15 Celebrities Who Got Their Start on 'Saturday Night Live': From Adam Sandler to Will Ferrell and More

In 1990, Adam Sandler made his first appearance on Saturday Night Live, delivering iconic skits until he was fired in 1995.

"My manager, Sandy, he was talking to me, and I said, 'Yeah, next year on the show,' and he was like, 'Maybe you don't go back next year,'" Sandler said of being let go during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show in 2019. "And I was like, 'I don't know, man. I still got a few more things.' And he's like, 'Yeah, but you did it already. And I was like, 'Yeah, I did it but …' And then I was like, 'Yeah, I'll think about it, and he's like, 'I think you thought about it.'"

SNL tapped Amy Poehler to co-host Weekend Update from 2001 to 2008. Her roles in the show's skits earned her two Emmy nominations before she left the cast for good.

Although Ben Stiller only appeared on four episodes of SNL in 1989, the experience soon led him to create his own sketch comedy series, The Ben Stiller Show.

Before appearing on hit films and franchises like Ghostbusters, Bill Murray worked with the SNL cast from 1977 to 1980 as a performer and writer. His performance earned him his first Emmy win for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 1977.

SNL original cast member Chevy Chase only spent less than two seasons in the show from 1975 to 1977. After the original Weekend Update anchor left, Murray stepped in as his replacement.

Comedian Chris Rock was an SNL staple from 1990 to 1993, playing notable roles while working closely with fellow cast members Sandler, Rob Schneider and Chris Farley.

From 1980 to 1984, Eddie Murphy entertained SNL viewers with his hilarious tirades.

SNL cutie Jimmy Fallon landed a spot on the show in 1998. However, he left the cast in 2004 to focus on his film career and eventually transition to hosting gigs.

Joan Cusack stayed for one season on SNL from 1985 until her firing the following year.

In 1982, Julia Louis-Dreyfus joined the NBC variety show and became its youngest female cast member at the age of 21. She stayed with SNL for three years before she decided to pursue a career in the TV and film industry.

Decades before he became a cast member of Only Murders in the Building, Martin Short worked on SNL from 1984 to 1985.

Throughout her almost one decade of SNL career, Maya Rudolph remarkably flaunted impersonations of Whitney Houston, Oprah Winfrey, Diana Ross and Donatella Versace, among others.

Mike Myers starred in several films while working on SNL from 1989 to 1995.

"I was scared s-------. I thought I was going to get fired every week, and that's the God's honest truth," Myers recalled his feelings about joining the show's cast.

Decades before joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Robert Downey Jr. had a short-lived stint on SNL between 1985 and 1986. He exited after one season on the show.

Will Ferrell served as a cast member of SNL from 1995 to 2002. In the years after leaving the show, the funnyman reappeared as a host several times.