‘SNL 1975’: See How the Cast Compares to the Original ‘SNL’ Stars
As Saturday Night Live nears its 50th anniversary, an upcoming film will take fans back to the making of the NBC comedy series’ first-ever episode.
SNL 1975 — directed by Jason Reitman and written by Reitman and Gil Kenan following interviews with SNL alums — is the story of what happened behind the scenes in the moments leading up to the show’s first broadcast on October 11, 1975, according to a logline shared by Deadline. The film will depict “the chaos and magic of a revolution that almost wasn’t” as the clock counts down in real-time, the logline adds.
Below, see SNL 1975 cast members versus the real-life Saturday Night Live figures they’ll portray in the upcoming film.
Gabriel LaBelle will play Lorne Michaels
LaBelle is best known for his Critics Choice Award-winning performance in the 2022 film The Fabelmans. Michaels created SNL and still executive-produces the show nearly a half-century later.
Cooper Hoffman will play Dick Ebersol
Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, made his screen debut in the 2021 film Licorice Pizza. Ebersol is the former NBC executive who helped create SNL.
Dylan O’Brien will play Dan Aykroyd
O’Brien starred in the supernatural TV series Teen Wolf and led the cast of the Maze Runner film trilogy. Aykroyd stayed with SNL until 1979 and then starred in the Ghostbusters franchise.
Matt Wood will play John Belushi
Wood was an understudy in SpongeBob SquarePants on Broadway and a cast member of the touring production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Belushi, who died in 1982, stayed with SNL until 1979 and also starred in the 1978 film Animal House.
Cory Michael Smith will play Chevy Chase
Smith starred in the TV drama Gotham and recently appeared in the film May December. Chase was only an SNL cast member until midway through Season 2; he later joined the cast of the Vacation film series and the TV comedy Community.
Kim Matula will play Jane Curtin
Matula is best known for her previous role as Hope Logan on The Bold and the Beautiful. Curtin was an SNL cast member until 1980 and then starred on the TV shows Kate & Allie and 3rd Rock from the Sun.
Lamorne Morris will play Garrett Morris
The younger Morris starred on the TV comedies New Girl and Woke and the most recent season of the drama anthology Fargo. After starring in SNL’s first five seasons, the elder Morris returned to TV in comedies like The Jamie Foxx Show and 2 Broke Girls.
Emily Fairn will play Laraine Newman
Fairn is an alum of the British cop drama The Responder and one episode of the sci-fi anthology Black Mirror. Newman was also an SNL star for its first five seasons, and she’s the mother of Hacks star Hannah Einbinder.
Ella Hunt will play Gilda Radner
Hunt played the lead role in the 2018 film Anna and the Apocalypse and starred in Dickinson on TV. Radner left the show in 1980 and later joined Sam Waterston in the Broadway play Lunch Hour before her 1989 death.
Rachel Sennott will play Rosie Shuster
Sennott is known for her starring roles in the films Shiva Baby, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and Bottoms. Shuster is a former SNL writer who was previously married to Michaels.
