Jesse Eisenberg Recalls Mistake While Hosting ‘SNL’: ‘I’m an Idiot’

It might have been 14 years since Jesse Eisenberg hosted Saturday Night Live, but it’s still sticking with him due to one major mistake he made. The Now You See Me actor hosted SNL on Jan. 29, 2011, which was the first and so far only time that he’s hosted. Ahead of the show’s 50^th anniversary special this weekend, Eisenberg recalled his time hosting during an appearance on Today With Jenna & Friends and co-host, former SNL cast member Amy Poehler.

‘When I was 17, it was my dream to write for SNL,” Eisenberg said via The Hollywood Reporter. “I made up a packet and everything, and I got an agent, and when I got asked to host – which was like 10 years later – I assumed I could write all the sketches.” But as Eisenberg pointed out, “they have writers.”

“I’m an idiot,” he continued. “I was just wanting to write. I wanted to write my whole life, so I spent the week slipping scripts to different actors. I didn’t realize [that’s not how it’s done].” He also said that it was “unbelievably inappropriate and offensive,” but Poehler, who starred on SNL for eight seasons, told Eisenberg he “worked too hard. Better to go that way than the other way.”

It’s a simple mistake that really anyone who hadn’t hosted SNL can make, especially for someone who had dreamt of being on the show. Although Eisenberg hasn’t hosted since then, he seems to have definitely learned from his mistakes, so perhaps now would be the perfect time to come back, especially to promote his critically acclaimed film A Real Pain.

Meanwhile, Saturday Night Live’s 50^th season has been filled to the brim with great hosts, musical guests, and plenty of surprises. This weekend will also bring several celebrations, starting with SNL50: The Homecoming Concert airing tomorrow on Peacock, the first-ever episode of SNL airing on Saturday on NBC, and SNL50: The Anniversary Special rounding things out on Sunday on NBC. The series also dropped the four-part documentary SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night and music documentary Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music, both of which are streaming on Peacock.

Considering Jesse Eisenberg is still as busy as ever and doing as well as ever, it might only be just a matter of time before he gets called back to Studio 8H, even despite not knowing too much the first round. At the very least, his episode, along with all 50 seasons of Saturday Night Live, is streaming on Peacock.