In its nearly half a century on the air, Saturday Night Live has launched the careers of many icons who would go on to score some truly remarkable achievements. In fact, there are quite a few who have received attention from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for the talents they expressed on the big screen and, in some cases, from behind the camera. Let’s take a look at all the SNL stars with an Oscar nomination (and one with an Oscar win)… so far.
Dan Aykroyd (Best Supporting Actor, Driving Miss Daisy)
Following his stint as a founding SNL cast member, Dan Aykroyd went on to have a stellar movie career — including a few movies based on SNL characters, like The Blues Brothers. However, it is one of his more dramatic roles as Boolie Werthan in 1989’s Driving Miss Daisy that earned him recognition from The Academy. While Aykroyd did not take home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar, the film took home four statuettes for Best Picture, Actress (Jessica Tandy), Makeup, and Adapted Screenplay.
George Coe (Best Live Action Short, De Düva: The Dove)
George Coe — who actually starred in the Best Picture Oscar winner Kramer vs. Kramer — was only credited as a Not Ready For Primetime Player on SNL’s very first episode, and he went on to occasionally appear in sketches throughout the freshman run. However, years earlier, he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short for 1968’s De Düva: The Dove, which he co-directed with Anthony Lover. The filmmaker — who passed away in 2015 — also acted in the 15-minute parody of Ingmar Bergman films, alongside two-time Oscar nominee Madeline Kahn and Pamela Burrell of 1980's Popeye fame.
Joan Cusack (Best Supporting Actress, Working Girl And In & Out)
While only lasting on SNL for one season from 1985 to 1986, Joan Cusack went on to become the first alum to earn two Academy Award nominations not long after. Her first nod, for Best Supporting Actress, was for stealing the show in 1988’s Working Girl as Cyn. Her second nomination — and in the same category — was for her hilarious performance as one of the best ‘90s movie supporting characters, Emily Montgomery, in 1997’s In & Out.
Robert Downey Jr. (Win: Best Supporting Actor, Oppenheimer; Nominations: Best Actor, Chaplin; Best Supporting Actor, Tropic Thunder)
Though his single year on SNL is often forgotten, former Marvel movies star Robert Downey Jr. is known today as one of Hollywood’s most dynamic talents and his performances as recognized by the Academy are proof of why. He was first nominated for a dramatic performance as silent-era comedian Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough’s 1992 biopic, Chaplin, and again for his comedic performance as horribly misguided dramatic actor, Kirk Lazarus, in director Ben Stiller’s bold satire, Tropic Thunder, from 2008. He would finally take home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar (and become the first winning SNL cast alum) at the 2024 Academy Awards for his mesmerizing portrayal in Cristopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast as Lewis Strauss.
Michael McKean (Best Original Song, A Mighty Wind)
While best known to modern audiences for his Emmy-nominated work as Better Call Saul character, Chuck McGill, Michael McKean’s all-time biggest claim-to-fame are his collaborations with director and co-star (as well as fellow SNL alum) Christopher Guest on hilarious faux documentaries like Best in Show — one of the best movies of the 2000s — and A Mighty Wind.
The latter 2003 comedy — about a folk music reunion concert — was nominated for one Oscar for the original song, “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow,” which McKean wrote with Annette O’Toole for Mitch & Mickey (Schitt’s Creek cast members Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara) to perform.
Laurie Metcalf (Best Supporting Actress, Lady Bird)
You would be forgiven if Laurie Metcalf's two contributions to SNL — a brief bit on “Weekend Update” and a short film also starring Catherine O’Hara — slipped your mind. She is much better known anyway for her role as Jackie on Roseanne (and The Conners), playing Sheldon's mom on The Big Bang Theory, and her Oscar-nominated role in writer and director Greta Gerwig's acclaimed A24 movie, 2017's Lady Bird, as the mother of the title character.
Eddie Murphy (Best Supporting Actor, Dreamgirls)
Another SNL veteran who has tried his hand at making music is Eddie Murphy, who had a Rick James-produced hit in 1985 with “Party All the Time.” However, some might say the peak of his musical talents (and acting talents) was his performance in one of his best movies, Dreamgirls, as titillating R&B singer, James “Thunder” Early. The role — seen as a comeback for the comedy legend at the time — earned Murphy a Golden Globe win and an Oscar nomination, but, much to the surprise of many, the statuette ultimately went to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine.
Bill Murray (Best Actor, Lost In Translation)
After joining SNL as Chevy Chase’s replacement, Bill Murray, arguably, became an even bigger icon after he left the show — partially because of his willingness to branch out beyond comedy. Of course, writer and director Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation — one of the best movies produced by Focus Features — is not without its funny moments, but Murray’s performance as a fading movie star working as a spokesperson for a Japanese whiskey is a captivating meditation on loneliness. The Ghostbusters star absolutely earned his Oscar nomination for the role and, as some might argue, should have won.
Randy Quaid (Best Supporting Actor, The Last Detail)
The second person to become an SNL cast member with an Academy Award nomination before joining the show (after George Coe) was Randy Quaid, who was a regular for the 1985-1986 season. The performance that put the National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation cast member in the running for an Oscar was 1973’s The Last Detail. He played Larry Meadows — a Navy seaman, dishonorably discharged for stealing, whom two first-class officers (Jack Nicholson and Otis Young) decide to show a good time before bringing him to prison.
Kristen Wiig (Best Original Screenplay, Bridesmaids)
The only Bridesmaids cast member to be recognized by the Academy for acting was Melissa McCarthy, but the brilliant Kristen Wiig — a member of, arguably, the best cast in SNL history — still got some deserved attention. Her script for the beloved 2011 comedy, which she co-wrote with her future Barb and Star co-star, Annie Mumolo, was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay that year.
In addition to Robert Downey Jr’s win for acting in Oppenheimer, there are a couple of former backstage Studio 8H employees who have taken home Oscars – such as former SNL music director, Howard Shore. He won three Academy Awards for Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies (scoring The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King and co-writing the song, “Into the West,” from the latter). Also, former writer Adam McKay has seven nominations under his belt, with one win for adapting The Big Short with Charles Randolph.
Now, we'll just have to wait and see if and when any more Saturday Night Live alums from behind and in front of the camera become Oscar darlings.
