Lorne Michaels regrets not casting THIS superstar comedian on SNL

Lorne Michaels is the man with the golden touch. He launched Saturday Night Live in 1975, and has guided it through five decades of comedic relevance. Michaels has launched the careers of too many superstars to count. His ability to pick out talent is staggering.

That being said, it's not infallible. Saturday Night Live has helped to launch stars, but there was one prospective cast member that auditioned to be part of the show in 1980. Michaels turned him down, only to regret it when the comedian went on to become a megastar. The comedian in question? Jim Carrey.

Jim Carrey was turned down by SNL in 1980

Jim Carrey was still honing his comedic persona in 1980. He made his debut on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1983, and spent time honing his craft as a stand up comic at the legendary Comedy Store venue in Los Angeles. Evidently, Carrey was still too raw to make an impression on SNL producers.

Or, at least, that's what Lorne Michaels was told. He admitted to Vanity Fair that he wasn't present for Carrey's audition:

"“I wasn't at the Jim Carrey audition. Somebody who was there said, ‘I don't think Lorne would like it,’ and they were probably wrong."

Carrey claims the SNL rejection fueled his future success

Michaels, who openly admits to making a mistake in Carrey's case, adds that bad calls are part of the creative process. "Or maybe they were right—who knows," he added. "No one gets it all right." Carrey would eventually land on the sketch comedy series In Living Color in 1990, where his star would rise before exploding in the mid-90s.

The beloved comedian may have been passed over, but he does not hold a grudge against Michaels or Saturday Night Live as an institution. Carrey credits his SNL rejection with helping to fuel his drive and eventual success. Plus, he went on to host the show three times in 1996, 2011, and 2014.

Jim Carrey also played Joe Biden for a series of well-received sketches in 2020. Obviously, things worked out the way they were supposed to.