The 7 Best SNL Hosts of All Time, Ranked

Since its first episode aired in 1975, Saturday Night Live has had many, many remarkable stars appear as a special guest host over its past 50 years on television.

From stand-up entertainers like George Carlin and Richard Pryor to Oscar-winning actors like Tom Hanks and Nicole Kidman, Saturday Night Live’s success is very much predicated on the contributions of its guest hosts, paving the way to plenty of remarkable sketches as popular now as they were upon their initial debut within the series.

With five decades, thousands of sketches, dozens of cast members, and hundreds of guest stars making up the show’s production history, narrowing down the greatest guest hosts to appear on SNL seems like a definitively tall order. Yet even then, certain names also seem to enter into the conversation when discussing the best performers to host Saturday Night Live in the past, including numerous recognizable faces in the film, comedy, and television industries.

Emma Stone

Saturday Night Live has had many exceptional modern guests, from the intense performances of Adam Driver to the irreverent humor of John Mulaney. Still, there’s just something about Emma Stone’s dedication to each SNL sketch she appears within that makes her such a joy to watch, establishing the acclaimed actor as a reliably entertaining performer every time she hosts an episode of the show. Whether portraying a dedicated background actor in an adult film or a ‘60s music producer with a retro afro hairdo, Stone’s commitment to the bit always leaves us smiling from ear to ear, leaving little reason to wonder why she’s been invited back so often to the series.

Christopher Walken

Unlike most other performers who have guest hosted SNL, Christopher Walken seemingly makes almost no discernible effort to adapt to the role at hand. Instead, every time he appears in a sketch, it’s like he’s playing … well, himself. Far from being a bad thing, however, this bold performance style allows for plenty of comedic potential, resulting in a variety of endlessly quotable lines delivered with Walken’s signature grandiose voice. (“I got a fevah – and the only prescription is more cowbell.”)

Melissa McCarthy

In an alternate reality, Melissa McCarthy could have made a name for herself as a regular cast member of Saturday Night Live. As it is, the breakout comic actor has repeatedly proven herself a delightful guest host time and time again, stealing the spotlight in a myriad of creative sketches like “Pizza Business,” “Outside the Lines,” and “Guess That Phase.” Like all the best SNL cast members, McCarthy simply disappears into any role she’s tasked with playing, allowing for plenty of sensational comedic sketches each time she wanders onto SNL’s sound stage.

Alec Baldwin

Sure, we can talk about Alec Baldwin’s ingenious caricature of a certain billionaire-celebrity-turned-prominent U.S. politician, but at the end of the day, Baldwin deserves notable credit for his various non-political roles on SNL. As later evidenced by his starring role in NBC’s 30 Rock, Baldwin’s straight-faced delivery and deadpan sense of humor made every line he uttered that much funnier, whether he was encouraging people to try his “Schweddy Balls” or portrayed a domineering elf threatening to fire his coworkers at the North Pole.

Richard Pryor

Saturday Night Live had no shortage of exceptional guest hosts within its first year on television, but Richard Pryor felt like the first legitimate star the series had ever had in its casting credits. The first Black comedian to host the series, Pryor also made history by appearing on the first SNL episode affected by tape delay (thanks in large part due to Pryor’s famously unpredictable on-screen antics). Charging each of his sketches with his characteristically electric delivery, Pryor walked onto the SNL stage and made the series his own for one night only. Seeing the sharp edge he brought to the series, our only complaint is that he never returned to host another SNL episode ever again following his single hosting gig in 1975.

Tom Hanks

A personal favorite guest star among countless SNL talents over the years, Tom Hanks reportedly adopts a hands-on approach when it comes to his hosting responsibilities, participating in every part of the show’s behind-the-scenes creative process. While this level of commitment is certainly impressive in and of itself, the high quality of Hanks’ subsequent SNL sketches clearly speak for themselves. From satirizing himself on “Celebrity Jeopardy!” to performing a nonsensical dance as the enigmatic David S. Pumpkins, Hanks’ personal connection to the material makes all of his skits that much more captivating and hilarious to watch.

Steve Martin

The fact that most people mistakenly believe Steve Martin was an early member of SNL’s cast list is perfect proof of his profound contributions to the show. Just as Saturday Night Live itself gained traction among mainstream audiences, so too did Martin witness his own meteoric rise in the entertainment industry, making him a perfect recurring guest host in SNL’s first few seasons. Whether waltzing with Gilda Radner in a lovingly awkward romantic dance or strutting around with Dan Aykroyd as “Two Wild and Crazy Guys,” Martin possessed an unparalleled chemistry with every cast member he appeared alongside, setting an insurmountably high bar for every guest host that followed in his footsteps.