Veep star and perpetual Emmy-magnet Julia Louis-Dreyfus is set to host SNL this weekend, but in a new interview with the New York Times, the actress revealed that she could only look back “fondly-ish” at her run as a cast member on the seemingly immortal NBC series.
Louis-Dreyfus, who was chatting with the paper with season five of Veep to promote, shared that her three seasons on Saturday Night Live weren’t exactly overflowing with warm memories. Her recollection of her stint with the program backs up the steady stockpile of stories that SNL took ages to break out of its reputation as a boys’ club.
“I did not come out of SNL as any kind of name. I didn’t do anything particularly great when I was there. I didn’t. It’s fine. But I learned a tremendous amount. It was a very sexist environment. Since I’ve gone back, I can tell you it’s much more of an equal-opportunity environment.”
The less-than-desirable elements of SNL did push Louis-Dreyfus onto a path for better things, mind you.
“I was on it for three years, and when I left, I made this conscious decision that I would not take any jobs that didn’t seem as if they would be really fun. That’s very simplistic and Pollyannaish sounding, but really, I noted that. I’m not doing this unless I can have a deep sense of happiness while doing it. I’ve applied that, moving forward, and it’s worked. So in that sense, I have SNL to thank.”
Card shops are pretty limited in their “thanks for the sexist not-that-fun experience!” section, so Louis-Dreyfus’ quote will have to do. This weekend’s edition of SNL will mark the Seinfeld legend’s third appearance as host and features Nick Jonas serving as the musical guest.
(Via New York Times)
