As Saturday Night Live is getting ready to kick off its historical 50th season, there have been some great stories coming out about the iconic cast over the years, as well as some of the guest hosts that have been major surprises. Among them is Chris Hemsworth, who hosted the late night sketch comedy series back in 2015. He was seen as an “action guy” at the time, and then SNL cast member Cecily Strong admitted her expectations were low. Which is why she was “most shocked” by the Marvel actor.
Looking back at her stint on the NBC show between 2012 and 2022, Cecily Strong spoke with Busy Philips about her time airing live from New York. Busy wanted to know who was the “nicest” person to ever show up, but Strong said “everyone’s nice” mostly because sketch comedy isn’t exactly an area of expertise for them and they don't want to muck it up.
Instead, the real question really was: Who was the biggest surprise? To that she had one answer, none other than Chris Hemsworth.
Well, so most of the time everyone's nice. I think because they come in and they're nervous and they want to do well. So, you're seeing people kind of at their most vulnerable, which is a very nice state I think -- when someone's scared and weak. I prefer them that way. But I was actually the most shocked by Chris Hemsworth. Because when he first hosted I was like, 'Ugh, not my world.' Action, I don't know anything about this, like what that even means, action movies. He came in and sort of like charmed us all and was so like, the cool jock that just wants to hang out with the gay theater kids. We're all like, 'Oh my god.' I feel like he left, and we're all like, 'Are we all dating Chris Hemsworth now?’ Like all the boys and all the girls were like, ‘Are we all in love? What happened — what just happened?!
The year 2015 was the year Vacation came out with Hemsworth in a comedic role (and also the year my least favorite Marvel movie Avengers: Age of Ultron came out). But it would be another year before Hemsworth really showed how offbeat funny he could be in the all-female Ghostbusters reboot. And it would be two years before Taiki Waititi would help people to see Thor as a truly funny character in the well-liked Thor: Ragnarok, largely seen as a shift for the MCU character.
At the time, Hemsworth was seen as being a more serious action guy with his roles in Snow White and the Huntsman and other projects. Plus, even when Thor was funny early on, it was more in a serious fish-out-of-water capacity. There just wasn't a public perception of Hemsworth as a funny actor.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why Cecily Strong’s impression of him was more “ugh” than “oh goody.” She probably thought Hemsworth would have trouble hosting. Instead, he had viral moments including "white dude in khakis" and charmed the pants off the entire cast, to the point where he was asked to return and host again later that year.
Honestly, given how much the cast fell in love with the actor, it’s a little surprising that Hemsworth never returned after his 2015 run. Of course, anyone who knows anything about the inner workings of SNL should know that it’s a long week to get through, and the actor is a busy guy. Committing the time again just may not have been possible for him with an Australian address and a family to raise amidst his other business and acting ventures. Still, getting to the five-timers club can be a big deal, and perhaps one day the actor will inch closer.
In the meantime, I think it’s safe for us to get pumped about the upcoming SNL hosts coming down the pipeline. Season 50's premiere is just around the corner on the 2024 TV schedule and I'm certain there will be some more surprises in store.
