Jesse Eisenberg recalls the embarrassing moment he had when he hostedSaturday Night Live. Eisenberg has been acting for over two decades but really rose to prominence when he played Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg inThe Social Network. His performance earned him praise, including an Academy Award nomination forBest Actor. This year,Eisenberg is nominated for an Academy Award once again for writing the screenplay forA Real Pain, which he also directed and starred in.
Years later, Eisenberg recalls onToday With Jenna & Friends(viaThe Hollywood Reporter) how he felt humiliated when he first hostedSaturday Night Live. He had always dreamed of writing for the NBC series, so when it was his time to host,he mistakenly assumed that he would be able to write all the sketches. Upon reflection, he said to Amy Poehler that this was “unbelievably inappropriate and offensive,” but she assured him that he “worked too hard” and should not worry about it. Check out the quote from Eisenberg below:
When I was 17, it was my dream to write forSNL. 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.
I’m an idiot. 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].
What This Meant For Jesse Eisenberg’s SNL Hosting
Eisenberg Was Still Early In His Career
EisenberghostedSaturday Night Liveon August 12, 2025, not long after the wide release ofThe Social Networkin October 2010. At the time of his hosting, the actor was only 27 years old, so he was still up-and-coming in terms of achieving his dreams. As such, it would make sense that he would be over-eager for hisSNLhosting stint, especially given it had been a decade-long dream. Unfortunately, the gig was not everything he thought it would be, even if it makes a good story now.
Every SNL Sketch From The First Episode Ranked
Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night movie depicts the 90 minutes before the very first episode of SNL, so here are all of its original sketches ranked.
Knowing about Eisenberg’sSaturday Night Livewriting dream makes his career trajectory make more sense. Eisenberg never did make it to the coveted comedy writing room, but he has penned scripts in the more recent part of his career. Hisfirst feature screenplay was for his debut directorial workWhen You Finish Saving the Worldin 2022. Two years later, he wrote the script forA Real Pain, which earned him a writing nomination. He may not be writing forSNL, but he is now an Oscar-nominated screenwriter.
Our Take On Jesse Eisenberg’s Hosting Story
Eisenberg’s Writing May Be More Prominent In Future Years
Looking back, it is funny to hear a star as big as Eisenberg flub this much on his originalSaturday Night Livegig. Hosting the sketch comedy series is an honor for many celebrities, and can be a huge boost to those rising in their careers. Eisenberg may have transitioned more into writing now, but he has also always stayed true to his comedic roots. After writing the dramedyA Real Pain, it will be interesting to see how muchEisenbergleans into his writing side in the coming years.
