Lamorne Morris just earned his first Emmy nomination for his role in Fargo’s fifth season, which deserved all the hype, and he’s not slowing down anytime soon. The actor already has two new films in his pipeline, including Sony’s highly anticipated SNL 1975, where he will be playing iconic and historic Saturday Night Live alum Garrett Morris on the big screen.
While Morris is no stranger to the comedy world, having become a household name thanks to his work on the Fox sitcom New Girl, this will be the first time he gets to portray a real-life actor. The stakes are significantly higher, given there’s always a possibility that the original actor doesn’t take kindly to the fictional depiction. Thankfully, the Woke actor doesn’t seem to have to worry about that since he and Garret Morris appear to have hit it off.
In an interview with Deadline, the actor/comedian spoke about what it was like getting to meet the iconic and historic SNL star. Unfortunately, the two didn’t get to meet prior to the start of production, but they made up for it when Garrett Morris paid the set a visit. The famed comedian, who also had a successful run in various sitcoms, didn’t miss a beat, immediately joking about their shared last names:
He is still, till this day, one of the funniest people walking on Earth. He is so good. Just talking to him, the guy made a joke. He just randomly hit me up and said — because we have the same last name — he just randomly hit me up once and said, ‘Hey man, I’m not entirely convinced that I am not your daddy. Tell your mama I owe her a call.
Despite the easiness of their meeting, it’s fair to assume that Morris does feel the weight of this role. After all, Garrett Morris was not just a principal member of the inaugural season of the longstanding variety comedy show, but he was also the first Black comedian featured on the series. In doing so, he helped pave the way for future talent, like Kenan Thomspon, who is now the show’s longest-running cast member.
Those are big shoes to fill, but thankfully, the New Girl actor isn’t alone in the challenge. SNL 1975 includes an incredibly talented group of young actors, including Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard and The Fabelmans' Gabriel Labelle, who will be playing SNL’s creator, Lorne Michaels.
The film is said to take place on October 11, 1975 — the day of the very first Saturday Night Live broadcast. It hopes to depict the real struggles and tensions leading up to the inaugural broadcast and has drawn from first-hand testimony from those who had a part in that historic day.
While production has finished, there is no release date yet for SNL 1975. Fortunately, fans looking to get a sense of what the movie might be like can stream the very first episode of the variety show with an active Peacock subscription.
And don’t forget to tune into the 2024 Emmy broadcast on September 15th to see if Morris takes home the award for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for Fargo.
