The cast of Saturday Night Live shares a bond unlike most anything else in television. The small group of performers spend countless hours together in pursuit of comedy. So when SNL fired one cast member in the '90s, it was no surprise to hear a couple of his colleagues took a stand.
Chris Parnell has the distinct honor of being fired from Saturday Night Live twice. The first came in 2001 after he joined the cast in 1998. SNL brought Parnell back halfway through the next season only to show him the door again in 2006.
The first firing came as a bit of a shock to Parnell. He thought he was hitting his stride, but his clashes with Lorne Michaels didn't help his case. He learned in the summer of 2001 that Michaels and SNL chose not to renew his contract.
In an interview with Cracked, Parnell reflected on the experience. He signaled out Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan as two castmates who went to bat for him.
"Happily, there was a big outcry from a few of the cast members — Will Ferrell, Chris Kattan and some of the writers," Parnell said. "They shared that with me, and it definitely helped. It made me feel like, 'Gosh, I’m not oblivious here. A lot of people are surprised by this.'”
Parnell had a reputation for never breaking character on Saturday Night Live, which likely endeared him to his fellow castmates. He was also able to play a range of roles from the absurd to the straightman in sketches like "Dr. Beaman's Office" (co-starring Ferrell) and the original SNL Digital Short, "Lazy Sunday."
Chris Parnell continued to work with Will Ferrell
If you're going to have anyone from Saturday Night Live on your side, it helps if it's Will Ferrell. The comedy icon made sure SNL wasn't his only time working with Chris Parnell.
Parnell had a scene-stealing role as Garth Holliday in Anchorman, delivering the memorable line calling Ron Burgundy "poop mouth." He revised the role in the 2013 sequel.
Other SNL alumni have also made a point to share the screen with Parnell since he left the show. Andy Samberg's movie Hot Rod featured Parnell, and he also appeared in Samberg's TV series Brooklyn Nine-Nine and the animated Chip n' Dale movie.
Parnell also had a role in Dewey Cox with Kristen Wiig and Tim Meadows. You can also see in him Sisters co-starring Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Maya Rudolph.
Adam Sandler has also worked with Parnell in the Hotel Transylvania franchise and in the Netflix comedy The Ridiculous 6. In television, Tina Fey has collaborated with Parnell in 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.