Legend

Hey, SNL's loss was In Living Color's gain. Same with Damon Wayans (who was on SNL during its bizarre, audience-alienating 11th season in 1985, but got fired for improv-ing without Lorne's permission) and Tommy Davidson (who auditioned for SNL when it was doing well in the late 1980s, but Lorne wasn't looking for any new talent at that time and wouldn't hire African-American comedians until the 1990s, with Chris Rock, Tim Meadows, and Ellen Cleghorne). But I do take comfort in the fact that Carrey hosted SNL three times and had a brief, but memorable stint as Joe Biden. It shows that Lorne Michaels really wanted Jim to be a cast member (though I also heard that Jim auditioned when Jean Doumanian was looking for people in her 1980 cast, and rejected him, along with other famous faces, like John Goodman, Paul "Pee-Wee Herman" Reubens, Dana Carvey [though he would actually be a cast member in 1986], Cassandra Peterson [aka Elvira, Mistress of the Dark], Charlie Barnett [though Barnett was self-conscious about his inability to read, so he excused himself from the cast], Robert Townsend, Richard Karn [the guy who played Tim "The Toolman" Taylor's sidekick on "Home Improvement"], and Mercedes Ruehl, because she had poor taste in comedic talent, which is also evident in the fact that she nearly rejected Eddie Murphy and almost squandered his on-camera appearances to background extra stuff).

Pure art from a pure artist. Jim is the bombalomading dong.

You should see the lineup Snl has now. Horrible. Not funny at all.

@@alirastkar9458 it can, really suck. I'm hoping for the PLEASE DON'T DESTROY crew, lol.

kinda like les claypool auditioning for metillica.

Definitely.

eddie wouldnt be outplayed by jim theyre equals at their peak

@@MrHartApart Ha! Yes.

Lorne Michaels never saw his audition so he didn’t get cast.

Antwuan Bradshaw lorne Michael's wasn't on at this time and they had Eddie so ig they didn't feel the need for him

But that's the thing.....Eddie came on and "saved" the show. He was an elite improve type individual. Everyone on the show wasn't as talented. JC should have gotten that opportunity.

Antwuan Bradshaw well if lorne was there then yeah jc most likely would. The other producers clearly didn't have much of an eye for talent. Then again lorne also didn't take Kevin hart,Donald glover(Tina fey eventually did though),several wayans..... So who knows? It's just a what if but considering he was able to host multiple times I assume he would have been on the show. Snl has many great people cut. Maybe it's just timing?

They could not afford him

Because his comedy is childish

80s snl wasnt that restrictive.

Nah.

Robert Downey jr definitely didn’t show off his talents on snl.

Exactly! What would this world be without Jim Carrey and In Living Color??? Sometimes the World does turn out right!! 😆

Robert Downey if snl, wtf? Don't remember seeing him there

I was almost crying when he did the scene from on Golden Pond

"half" 😏

You WISH this to be true. It doesn’t make it so.

@@christopherp.hitchens3902What an incredibly weird thing to say. It was more of an opinion than a “wish”. You are correct though, my wishes don’t make anything “true”.

@@spencertwoeightyz3383 - I like Jim Carry…but that was a bad audition. I suspect he would agree. Jim wasn’t Jim Carry yet and his auditioning material was arcane and curiously weird.

The guy turned into a full-on cartoon character right there.

wutz his life philosophy?

@qwerwerterytrtyutyuiyuiouiop I think his philosophy is to avoid stupid spelling of wurdz.

Nuclear Elvis... that was... just wow.

Considering he's imitating Henry Fonda from "On Golden Pond" (which came out in December of '81 - Carrey was born in '62) he was probably twenty here. Still really impressive!!!

@@markosheeran7776 Is that where the strawberry scene came from?

@@Hotshotter3000 yup!

And yet Sour wrinkly Old lame Michaels turned him down

nope datt so do I . I see something in this dude. Do you?

😂😂😂😂…!

The Life JOURNEY. is complex. - Add , that he is COMPLEX. ||| ...his PATH...will be In Unique. 🤪...unlike HOLLYWOOD.

On Golden Pond came out in 1982

Though he Did audition in '80, this was actually '85 when Lorne returned.

@@PIXPromosMore Amazing he auditioned in 1980 and 1985 and had to wait until 1990 In Living Color before anyone knew his comedy outside of the stand-up clubs.

Physical comedy wasn’t being done? You ever hear of Chevy chase? How about ...oh... I don’t know... THE 3 STOOGES? Ever hear of them???😐😐😐

Airplane????

Why is everyone saying he wasnt on snl he has many including one with will ferall?

many great comedians didnt get to get on snl. lorne wasnt here though thats a major reason why he wasnt hired

it wasn't funny.

@@sinbadsailor1963 I thought the Nuclear Elvis part was very funny. His impersonation of Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn was flawless, but no, that scene was not funny. It did showcase his amazing ability of mimicry and the plasticity of his face to match that of a man and woman in their 90's!

It all ended up okay for him.

​​​@@sinbadsailor1963He was showing a different side to his talents. Its obvious from that audition that he is very funny and versatile. If they wanted to see something else, they could have asked him. They rejected him..it was their choice. He is one of the funniest people in TV and movies over the past 30 years. He didnt make the mistake, they did. His career proves it was their error. And that's that.

Wow, I knew that was Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn, but I didn't know what movie it was from. I was googling Grapes of Wrath but she wasn't in it.

I watched On Golden Pond with my parents probably 25 years ago and the second he put on the hat I knew exactly what was coming. Nailed it.

I'm crying rn lol

Oh is that what the second scene & second character (/third) was? I was enjoying it and also completely lost at the same time 😅

that what I was thinking! lmao johnny depp

Liam M-D it’s from on golden pond

@@benfarber8779 It is crazy how spot on he was--how he changes his face. I knew from the moment he turned around. He looked like Henry Fonda. (And even Katharine Hepburn --haha)

@@thoughts3897 Yeah, I've never even seen the movie, but I immediately picked up on Henry and Kate. Jim's facial muscles must be as strong as Schwarzenegger's body muscles at his peak.

with his asscheeks

That's not a cartoon, that's an impression of Henry Fonda. His references were decades out of touch even back then.

@@TheGigagiga357-tc3ui Yeah I discovered the movie that he was supposed to be parodying. It actually only made it funnier since the original scene was also kinda too melodramatic even for me, but that only makes the parody funnier, like I said.

@@TheGigagiga357-tc3ui On Golden Pond was released in 1981, so not out of touch at all.

@@chriswaco Also Elvis passed away only a few years before then. It would be like someone in 2013 making a Michael Jackson impression.

@@Hotshotter3000 Elvis DIED in 1977. You can say "died." It's okay. You don't have to say "passed," and it sounds stupid anyway because it's avoiding the harsh reality of our own mortality, which you should be embracing.

jim definitely wouldnt have been on there 7 years

Try Eddie Murphy and Jim Carrey in a skit together

OMG that would have been off the charts hilarious. They are both so big in terms of performance that I think it just would have been a home run no matter what they did.

Maybe he didn't get on it because this actually isn't even funny. It's just strange and uncomfortable.

@@bingonamo7520 Are you high?

@@SuperTiaanBro No, maybe he is, or you are, if you think it's anything other than weird.

Well, they cast him on "In Living Color" and he was there for years.

He could do the same bit post Ace Ventura and get a 20 million dollar contract. It s hard to enjoy it without laughter, kinda sad and surreal. Jim Carrey preforming in purgatory.

Transitioning from 2 eighty year old Characters in the same movie? Yeah big deal

And they're told not to laugh!

lorne wasnt here snl has a deadline for hirings to get ready for the next season. lorne didnt see him in time.

@@haroldpierce1987 Then he went and auditioned with In Living Color and was able to show some of his truly funny side.

They probably would’ve fired him too if they hired him

He was too good

I think the question is WHY didn’t they cast

Lorne Michaels (the shows creator) wasn’t their either time they auditioned him, and apparently someone said “I don’t think Lorne would like it” and Michaels says he regrets not being there because he would had like to make that decision for himself

Lorne Michaels wasn't the producer around this time he left for five years so someone else took over for him around this time so I'm Jim Carrey audition they didn't hire him which was stupid they had no idea this guy was going to be a big star stupid f**** Laura Michaels would have hired them on the spot without a doubt

13randon 13axter Will Ferrell? His was hilarious

wtf bro me too

Guys, cheer the f up

cause the sad music

The smile and open arms ending the act kills. You can feel the guy is something special, and since we're in the future, we all know how it went from there.

If you’ve seen the movie you’d get it

He really is. Should have an Oscar for Man on the Moon or Eternal Sunshine.

@@ladyreverie7027 or Truman Show

A lot of great comic actors are also incredible in serious or dramatic parts. They rarely get the opportunities to show it. Even Robin Williams and Adam Sandler didn't get to show it often enough. Just about the only one I could think of who was renowned for both kinds of parts was Jack Lemmon.

Hell ya. Ever see him in The Truman Show?

It’s probably a good thing that he didn’t get in because he got in for In Living Color and then he got Ace Ventura.

I think the reason he wasn't cast is because he was, for lack of a better way to put it, too good. Saturday Night Live needs its players to work as an ensemble, and a guy like this would've overshadowed the rest of the cast too much. I'm not sure when this audition was from, but it has the same pink background as Phil Hartman and Dana Carvey's auditions, so if we assume it was at the same time as those, then SNL was just coming off a rough season where they had a cast of strong individual talents that never gelled. Lorne Michaels and company were probably looking for a group of people who could complement each other, not necessarily the people with the biggest star power.

Lorne Michaels never saw his audition

He hosted SNL twice afterwards.

Was.

Jim auditioned 2 times, 1980 and 1985. The second time Lorne was part of the show.

Was Eddie Murphy on snl in 1980

i heard somewhere that they only had one spot that year and they gave it to will ferrel.

Will Ferrell auditioned in 1995, years after Jim Carrey’s test tape.

@@xJonnaax uuuuuh Jim Carey auditioned yearsssssss b4 Will.

Omg ya wtf

Jonna Heijke Jim Carrey was already a star when Will auditioned

Glad they didn’t. They would have ruined his talent

@@trashboat2687 really how so.

@@eddiecadzow3936 this late 80s/early 90s is considered the lowest point of SNL. did you want jim carrey associated with adam sandler and rob schneider?

@@browsertab Well no but he could have done really well anyway and had a better career then them anyway. So it all would have worked out.

@@browsertab Have to say that period is my favorite! Early 90's second greatest cast there ever was.

same, very melancholic for some reason.

Jim auditioned 2 times, 1980 and 1985. The second time Lorne was part of the show.

Umm Lorne created the show in ‘75, which is WAY before this audition took place. Jim didn’t fit within the confines of what the show was at the time. His bread and butter is over-the-top actions and reactions. Fire Marshal Bill would have been lost on the SNL fan base.

@@alexedwards5159 "Umm Lorne created the show in ‘75, which is WAY before this audition took place." You do know that Lorne left the show and came back by '85, right??

Don't be so cocky Steven. Apart should be split apart in your comment. The wrong word or usage can change the meaning of your comment. Good comment otherwise. Peace.

@@BbGun-lw5vi Actually, Carrey auditioned three times: 1980, 1985, and 1986. Michaels was in charge in each of those years, although he claims he wasn't present for any of Carrey‘s auditions. (Michaels is a real dick.) Carrey said he changed his act and stopped doing dramatic impressions after being repeatedly rejected by SNL, and it turned around his career for the better.

Find it and watch it. It holds up (despite Jane Fonda’s fawning over her K Car). This impression will seem 10 times more impressive.

Except his career now died. He should of made the cut. Then again others who became famous never made the cut either. Yet they all eventually guest hosted.

@@MrGlenspace He had his time & the best one !

Henry Fonda

You're confusing Henry Fonda with Jimmy Stewart.

I read it happened before his audition not after. He didn't know if the man jumped.

Thanks. Also, let's be honest, that Elvis bit was weak and way too long.