For many comedians, booking a role on Saturday Night Live would be like achieving a lifelong dream. Since premiering in 1975, the sketch comedy and variety show has churned out some of the most notable comedians in Hollywood; Jimmy Fallon, Will Ferrell, Maya Rudolph, and Eddie Murphy are just some of the successful SNL alums doing their thing. Having starred on the show for the last six years, Pete Davidson has checked SNL off his to-do list. But for the comedian, achieving that particular dream reportedly came at an unfortunate price.
Recently, Davidson sat down with his friend Charlamagne tha God for a candid conversation about life, love, and work on the radio and TV personality’s YouTube channel. During the discussion, Davidson revealed that his time on SNL hasn’t been all that it was cracked up to be. He was over the moon when he first started working on the comedy show in 2014 but slowly felt himself becoming the butt of the joke as the seasons went on.
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“I have a weird feeling in that building where I don’t know whose team they’re playing for, really,” Davidson shared. "If I’m the joke or I’m in on the joke."
To Davidson's point, many of his most memorable sketches on the series have either called on him to embody one-dimensional characters like the not-so-bright Chad, or play on the most intimate (and morbid) details of his life. As a comedian still trying to establish himself, Davidson has struggled with feeling like he's not being taken serious on the set — so much so that he's even considered stepping away from SNL altogether.
"If I’m just fodder now though, maybe I just shouldn’t be there,” Davidson mused. "They think I’m fucking dumb. Like, I’m literally painted out to be this big dumb idiot."
The stress about his tenure on SNL, combined with an ongoing battle with his mental health and his very public love life, often takes a toll on Davidson. Thankfully, he told Charlamagne, his other projects keep him going. For Davidson, work is the only thing that makes him feel better. "I love writing, hanging with my friends, standup," he said. "It's the ultimate distraction."
The 26-year-old is pursuing new professional ventures that might take him away from SNL; Davidson's first comedy special Alive From New York is now streaming on Netflix, and the upcoming Big Time Adolescence marks his very first leading role in a full-length feature film.
Even if his run on SNL may be over soon, you don't have to worry about not seeing him on your screen — Davidson is keeping himself very busy.