30 Best Saturday Night Live Cast Members Of All Time, Ranked

It goes without saying that after 51 years on the air and heading into its 52nd season, "Saturday Night Live" is the best sketch comedy show in television history. Since 1975, the NBC late-night show has been the launchpad for some of the greatest comedic talent Hollywood has to offer, as well as a lightning rod for political frustrations, cultural satire, and musical revolution. With over 170 performers credited as cast members over the years, it's impossible to create a definitive list of who's been the funniest to grace the halls of 30 Rock. 

Some incredibly influential comics, like Tim Robinson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Ben Stiller, had lackluster tenures on the show, far overshadowed by their work since departing. Other comedians spent almost a decade on the cast without ever really making a splash until their last few episodes. No matter what their work outside of "SNL" indicates, these 30 performers have proven over the years that their hiring on the show wasn't a fluke. 

For some of these selections, they haven't even left the cast yet, meaning their legacies may only continue to grow from here. Whether it's from their memorable impressions, iconic sketches, or behind-the-scenes influence, "Saturday Night Live" wouldn't be what it is today without these comics. 

Darrell Hammond was on the cast of "Saturday Night Live" for 14 seasons, from 1995 to 2009, but believe it or not, he's technically still on the show. In 2014, Hammond succeeded Don Pardo as the show's official announcer, meaning that every single episode of "SNL" for the past 12 years has featured Hammond's voice following the cold open, introducing the cast, featured players, musical guests, and host. It's an incredible responsibility, but given his over-a-decade-long tenure on the cast, no one deserves it more.

Though his current live appearances on the show are few and far between, the late '90s and early 2000s of "Saturday Night Live" are defined by Hammond's role as the show's anchor. Hammond was irreplaceable for his versatility with impressions, namely political figures like President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. Hammond was also a standout in recurring sketches like "Celebrity Jeopardy," in which his Sean Connery is a consistent nuisance to Will Ferrell's Alex Trebek.

Dan Aykroyd wore a lot of hats during his four years as a cast member, starting with the show's very first season in 1975.  However, of all the original "Not Ready For Prime Time Players," Aykroyd's comedic voice was the quickest to stand out. The guy had a knack for fast-paced dialogue and playing eclectic characters that satirized American capitalism. 

Among the more notable of Aykroyd's works are the charming salesman behind "Bass-O-Matic," the sleazy children's toy maker Irwin Mainway, whose best-selling product is the highly dangerous "Bag-o'-Glass"; and Fred Garvin, the very old and unsexy male prostitute. Aykroyd also played more mainstream characters on the show, with sketches like "Coneheads" and "Two Wild and Crazy Guys." However, you can't mention Aykroyd's tenure on "SNL" without also discussing the Blues Brothers, a two-man musical act he performed with frequent collaborator John Belushi. 

The Brothers were such a runaway hit in '70s pop culture that they not only got a feature film in 1980, but they even performed as musical guests on one of the best episodes of "Saturday Night Live." In a cast often revered as one of the greats in "SNL" history, Aykroyd's personality felt the most fully realized from the get-go. 

It took Cecily Strong a few years to find her place on the cast of "Saturday Night Live," and her rough start was only further exacerbated when she was given the impossible task of helping shepherd "Weekend Update" away from the Seth Meyers era. After co-hosting it with the future "Late Night" host for the first half of Season 39, and with seasoned writer Colin Jost for the second half of the season, Strong departed from the role. However, leaving the "Weekend Update" desk might've been the best choice for her legacy as a cast member.

Strong excelled best on the show when on the opposite side of the "Weekend Update" desk, with characters like "The Girl You Wish You Hadn't Started a Conversation With At A Party," "Cathy Ann," and her impression of Jeanine Pirro. Her 2021 performance as "Goober the Clown," discussing bans on abortion, made it clear that Strong's resonance on the show was as a politically motivated, unapologetic, and above all else, profoundly silly performer. 

Sadly, Strong's "SNL" exit came at a time when she seemed to be truly emerging as one of the best female cast members the show has ever had. Although her characters were often big and hammy, Strong was the show's much-needed voice during a politically fraught era. 

"Saturday Night Live" always goes through peaks and valleys, with the late 2010s and early 2020s being a particularly turbulent period. However, by the mid-2020s, Heidi Gardner had proven she had the wherewithal and preparedness to emerge as one of the show's senior players after a massive exodus of cast members in 2022. 

Gardner had already stood out with "Weekend Update" characters such as teen film critic Bailey Gismert, boxer movie girlfriend Angel, and Goop staffer Baskin Johns. However, her later years on the show saw her showcasing an unparalleled adeptness at physical comedy with sketches like "Mile High Burger Challenge," "Bank Robbery," and "Secretary." 

Of course, it can't be forgotten that Gardner was at the center of one of the show's most viral moments in recent history, breaking character at the sight of Ryan Gosling and Mikey Day as Beavis and Butt-Head. By that point in her final two seasons on the show, watching Gardner every week was just a joy, which made it all the more disappointing that she left "SNL" in 2025 after eight seasons. Thankfully, she had more time than most get on the show to grow as a performer in front of a national audience, and it paid off in dividends by the time she left. 

If any current cast member on "Saturday Night Live" is most responsible for the show's current tone, it's Mikey Day. The comedian has been a writer there since 2013, joining the cast in 2016 and quickly making his mark with memorable sketches like "Live Report," as the incredibly lame husband of Margot Robbie, "American Girl Store," as an extremely fussy fan of American Girl Dolls, and, of course, "David S. Pumpkins," in which he and Bobby Moynihan play the skeleton sidekicks of Tom Hanks' unexplainable Halloween ride mascot.

As of 2026, Day has been a cast member for a decade now and has yet to stop bringing it week after week. See, for instance, Season 51's "Weekend Update" piece with Marcello Hernández, where he played the overconfident Aerial Tramway emoji, or the now-recurring "Traffic Altercation," in which his arguments with another driver are conveyed through large physical gestures. 

Whether it's in full character as Beavis and Butt-Head or playing the straight man, Day has been a provider of good, old-fashioned sketch comedy at "SNL." It helps that his longtime writing partner on the show, Streeter Seidell, has been head writer since 2022, with their output together including some of the funniest sketches of the current era. 

Sarah Sherman's comedy is quite an acquired taste, which makes it even more surprising that she's succeeded so well on a show as mainstream as "Saturday Night Live." Sherman joined the cast in 2021 and became known for sketches that tread into body horror and surrealist humor, frequently involving extensive prosthetic makeup. It can be as tame as having her eyes replaced with googly eyes in "Eyes," or as visually horrific as the pre-taped sketches "Meatballs" and "The Anomalous Man." 

However, some of the funniest stuff Sherman has done on "SNL" has seen her out of costume, playing herself on "Weekend Update," mercilessly assassinating Colin Jost's character. Even the wilder, costume-heavy characters she's done on the fake news segment have all produced some of the loudest audience laughs heard in Studio 8H. 

All this would be enough to make Sarah Sherman a cult favorite on "SNL," but she also happens to be great at the usual "SNL" schtick, too, whether that's playing the straight man or doing political impressions like Matt Gaetz or Rachel Maddow. The upcoming Season 52 will only be her sixth season on the show, but Sherman's already a kind of cast member the show has never had: an uncompromising voice who gets as weird as she wants. 

Though many people believe "Saturday Night Live" gave Adam Sandler his first big break, it's obvious from seeing the actor's career that his stardom was inevitable. Sandler joined the cast of "SNL" in 1991, joining a cast stacked with generational talent. In a crowd where it must've been tough to stand out, Sandler had one thing many other "SNL" cast members didn't: a guitar.

In appearances on "Weekend Update" and other sketches, Sandler became known not just as a character but as himself, serenading the audience with "The Hanukkah Song" or "Lunch Lady Land." Sandler's chemistry with cast members such as Chris Farley, David Spade, and Rob Schneider also became a defining element of his tenure, with recurring sketches like "GAP Girls" and "Zagat's" being infectiously funny mainly due to how much fun it looks like Sandler is having.

Though he was fired as part of a massive shake-up in 1995, few celebrities benefit from the gift of hindsight the way the Sandman has. The show may not have been critically acclaimed or high in ratings while he and his "bad boys" led the cast, but an entire generation grew up with those rebellious and hard-to-not-laugh-at sketches. 

In terms of impressionists, Dana Carvey is probably one of the most prolific ever to be on the cast of "Saturday Night Live," embodying countless celebrities throughout his tenure on the show from 1986 to 1993. Among the most popular of those was President George H.W. Bush, who ended up confronting Carvey about the impression on air when the comedian returned to host in 1994. However, even more so than his impressions, Carvey originated dozens of characters at "SNL" that have gone on to become the show's most iconic.

Of course, there's Garth Algar, the timid co-host of "Wayne's World" with Mike Myers, as well as Hans of the bodybuilding duo Hans and Franz. From the very first episode in which Carvey joined the cast, he debuted what would be his biggest character: Church Lady, host of the fundamentalist talk show "Church Chat."

As anyone who knows the history of "The Dana Carvey Show" can attest, Carvey was a type of comedian who operated best in the confines of "SNL." His eclectic portrayal of characters is instantly recognizable no matter how many prosthetics or fake muscles the comedian is put in. By the time he was playing President Joe Biden during the 2024 election cycle, the only question was: why hasn't Dana Carvey been back on "SNL" more often?

Beck Bennett joined "Saturday Night Live" in its 39th season, alongside "Good Neighbor" sketch partner Kyle Mooney. The two became known for niche, often cut-for-time pre-tapes parodying '90s family sitcoms, but throughout his eight-year tenure on "SNL," Bennett was much more of a fixture in the show's cast. It wasn't long into his first season that Bennett broke out as a solo performer with recurring character Richard Patterson, a man with the genius of a CEO but the body of a baby.

Further seasons saw Beck Bennett's versatility only grow, as he took over political impressions of Mike Pence, Vladimir Putin, and Mitch McConnell. He shone in off-beat sketches like "Brothers" and "Mr. Riot Films," while also holding down the fort as the straight man in sketches like "Weezer" or "Wayne Family Thanksgiving."

Even up to his departure in 2021, Bennett continued to bring the house down, with one of his finest moments being his very last sketch: "AMC Theatres Commercial," in which he plays a dim-witted Vin Diesel describing everything he loves about going to the movies, down to the napkins and trash cans. As much as "SNL" audiences may miss Bennett, no one misses him more than the cast and crew still at the show. 

Ashley Padilla has only been on "Saturday Night Live" for two seasons, but you'd never know it based on how the comedienne dominated Season 51. Very rarely in "SNL" history has there been a performer who has taken the reins of being one of the show's biggest stars as quickly, so much so that TVLine shortlisted her in our dream Emmy 2026 nominees for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. 

Without even being promoted to the main cast, Padilla's characters have a clear archetype and tone. They're often incredibly frustrated and determined to fit in, whether it's by telling a joke at dinner ("I Got One"), showing off a new haircut ("Haircut"), or butting into conversation in the break room ("Kathy"). Some of her most viral sketches feel like they'd be most other cast members' career bests. In "Mom Confession," she plays a mother begrudgingly informing her kids she's changed her mind about Trump, while "Surprise" is the rare fart-based sketch that works due to Padilla's performance as a deeply embarrassed woman.

Assuming she has many seasons left to keep churning out high-quality sketches, Padilla will surely climb up this list as the years pass. If her trajectory holds, she might be in contention to be one of the greatest cast members the show's ever had. 

Tim Meadows has reached a point in his post-"SNL" career now where he may be more recognizable for his work outside of sketch comedy. However, he didn't just become one of the best TV character actors of all time out of nowhere, having spent nine years on "Saturday Night Live" between 1991 and 2000. Meadows was also one of the few who survived the massive exodus of cast members in 1995. 

If there's any reason why he hung around for so long at Studio 8H, it's the fact that Meadows' comedy feels so effortless. Whether it's the polite, albeit charming ignorance of The Ladies' Man, or being the show's resident O.J. Simpson impersonator during the infamous murder case, Meadows could dominate a sketch with little reliance on his co-stars.

Though Meadows has never hosted the show since departing from the cast, he was its safety net during a highly turbulent decade of "SNL" history. He may not have emerged with as many quotable characters as his fellow cast members, but even the most unique of comics struggle to leave as much of an impact on the show as Meadows did.

Some "Saturday Night Live" cast members can make you laugh just by virtue of who they are on screen, and Fred Armisen is one of them. Whether he's hamming it up as Stuart from "The Californians," Elinda the Court Stenographer, or talk show producer Roger Brush, Armisen's ability to embody a character is endlessly entertaining. 

This is also true of Armisen's best characters on "Weekend Update," in which he'd typically play characters fumbling an opportunity to appear on national television. Nicholas Fehn perfectly captured the stereotype of a comedian with nothing interesting to say, while Garth and Kat were a tour de force for Armisen and his chemistry with performers like Kristen Wiig. 

Of course, there's no better example of Armisen's style as a performer than "I Am Your Mother," a sketch in which Armisen plays an actress taking a simple line reading in a commercial to the extreme. Physically, emotionally, and comedically, this is Armisen working at his highest level. Sketches like "I Am Your Mother" prove why he hung around the show for a staggering 10 seasons: he could crush in ways the audience, nor his fellow sketch performers, could ever see coming. 

Mike Myers is obviously a one-of-a-kind performer, entrenching himself deeply in his characters to the point where the Canadian comic is unrecognizable. Myers' six-year tenure on "Saturday Night Live" from 1989 to 1995 was the perfect playground, often allowing him to play kooky characters hosting their own TV programs, like Linda Richman of "Coffee Talk" or Dieter of "Sprockets." 

Although Myers' time on the show coincided with a critically tough era marred by awful "SNL" episodes we wish we could forget, the actor carved out his own bubble on the show. It's surprising to remember he was in the same "SNL" cast as performers like Adam Sandler, David Spade, and Julia Sweeney, most of whom he rarely worked with. Myers' greatest asset on "SNL" was that he wasn't part of an ensemble; his characters were the stars. 

The most notable of these characters is Wayne Campbell, a heavy metal lover and host of his own public access talk show, "Wayne's World." From the very first appearance of "Wayne's World," the character felt as fully realized as he would be in the 1992 hit movie.

In 2015, Rolling Stone named John Belushi the greatest cast member of "Saturday Night Live," and it's an easy argument to make. For its first four seasons, Belushi brought an irreplaceable energy to "SNL": a powerfully gifted actor with a propensity for physical comedy, unpredictability, and dance moves that kept a show that began airing at 11:30 PM feeling alive. 

Belushi, notably, appeared in the very first "SNL" sketch, "Wolverines," opposite writer Michael O'Donoghue, though it took a little more time for him to become a household name like Chevy Chase or Gilda Radner. Soon enough, he was bringing the house down with "Blues Brothers" and Samurai Futaba. Belushi's counter-culture attitude was what made "SNL" a show that defined the '70s as a decade.  

You might wonder, then, why Belushi isn't higher on this list if his work on the show is so unanimously revered. Belushi was like a shooting star; he was bright, he was glorious, but his "SNL" stint was simply a bit too brief.

Kristen Wiig joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 2005, when the show already included an all-star female roster: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph, to name a few. However, a few years later, you'd be forgiven for thinking "SNL" was The Kristen Wiig Show, given the dominance of characters like The Target Lady, Gilly, and Dooneese of the Finger Lakes. 

Wiig was the type of character actor to find something new every single time she reprised a role. Especially knowing how "SNL" can beat a dead horse into submission, this ability to always be funny is a testament to Wiig's charisma as a performer. Whether it's Penelope one-upping people or the surprise-party-loving Sue, Wiig's energy in a sketch is always entertaining. 

"Weekend Update" was especially a fruitful arena for Wiig, with characters like the overly-critical Aunt Linda, flirting expert Rebecca Larue, and anxious commentator Judy Grimes. While Wiig's dramatic chops in shows like Apple TV's "Palm Royale" have been underrated, "SNL" showed that when allowed to cook, Wiig could pull off some pretty incredible things on stage. 

During Vanessa Bayer's run on "Saturday Night Live" from 2010 to 2017, she was often overshadowed by co-stars like Kristen Wiig and Kate McKinnon, but by the time she left, there was a real vacuum in her place. Though she had her fair share of hit sketches like "The Miley Cyrus Show," Bayer shone best on "Weekend Update" with characters like Jacob the Bar Mitzvah Boy, kid reporter Laura Parsons, and as one half of various world leaders' Best Friends from Growing Up with Fred Armisen. 

It wasn't until the mid 2010s that Bayer seemed to hit her stride in sketches, with her best work being the recurring "Totino's" commercial parodies that saw her as a cheery housewife making bite-sized pizza rolls for her "hungry guys." There's also the strong performance at the core of "Santa Baby," in which she and Ryan Gosling perfectly match each other's freak as partygoers who genuinely believe in Santa Claus. 

Bayer even debuted Dawn Lazarus, the "Weekend Update" weatherwoman spouting nonsense, only weeks before her final episode in 2017, and reprised the role as her send-off from the show. Like on Showtime's "I Love That for You," Bayer had a knack for embodying women playing towards the camera with a smile that hides something much, much darker beneath. 

Kate McKinnon made her "SNL" debut in 2012. Once the cast had cleared the previous era's heavyweights, like Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, the stage was set for McKinnon to become an undeniable star with a roster of eclectic political figures to impersonate. 

In 2016, the "Close Encounter" sketch featuring Ryan Gosling was the first domino to fall in McKinnon's "SNL" takeover. The downright hilarious skit sees three individuals interviewed by experts about their encounters with supernatural entities like alien abduction or the afterlife, albeit one person in the group had a less transcendent experience than the others. Simply put, without McKinnon, the sketch would not have become the iconic gem that is today.

Whether she was portraying Hillary Clinton or eccentric alien abductees, or driving Kenan Thompson's bartender up the wall, McKinnon's decade with "Saturday Night Live" saw her serve as the show's beating heart. The absurdity she was able to bring to her characters and skits always had everyone, and we do mean everyone, in absolute tears and stitches.

The 2000s were a golden era (or, as Seth Meyers would put it, "An Golden Era") for women on "Saturday Night Live." Still, Maya Rudolph didn't have it easy; she joined the cast during the last three episodes of Season 25, a season that was already packed with incredible comediennes like Rachel Dratch and Ana Gasteyer. However, Rudolph didn't let the pressure stop her from being a full-fledged "SNL" diva, and not just because of her takes on Oprah and Beyoncé. 

Particularly, Rudolph's Groundlings training shone best in her portrayals of real-life figures, blowing up their idiosyncrasies for comedic effect. Her impressions felt like fully-formed characters; Donatella Versace is defined by Rudolph not in terms of her lavish lifestyle but in her petulant privilege and unpredictable manner of speech. Rudolph's characters rarely even spoke in ways that aren't deeply funny. 

Speaking of, well, speaking, we can't talk about Maya Rudolph's greatness without mentioning "National Anthem," in which she plays a woman who takes some creative liberties with the melody of "The Star-Spangled Banner." It's, like all the best Rudolph bits, a sketch that's completely reliant on her own uninterrupted performance, made jaw-droppingly hilarious by overinflections and vocal runs. Even more recently, in her hosting gigs where she plays Beyonce suffering through Hot Ones, Rudolph finds new ways to take a perfectly serviceable sketch and elevate it with only her diction. 

It's easy to imagine a world in which we never had Molly Shannon's undeniable talent on "Saturday Night Live." She joined the show midway through Season 20, an already turbulent season, after cast member Janeane Garofalo abruptly left. In the massive shakeup that occurred after the season ended, Shannon was one of the few cast members retained for Season 21.

For Shannon to survive such a massive change at the show, she had to have brought it all for those few episodes, and by "it all," we of course mean Mary Katherine Gallagher. Shannon's Catholic schoolgirl character appeared frequently throughout Shannon's six years on the show from 1995 to 2001. Compared to most comedic characters, especially the ones who grate on audiences, Gallagher isn't defined by recurring beats of a sketch, but rather by a deeply relatable personality, made all the more grounded by Shannon's empathy and commitment.

Even late in Shannon's run, she was still debuting iconic characters like Sally O'Malley or Jeannie Darcy, proving she wasn't the type of comic to rely on the greatest hits for laughs. Whether she's doing high kicks, sticking her fingers in her armpits, or performing lackluster stand-up comedy, Molly Shannon never failed to bring her A-game.

Kenan Thompson is about to start his 23rd year on "Saturday Night Live," having surpassed the previous record holder for longest-serving cast member, Darrell Hammond, by a length of time that's longer than most cast members' contracts. Of course, Thompson's a special case, given he'd already had a successful career as a child actor on "All That" and "Kenan & Kel" before joining "SNL" in 2003. 

Across 23 seasons of the show, Thompson hasn't just hit it out of the park with popular recurring sketches like "What's Up With That?," "Scared Straight," or "Black Jeopardy." He's notably elevated sketches from good to great, oftentimes with a narrowing of the eyes or a hammed-up reaction shot. 

Of course, there will always be people who think Thompson has done all he can do on the show. However, every time Thompson makes an audience roar with laughter without a single line of dialogue, it begs a different question: why would he ever leave? 

Few people have earned as much goodwill in the comedy scene as Amy Poehler, not only as one of the best "Saturday Night Live" cast members, but as a sitcom darling thanks to "Parks & Recreation" and a founding member of the Upright Citizens Brigade. Poehler joined "SNL" in 2001 and stayed there until 2008, which gave her plenty of opportunities to embody key figures of the decade, from Hillary Clinton to Sharon Osbourne. 

During that time, Poehler also joined Fey as co-host of "Weekend Update" following Jimmy Fallon's departure. Together, the two longtime friends and comedy partners became an inseparable duo,  eventually returning to host together in 2015. Even when playing the straight man to Fey's Sarah Palin, Poehler brought a joyous charm and sense of play to her characterizations that make it hard to not smile when she's on your screen. 

Given Poehler's background as an improviser, it's easy to understand how she developed an ease and comfort on stage that paid off in dividends on a show like "SNL." A sketch like "I'm No Angel," which she performed while nine months pregnant, simply wouldn't be possible without a lead who's as infectiously funny on stage as she is off. Fortunately, there are countless sketches starring Poehler that are as good as that.

Now that he's earned his flowers as an actor and director thanks to his HBO series "Barry," it can be disarming to remember the days when Bill Hader was just the new guy on "Saturday Night Live" with a damn good Al Pacino impression. Hader joined "SNL" in 2005, quickly drawing comparisons to the likes of Phil Hartman due to his roundedness as a performer. Hader was a chameleon who could embody the voice of anyone from James Carville to Keith Morrison, as well as a gifted character actor, too.

But of all of Hader's characters, none shone brighter than Stefon. The New York City correspondent appeared regularly on "Weekend Update," giving recommendations for sights to see that usually included clubs named "Booooooooof" or "...Kevin?" and whose patrons included screaming babies in Mozart wigs, Jewish fireworks, and human Roombas. Obviously, John Mulaney deserves credit for the outlandish absurdity of Stefon, but we wouldn't be talking about him today if it weren't for Hader's likable humanity behind the hands covering his face. 

It's staggering to hear, in hindsight, how debilitating Hader's anxiety was at "SNL," given that his performances never wavered as a result. Obviously, the comedian is a remarkable impressionist, but his impression of an "SNL" cast member who was wholly confident in his talents was his best. 

Andy Samberg joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 2005, hired alongside his friends and Lonely Island troupe members Jorma Taccone and Akiva Schaffer. It wasn't long into their first season that the show gave them free rein to write and shoot their own sketches. Within a few weeks, they created "Lazy Sunday," the rap song that turned these freshmen into the show's newest stars.

Given the title of "SNL Digital Shorts," Samberg and his collaborators helped usher "SNL" into the Internet era with highly replayable, quotable, and memeable videos. "D–ck in a Box," "Dear Sister," and "Like a Boss" became significant chapters in "SNL" history, attracting a younger audience to the 30+ year-long show. Though Samberg was far less prolific in topical impressions, live sketches like "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals" and "Get in the Cage with Nicolas Cage" helped endear him to a broader fanbase. 

Even when he returned in 2024 to contribute some of the best sketches of Season 50, it was clear that Samberg and his collaborators still held on to that sophomoric foolishness that defined their best work. Nothing ever changes overnight, except at "Saturday Night Live," where a couple of Bay Area kids' sense of humor became the beacon of a new generation, making a decades-old show their own. 

There are good performers who have been on "SNL," and then there are performers who are good at "SNL." Will Ferrell is one of the latter, having joined "Saturday Night Live" in 1995 and quickly making his mark as the kind of performer built for the show. His impressions of Harry Caray, George W. Bush, and Janet Reno are laugh-out-loud funny, and recurring characters like the Spartan cheerleaders or the Butabi brothers turned him from an unknown into one of the biggest stars the show's ever had.

Among Ferrell's most defining traits as a cast member is, and there's no nice way to put this, his insanity. There's an energy Ferrell brought to characters that made him unpredictable not just for the audience, but for his fellow cast members on stage. Whether that's him clearly making Jimmy Fallon actually uncomfortable as one of the Love-ahs, or beating his cowbell in Chris Parnell's face as a member of Blue Öyster Cult, Ferrell wouldn't let go until the well of possible laughter had been completely dried up. 

TV shows like "The Hawk" might make old "SNL" fans reminisce about Ferrell's best characters, but even the positive memories of his best bits never beat the real thing. Will Ferrell is always funnier, louder, and bigger than you remember, even when he's playing the straight man in "Celebrity Jeopardy."

Norm Macdonald's comedy wasn't for everybody, if everybody includes O.J. Simpson and his friends. The stand-up comedian joined "Saturday Night Live" as a writer and cast member in 1993, but it wasn't until his second season in 1994 that Macdonald began hosting "Weekend Update." In contrast to previous hosts of the segment, Macdonald's sense of humor stood out with a dry delivery, non-sequitur punchlines, and long pauses to wait for audiences to catch up to him.

More often than not, Macdonald's time on "Weekend Update" landed him in hot water with NBC executives. The attention was courted by Macdonald, however, whose sly smile after delivering jokes about Michael Jackson's numerous controversies or Bill Clinton's marriage to Hillary Clinton indicated that he was playing a much longer game than simply getting jokes that work on live TV. 

Among the best of Macdonald's roasts were his incessant jokes about O.J. Simpson during and after his murder trial, which wound up getting him fired by NBC president Don Ohlmeyer in 1998. However, Norm's legacy as the boldest, funniest, and most unapologetic host of "Weekend Update" remains ironclad. 

The show that Tina Fey joined in 1997, known as "Saturday Night Live," was a far cry from the show she left in 2006. Fey spent several years in the thankless job of writer on "SNL" before being added to the cast in 2000, debuting as co-anchor of "Weekend Update" with Jimmy Fallon. Her sketch appearances were few and far between, but she made up for it by repositioning "Update" as the show's mouthpiece.

Fey's "Weekend Update" was defined by pointed punchlines that previous eras of the show had been missing. It's since become the comedian's trademark writing style, always having an ear on the zeitgeist and exploiting it for the reward of real laughter, and never "clapter," as Seth Meyers once coined. Behind the scenes, Fey's impact on "SNL" was even more substantial. As the first female head writer in the show's history, Fey not only played an integral role in shaping the show's tone and voice over the next decade, but also hired the players who went on to become its faces, too. 

Around the set of "Saturday Night Live" in the early '90s, Phil Hartman earned the nickname "Glue" for one reason: he was the guy holding the show together. In 1986, he and his cohort of "SNL" hires saved "SNL" from the brink of cancellation after the rough reception to Season 11, with Hartman holding down the fort as not one but two U.S. presidents: Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton.

In terms of characters, Hartman was the perfect vehicle for writer Jack Handey, whose creative voice blended the mundane with the ridiculously absurd. Among their best work together are "Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer," "Happy Fun Ball," and "Giant Businessman," all of which combine Hartman's TV-ready poise with incredible stupidity (complimentary). 

Although the death of Phil Hartman in 1998 put an unfortunate and shocking end to the comedian's promising post-"SNL" career, few accomplished in their eras what Hartman did in eight years on the show. He could be the straight man who never broke, the solo player owning the stage, or the wacky guy in makeup getting everybody to laugh, making him the benchmark for what a future good "SNL" cast member looks like. 

It's often said that Eddie Murphy saved "Saturday Night Live" from cancellation by rising to stardom in the early '80s. Joining the cast in 1980, Murphy was part of a complete reimagining of the show following the departure of producer Lorne Michaels, a reimagining that, for the most part, did not work. However, at only 19 years old, Murphy immediately stood out as the personality who dominated the new version of the show. 

Rewatching old Eddie Murphy sketches, it's easy to see how that stardom was bursting out of him. "Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood" incisively satirized "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" by painting its cheery kids' show host as living in low-income housing, while short films such as "White Like Me" turned that satirization towards society as a whole.

What's most remarkable in hindsight about Eddie Murphy's reign on "SNL" is the fact that he only stayed on the show for four years. By the time he left mid-season in 1984, Murphy hadn't just saved the show; he was the show. The actor actually hosted "SNL" for the first time in 1982 ... when he was still on the cast! 

Maybe he's not a "Chippendale's model" or a "hunk." Maybe he's not "classically handsome." Maybe he "doesn't know what coffee crystals are." But what was Chris Farley? Real damn funny. The Second City alum joined "Saturday Night Live" in 1990 and quickly garnered comparisons to Belushi; those comparisons would be eerie by the end of the decade, but for the time being, they demonstrated what a uniquely electric talent Farley was. 

In an era where cast members sank deeply into their characters, Farley's greatest asset on "SNL" was himself. If Belushi was the wild guy with the brain of a Shakespearean actor, Farley was the wild guy with the heart of a thousand lions. You could feel how much the audience's laughter sustained him. No better sketch exemplifies this than "Van Down By the River," a Bob Odenkirk-penned piece from Second City where Farley's deeply pathetic motivational speaker Matt Foley appeals to teenagers with the cautionary tale that is his life. 

No matter how good Odenkirk's writing was, the secret sauce of that sketch is that you can feel Farley caring. Whether he was playing Bennett Brauer on "Weekend Update" or stuttering through celebrity interviews in "The Chris Farley Show," Farley was always authentically himself on screen. It's why friends of his, like Adam Sandler, couldn't keep it together around the guy. How could you?

As part of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, Gilda Radner had a difficult task of not just being entertaining in front of a national audience, but figuring out what "Saturday Night Live" was. With writer Alan Zweibel, Radner crafted characters such as Roseanne Roseannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa, all of whom helped turn her from a rookie cast member to a household name. But funny characters are a dime a dozen on "SNL," so how does one stand out? 

It turns out, Gilda Radner figured out 52 years ago what "SNL" cast members today still struggle with: she's fun to watch. It doesn't matter if she's a belligerent "Weekend Update" commentator, a painfully awkward nerd, or the eclectic dancing partner of Steve Martin. Audiences wanted her in their homes, on their television sets, and as part of their lives.

As we round out this list of the 30 greatest cast members in the history of "Saturday Night Live," we had to think: what makes an "SNL" cast member great? Of course, they have to be funny, but these people made it past a notoriously tough audition room. Of course, they have to be successful on the show, because no amount of views will change a poorly written sketch. But more than anything else? The audience can't just like them; the audience must love them. And no "SNL" cast member has been easier to love than sweet, sweet Gilda Radner.