Why Did Ben Stiller Leave ‘SNL’ After Just Four Episodes?

There are not many actors who go on to become successful directors. Ben Stiller has somehow managed to pull off dual responsibilities in films like Zoolander (and its sequel) and Tropic Thunder. Even though he’s begun to focus more on directing high-caliber television series such as Severance and Escape from Dannemora, Stiller’s resume is filled with interesting acting projects as well (including comedy classics such as The Cable Guy, There’s Something About Mary, Meet the Parents, and the Night at the Museum series.) With this stacked list of credits, you would think that Stiller could tackle anything. Well, everything except sketch comedy, that is.

Ben Stiller Had an Extremely Short Run on ‘SNL’

Stiller was cast in the famous sketch comedy show, Saturday Night Live, back in 1988. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Stiller noted that he was originally drawn to the series because he thought it would help distinguish him from his famous parents. Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara gained popularity as regulars on The Ed Sullivan Show, and Stiller admitted that joining the SNL cast was “more just wanting to individuate from my father, wanting to be my own person, not being into their comedy.” He also had grand ambitions to be a director and thought he could create short films for the series (like the Lonely Island or Please Don’t Destroy digital shorts we’re used to today). However, Stiller was in for a rude awakening when he realized that he’d actually need to participate in the live sketches as well. He stated, “I knew that I couldn’t do well there because I wasn’t great at live performing. My mom would have been better on the show. I got too nervous, I didn’t enjoy it, and I wanted to be making short films.”

Stiller quit Saturday Night Live after just four episodes. He’s not even the cast member with the shortest stint on the sketch comedy show (that would be Laurie Metcalf, who only appeared in one episode), but Stiller confesses that SNL creator Lorne Michaels wasn’t exactly thrilled with his departure. Stiller remembers, “[Michaels] was like, ‘Okay, Ben’s going to do what Ben’s going to do.’ It wasn’t great.” It doesn’t seem like Michaels held any kind of long-lasting grudge though. Stiller was asked to host the show in 1998 and 2011 and has made several cameos over the years. Luckily, Stiller listened to his gut when it came to where he wanted his career to go. Shortly after quitting SNL, Stiller was given the opportunity to make those short films he had in mind with The Ben Stiller Show on MTV. He said, “It had been my dream to be on Saturday Night Live, but looking back on it, I don’t remember exactly how I had the gumption, but for whatever reason, I followed that instinct [to quit.]”

Ben Stiller Has Carved Out His Own Path as a Director

The Ben Stiller Show ran for just one season before it was cancelled, but it did give him the skills necessary to direct films such as Reality Bites in 1994 and all of his subsequent projects. Even though Stiller realized he just wasn’t cut out for live comedy, saying, “I just felt I couldn’t do well in that situation,” he has certainly been able to find his niche with directing. Whether he was tackling big-budget comedies like Zoolander or intense Emmy-nominated dramas for the small screen, Stiller has earned rave reviews for his directing efforts. According to Collider’s review, Season 2 of Severance is notably “one of the most visually stunning shows on television thanks to its direction,” proving that Stiller has found his voice as a director.

Even though Stiller likely won’t be incorporating sketch comedy into his future projects, he has many plans for the future. He’s helmed five Severance episodes for its current season and has several other projects in the pipeline (including a documentary about his parents). One thing is for certain: Ben Stiller has definitely crawled out from under his legendary parents’ shadow. Even though his mother and father were titans in the comedy world, Stiller has proven that he is a well-respected director who has many exciting things in store. And without that short stint on SNL, perhaps he never would have ended up in the director’s chair today.

Saturday Night Live is available to stream on Peacock in the U.S. New episodes air Saturday nights on NBC.

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Saturday Night Live

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Network

NBC

Showrunner

Lorne Michaels

Directors

Dave Wilson, Don Roy King, Liz Patrick, Andy Warhol, Linda Lee Cadwell, Matthew Meshekoff, Paul Miller, Robert Altman, Robert Smigel

Writers

Will Forte, Bill Hader, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig, Chris Parnell, Asa Taccone, John Lutz, Tom Schiller, Simon Rich, Michael Patrick O’Brien, Nicki Minaj, Herbert Sargent, Matt Piedmont, John Solomon, Chris Kelly, Alan Zweibel, Kent Sublette, Ari Katcher, Marika Sawyer, Sarah Schnedier, Scott Jung, Justin Franks, Jerrod Bettis, Rhiannon Bryan

Cast

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  Adam McKay

  Self / Various

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  Adam Sandler

  Self (archive footage)