Since May, SNL has shed many of the anonymous members of its cast. John Milhiser, Noël Wells, and Brooks Wheelan are gone, and none will be particularly missed (unlike the forever-underused Nasim Pedrad, who left for a starring role on Mulaney). A 14-member cast, including Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che, seemed sufficient, but according to Deadline, Lorne Michaels has hired standup comedian Pete Davidson as a feature player. He’s 20 years old.
A native of Staten Island, NY, Davidson started his career in comedy at age 16, using it as a therapeutic outlet after losing his father, a New York City firefighter, on 9/11. Making his rounds in the New York comedy scene, he was spotted by Nick Cannon who took him under his wing. Davidson was a semi-regular on the revival of Nick Cannon Presents: Wild ‘N Out improv comedy series on MTV2 last year, leading to a gig on [MTV2’s] Guy Code. Davidson, who dropped out of college, made his film acting debut in Cannon’s direct-to-video School Dance. (Via)
Here’s his standup set on Jimmy Kimmel Live! from April.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93wjmELTF3I
Expect Davidson to fill in for Cecily Strong on “Girlfriends Talk Show.”
