Kenan Thompson says getting on SNL is more important than getting paid for SNL

Earlier this week, former cast member Pete Davidson said he used to get paid "like three grand an episode."

By Emma Keates  |  December 6, 2024 | 6:12pm
Image: Saturday Night Live/YouTube
TV News snl
Kenan Thompson says getting on SNL is more important than getting paid for SNL
Introducing Endless Mode: A New Games & Anime Site from Paste

As we learned time and time again during last year’s SAG-AFTRA strike, even actors aren’t exempt from the whole “you’ll get paid in exposure” turn the job market has taken in recent years. When that exposure is on Saturday Night Live, however, Kenan Thompson at least thinks it’s totally worth it. “It’s pretty notorious that it’s more so about having the job than getting paid for the job,” the veteran cast member told Variety at the American Museum of Natural History gala last night. “You gotta pay your dues a little bit, yeah,” he continued.

Thompson’s comments come after former cast member Pete Davidson claimed he was paid just “like three grand an episode” earlier this week. That response came as part of a New York Magazine video interview where SNL stars shared what they “splurged” on after their first paycheck. “I think I got dinner,” Davidson answered. Jason Sudeikis also participated in the video roundup and answered similarly. “I mean, you don’t make enough money to make big purchases, so I think New York rent was probably the biggest purchase I made after writing my first year on SNL,” he said.

To be fair, many SNL stars have gone on to A-list careers, or at least jobs where they presumably got paid a bit more than their first handful of episodes. (Not that $3,000 per week is anything to scoff at.) Not to sound like a cheapskate CEO, but between Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers, John Mulaney, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and so many more, there might be something to that whole exposure thing after all. 

 
Join the discussion...