It’s the week of the 50th anniversary special for “Saturday Night Live,” and you know what that means: all the alums are getting sentimental. Jimmy Fallon recounted what his audition process was like during Thursday night’s desk segment on “The Tonight Show.” He also gave a big thank you to the man who unwittingly helped him land the job, Adam Sandler.
The “SNL” audition process is notoriously one of the most stressful in show business. Performers take the stage in front of a handful of producers that include industry legends like casting director Marci Klein and Lorne Michaels, and they’re given five minutes to perform. For Fallon’s audition, his current announcer and sidekick for “The Tonight Show” Steve Higgins was actually one of the people watching.
As Fallon prepared for his big moment, he was given the same piece of advice from Klein, the makeup team and the audio guy… Don’t be thrown if there’s silence. Lorne Michaels does not laugh.
“The guy’s in the wrong business! He’s in the comedy business, he should laugh,” Fallon joked about his current executive producer.
But when Fallon took the stage, he did the impossible and got a chuckle out of Michaels. The laugh came after Fallon did an impress of “SNL” alum Sandler.
“This was before people really did an impression of Adam,” Fallon said. “So I thank Adam Sandler, and I just want to thank Lorne Michaels because, gosh, he just changed my life. He’s just become a mentor to me and a friend. I love him so much.”
Higgins also begrudgingly praised Fallon’s audition, calling it “perfect” and “one of the best.” Watch the full clip, above.
Fallon has a big night ahead of him. The NBC late night star will be hosting the “SNL 50: The Homecoming Concert,” which takes place on Friday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will be available to stream on Peacock. The concert will include performances by Arcade Fire, the Backstreet Boys, Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Chris Martin of Coldplay, DEVO, Eddie Vedder, Jack White, Jelly Roll, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Mumford & Sons, Post Malone, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Robyn, The Roots and Wyclef Jean.
