No other person has had a bigger impact on American comedy than Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live. His sketch comedy show, which he created in 1975, spawned generations of comedy icons, from Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy, to Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler, to Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Michaels almost singlehandedly directed the course of modern comedy today, thanks to a sketch comedy show he created that was originally critically panned, but is now widely considered a national treasure. Talking about the legacy of SNL and how he would like to be remembered, Lorne Michaels told Today: “The moment you begin to first of all talk about yourself in the third person or … worry about where your museum is going to go … it means you’re out of the game, and I love the game too much,” he said. “And why would you want to leave the game if you — if you’re good at it?” There has yet to be a major biopic featuring Lorne Michaels’ life. He was portrayed by Armen Weitzman in the film A Futile and Stupid Gesture, but no one seems to be planning a dedicated Lorne Michaels biopic. If movie execs decided to develop a Lorne Michaels biopic tomorrow, here are a few casting suggestions to help them find the perfect actor to portray Lorne Michaels on screen.
Will Forte
Will Forte should do well portraying Lorne Michaels on screen, given that he intimately worked with the showrunner as a former featured cast member of Saturday Night Live for a good eight seasons, from 2002 to 2010. Talking about how he got an audition for SNL, Forte told IndieWire: “I did a show at the Groundlings. I had no idea that Lorne Michaels was there in the audience, but he was, and I luckily had a good show that night and got invited to audition and not having any idea. I was working at “That ’70s Show” at the time and under contract, and I thought, I can’t even do it if I get the job. But my “’70s Show” bosses were super cool about it and said, “Go do it, and if it doesn’t work out, you have a job here when you get back.” So that was how that all worked out.” While Forte did not originally intend to enter show business, planning a career in finance instead, he found himself writing and producing for That ’70s Show, which would be followed by almost a decade of experience in Saturday Night Live. Aside from SNL, Will Forte has appeared in many popular TV shows, including 30 Rock, The Cleveland Show, and Parks and Recreation. He wrote and starred in his own sitcom, The Last Man on Earth, from 2015 to 2018. In 2021, he revived MacGruber, a recurring SNL sketch, rewriting it as a full-fledged TV sitcom. The comedy stars Forte, fellow SNL alum Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, Sam Elliot, Laurence Fishburne, Billy Zane, and Timothy V. Murphy.
Ed Helms
Ed Helms was never a cast member of Saturday Night Live, but he did host the sketch comedy show in 2011. He also appeared in a sketch in an episode hosted by his Hangover costar Zack Galifianakis. Ed Helms should be able to portray Lorne Michaels excellently, given his long list of comedy credits in his repertoire. Helms most notably played Andy Bernard in the hit mockumentary sitcom The Office, as well as Stuart Price in the Hangover franchise. He’s also played lead roles in We’re The Miller, The Lorax, Vacation, and Father Figures.
Chris Parnell
An actor who deserves to play Michaels on screen, and who definitely knows Lorne Michaels very well, is Chris Parnell. Yet another Saturday Night Live alum. Parnell was on SNL for eight seasons, from 1998 to 2006. He’s appeared in some of the show’s most notable sketches, including Lazy Sunday and More Cowbell. Outside of SNL, Parnell played characters in 21 Jump Street, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, and The Ridiculous 6. On TV, he plays roles in Archer and Rick and Morty, Parnell actually had a complicated employment history at Saturday Night Live. According to CinemaBlend, who did an interview with the actor, Parnell was fired from SNL after just three years but was re-hired again. “Back in 2001, after just three years on the show, Chris Parnell was unceremoniously fired by Saturday Night Live. Then, according to Parnell, a bunch of the people involved with the show raised hell for the repertory player, which is actually pretty cool, considering the outcome. Eventually, he reappeared on the series partially through the following TV season and all seemed to be well.”
Tom Holland
If movie execs want to focus on Lorne Michaels’ rise to fame, instead of his latter years, Tom Holland should be able to portray the screenwriter’s younger version. The Spider-Man actor shares a younger Michaels’ boyish characteristics, making Holland the perfect actor to play him in front of the camera. Holland hasn’t appeared in a lot of comedies, but given his acting range, he should be able to take on playing Lorne Michaels just fine (it also helps that Michaels himself admits to being a very serious person behind the curtains). Outside of his work in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Tom Holland has appeared in The Lost City of Z, Dolittle, and Chaos Walking. He’s not particularly a biopic noobie, either. Holland is set to portray the legendary entertainer Fred Astaire in an upcoming film, according to Los Angeles Times.
James Franco
Last on the list is James Franco, who would be an excellent choice for a potential Lorne Michaels biopic. The actor has hosted SNL four times, so he definitely has some insight on what goes on behind the scenes of Studio 8H. Additionally, he directed a documentary on the inner workings of Saturday Night Live, titled Saturday Night, so if there’s a non-cast member who trully knows what SNL is about, it’s James Franco. Franco has appeared in movies like Why Him? and The Vault. He’s also appeared in a couple of biopics, including The Disaster Artist and 127 Hours.
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