James Marsden Reminisces on His Failed “Saturday Night Live” Audition: 'It Was a Bad Choice'
"I don’t know why we chose to do this, but we clucked like chickens and just walked around each other," Marsden recalled of his audition for the famed late-night sketch comedy show
James Marsden has some regrets about his Saturday Night Live audition years ago.
The actor, 51, appeared on the Wednesday, Dec. 18 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, where he opened up about the time he auditioned — "if you can call it that," he quipped — to be on SNL. While he didn’t land the role, Marsden joked about the story that came out of it.
“They did a nationwide talent search and a friend of mine in my drama class, or whatever, who I used to do these humorous sketches with, said, ‘Let’s go down and audition for it,’” he explained. “I think they made us do… It wasn’t even something like, ‘Create an interesting character,’ or whatever. It was like, ‘Do whatever silly thing you want to do.’ I don’t know why we chose to do this, but we clucked like chickens and just walked around each other.”
“Yeah, it was a bad choice,” he added.
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James MarsdenWhen hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos suggested he host the famed late-night sketch comedy show, Marsden said he’d “love to,” but revealed his bigger desire.
“I did 30 Rock for a bit with Tina Fey, and I said, ‘You know, my dream was always to be on SNL,’” he recalled. “And she goes, ‘Oh, well, you’ll host at some point.’ And I go, ‘No, as a regular. I wanna be the guys!’”
“She was like, ‘Well, you probably can if you want to,’” he revealed. “But yeah, I just love doing impressions and different characters.”
“It’s time for you to host that show,” Ripa then said as Consuelos cleverly chimed in: “Yeah, host the show and do the clucky chicken.”
Although he didn’t make it onto SNL, Marsden has found massive success in his career. In January 2024, he was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role on Jury Duty, in which he played an exaggerated version of himself on the hilarious Amazon Freevee mockumentary.
The show followed a cast of actors who embodied quirky American citizens called to serve on a jury, along with one unknowing non-actor, Richard Gladden, who thought the whole experience was real.
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James MarsdenHe ended up losing the award to Matthew Macfayden for his role in HBO's Succession, but Marsden shared a screenshot later that night showing his mom Kathleen’s sweet message about his nomination.
"My favorite moment of tonight was when they had your picture up with the other five nominees," she gushed in the text. "Just like I've seen all my life of different nominee pics all together like that. And I [am] saying to myself — my son is one of the 6 chosen and there he is up on the tv screen next to the other nominees. MY son did that. I can't quit smiling."
Marsden captioned the photo, "My mom, I love you," with a red heart emoji.
He is currently gearing up for the Dec. 20 premiere of the upcoming movie Sonic the Hedgehog 3 after promoting his roles in Michael Keaton’s Knox Goes Away and Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted earlier this year.
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Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekday mornings on ABC (check local listings).
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