SNL Actors Who Make it Big (?)

O.K., some iterations of SNL characters who try to carry large-budget Hollywood films (e.g. 2010's MacGruber) are HORRIBLE. Some actors lack the gravitas to make it as movie stars. Will Forte, the actor behind MacGruber, the spoof of TV's classic fix-it-man MacGyver that was always funny on SNL, earned an Emmy nod this year playing Paul on 30 Rock. He just stank up the silverscreen in a movie that just couldn't carry its own weight. (Ironically, Kristin Wiig is in that flick. See below...)

Dana Carvey comes to mind as another sub-par movie actor, as does David Spade, who makes a better llama in The Emperor's New Groove than a version of his whiny, snarky self in any other role (Just Shoot Me on TV or Grown Ups 2 in theaters now).

Some former SNL actors have turned out to be brilliant on the larger screen. Take Dan Aykroyd (Driving Miss Daisy) or, of course, Bill Murray (Midnight Kingdom, Lost in Translation, etc.)

Say what you want about the anti-feminist, gross-out comedy Bridesmaids, but the Academy loved it. Kristin Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo landed a screenplay nomination, deservedly so. ("It's happening! It's happening!"). Few comedies make it onto this list. Diablo Cody's Juno (2007) was one that nabbed the trophy.

What I think is interesting is how TV actors make it big in movies and then loop back to TV. Kristin Wiig's hosting of Saturday Night Live in 2012 earned her an Emmy nod. Her last episode on SNL as a regular was a tearjerker, yet she came back in less than a year and earned an Emmy nomination.

Melissa McCarthy (who will ALWAYS be Sookie from Gilmore Girls to me) earned an Oscar nomination for her quirky Bridesmaids role as well as an Emmy for her performance on Mike & Molly. She has marshaled her au currant status (forget The Heat, perhaps) to host SNL twice. This second host spot earned her an Emmy nod in the same category she shares with Wiig: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, as her first gig hosting the show did in 2012.

Television... to movies... to television... When will the merry-go-round stop? Nevertheless, it's almost always a fun ride.