Hosting Saturday Night Live is famously a high-stress gig. A celebrity is thrown into a crazy machine where they become a part of a sketch comedy troupe for a week. The SNL host helps see every sketch from front to back, while also being the centerpiece for the whole show. It’s an honor to be asked to be a part of the production, but also a big undertaking. Now, as Jack Black gets ready to host the NBC mainstay for the fifth time this weekend, he opened up about the stressful experience.
Black sat down with his The Super Mario Galaxy Movie co-star, Anya Taylor-Joy, to talk about the SNL experience with Entertainment Weekly. While Jack Black may have a lot of experience with the endeavor, as the upcoming Season 51 host is becoming an official member of the Five-Timers Club, he admitted he still gets nervous. He explained that the scariest part of the week is when the host is standing behind that iconic door, preparing to walk out at the top of the show, and the stress levels couldn’t be higher. He said:
It's all about those 10 seconds before you walk out to introduce yourself and introduce the show. It’s crazy. Your stress levels go [up].
Taylor-Joy echoed Black’s statement about the show, admitting that she also was a big ball of nerves when she was a Season 46 SNL host. The Queen’s Gambit star hosted back in 2021, and it was actually a big debut for her because she ended up hosting the season finale of the show.
While she has yet to host for the second time, Taylor-Joy said she felt like it might be easier the second time around, because she has a better understanding of the flow of the show. I’d personally love to see her host again, as I feel like she was getting her feet wet the first time, and it's an opportunity to see her comedy chops.
While Black may still get nervous waiting behind that door to go out on stage, it clearly does not throw him off. Not only does the comedy actor famously have boundless energy and confidence, but he also managed to take a nap between shows. He told his co-star that a woman named Donna, who famously helps the host with quick changes between sketches, brought Black a pillow to rest his head between dress rehearsal and air. To have that level of zen is pretty impressive and shows that Black probably isn’t intimidated by much.
If there’s anyone you’d trust to thrive under that kind of pressure, it’s Jack Black. Listening to him talk about the nerves right before walking on stage is enough to get me stressed out just thinking about it, but this is what makes SNL so exciting in the first place. Black being able to balance that kind of pre-show jitters with a pre-show power nap is a testament to his prowess as a performer and proves he is a next-level entertainer. I personally can’t wait to see what he brings to the Studio 8H stage for his fifth time hosting.
You can see Jack Black join the Five-Timers Club tonight on Saturday Night Live, which airs at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC tonight. If you miss it, make sure to stream it with a Peacock subscription, along with the other exciting SNL episodes from Season 51.
