some may criticize the new generation of “SNL,” Murray said the show has been entertaining throughout the years it’s been on TV.
“There’s been great, great material, great, great actors and actresses on that show all 50 years. I really believe that this week’s show could have one of the funniest show scenes ever written,” Murray said. “The writers keep coming and the actors keep developing and getting better and better. So it’s really a landmark television program.”
Watch the “Late Night” segment in the video above.
