Will Ferrell joins the SNL Five-Timers Club — see who else is a member
The SNL Five-Timers Club
The elite group of Saturday Night Live hosts known as the Five-Timers Club — made up, of course, of those who have hosted the show five or more times — has steadily grown over the last four decades, with Will Ferrell and Dwayne Johnson among the latest to join. Ahead, see who else belongs to the club.
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Alec Baldwin
No. of times hosting: 17
First time: April 21, 1990
Joined the Club: Dec. 10, 1994
SNL’s resident Donald Trump impersonator holds the record for hosting the most episodes, not including all the times he appeared in a guest capacity. Baldwin broke the 15-time marker left by Steve Martin in 2011 when the Father of the Bride funnyman was on hand to jokingly demand a drug test. One of Baldwin’s most memorable moments is the “Schweddy Balls” on NPR’s “Delicious Dish” segment. Though, he has since earned both praise and ire — including from Trump himself — over his ongoing impression of the sitting president.
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Steve Martin
No. of times hosting: 15
First time: Oct. 23, 1976
Joined the Club: April 22, 1978
The comedian was the quickest to join the Five-Timers Club (546 days), appearing on the show so many times in its early days that he was nearly an honorary cast member. He was such a popular host that viewership increased by nearly a million when he appeared on the show. Martin created many iconic characters while hosting, including “wild and crazy guy” Georgi Festrunk alongside cast member Dan Aykroyd. He also debuted his novelty song “King Tut” on a 1978 episode, previewing it before its release as a single that would go on to sell over one million copies.
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John Goodman
No. of times hosting: 13
First time: Dec. 2, 1989
Joined the Club: May 7, 1994
Goodman’s illustrious history with SNL includes a Wilford Brimley impression, a skinny jeans H&M bit, and Rex Tillerson, Trump’s pick for secretary of state, who Goodman reprised in December alongside Alec Baldwin’s Trump and Kate McKinnon’s Kellyanne Conway. The actor is also one of the most frequent hosts.
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Tom Hanks
No. of times hosting: 9
First time: Dec. 14, 1985
Joined the Club: Dec. 8, 1990
The Oscar-winner returned to hosting duties for the first time in 10 years in 2016 with a memorable set of sketches including “Black Jeopardy” and the invention of David S. Pumpkins, which kicked off a Halloween costume craze. But Hanks was actually the first host to mention the Five-Timers club when he became a member in December 1990 with a monologue that featured other club members Steve Martin, Elliott Gould, and Paul Simon (more on him later). Hanks showed off his membership card and gave an exclusive glimpse inside the club, officially making the “Five-Timers Club” a thing.
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Chevy Chase
No. of times hosting: 8
First time: Feb. 18, 1978
Joined the Club: Dec. 6, 1986
“I’m Chevy Chase, and you’re not.” This was the first "Weekend Update" host’s famous opener. He became the first cast member to leave the show after only one season, though he said he later regretted it. Chase ended up returning to the show a number of times as host, his latest one being 1997.
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Christopher Walken
No. of times hosting: 7
First time: Jan. 20, 1990
Joined the Club: May 19, 2001
More cowbell! Walken instantly joined the annals of SNL history with that iconic phrase in a 2000 sketch where he played a rock producer demanding more cowbell from musician Gene Frenkle (Will Ferrell). The Oscar-winning actor known for playing creepy or unsettling roles is an unlikely member of this club, but he has his own recurring SNL character – The Continental, a debonair gentleman who believes he’s a “ladies man” but is constantly rebuffed for his sexually predatory behavior. The sketch was a parody of a 1950s CBS show of the same name, and in 2002, Walken was rumored to express interest in portraying the character in a feature film.
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Drew Barrymore
No. of times hosting: 6
First time: Nov. 20, 1982
Joined the Club: Feb. 3, 2007
In 1982, a 7-year-old Drew Barrymore hosted SNL fresh off her performance in Steven Spielberg’s E.T., making her the youngest host in the history of the sketch comedy series. Her sixth time leading SNL came in 2009. During her opening monologue, she noted this was the most for any female host.
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Danny DeVito
No. of times hosting: 6
First time: May 15, 1982
Joined the Club: Jan. 9, 1993
The It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia actor delivered his latest hosting turn in 1999, just before he was to appear on screen in Man on the Moon. But he broke into the Five-Timer’s Club in 1993, after debuting as The Penguin in Tim Burton’s Batman Returns.
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Elliott Gould
No. of times hosting: 6
First time: Jan. 10, 1976
Joined the Club: Feb. 16, 1980
Gould’s sixth and last time hosting SNL was in 1980 after the notorious sixth season, when boss Lorne Michaels, the entire writing staff, and cast left. It was a rickety time as Jonathan Demme took the helm. Gould never hosted again, but appeared in one of Tom Hanks’ episodes in 1990.
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Ben Affleck
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: Feb. 19, 2000
Joined the Club: May 18, 2013
The Batman actor first appeared on SNL in 1999 for a surprise pop-in during Gwyneth Paltrow’s opening monologue as host. So when it was his turn to take the Studio 8H main stage a few months later, Paltrow was on hand to return the favor with a jokey, awkward appearance. Affleck came back to host four more times, his last being in 2013 with musical guest Kanye West.
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Candice Bergen
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: Nov. 8, 1975
Joined the Club: May 19, 1990
Bergen, a favorite of SNL, made history when she became the first woman to host the show in 1975. She quickly added a second appearance that same year in December. “Consumer Probe” and “The Right to Extreme Stupidity” are two sketches fans continuously point to as highlights.
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Tina Fey
No. of times hosting: 6
First time: Feb. 23, 2008
Joined the Club: Dec. 19, 2015
Another longtime mainstay of SNL with her stint on the "Weekend Update" news desk, head writer duties, and various impressions, Fey’s first hosting turn came on the first episode back from the 2007-2008 writers’ strike. She left her post on the show in 2006 and created 30 Rock, but has since hosted a total of six times, on top of her guest appearances. Fey brought her iconic Sarah Palin impersonation back to SNL during a 2016 cold open with Darrell Hammond’s Donald Trump.
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Buck Henry
No. of times hosting: 10
First time: Jan. 17, 1976
Joined the Club: Nov. 19, 1977
The Graduate scribe last hosted in 1980. He was the first person to join the club and the only member besides Steve Martin to join in less than four years, hosting five times in 671 days. Henry was the host for the show’s only live remote attempt from Mardi Gras 1977 in New Orleans. Lorne Michaels credits him with the idea for “recurring sketches,” and Henry himself recurred as Mr. Dantley, a straight man to John Belushi’s Samurai Futabi. In a second season sketch called “Samurai Stockbroker,” Belushi accidentally cut Henry with his samurai sword, leading Henry to wear a bandage on his head for the remainder of the show. Chevy Chase, in what was his final episode, included the incident in the “Weekend Update” News and by the end of the show, all of the cast members appeared with bandaged heads.
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Scarlett Johansson
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: Jan. 14, 2006
Joined the Club: March 11, 2017
On her fifth turn hosting in 2017, Johansson made waves playing Ivanka Trump in a satirical perfume ad for a scent named “Complicit,” and it wasn’t the first time she’d played the first daughter – back in 2007, she appeared as Ivanka in a sketch parodying Live with Regis and Kelly.
Johansson will join the unofficial SNL "six-timer club" when she hosts the show on Dec. 14.
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Dwayne Johnson
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: March 18, 2000
Joined the Club: May 20, 2017
Johnson’s induction into the Five-Timer’s Club came just one week after Melissa McCarthy earned the distinction and a special jacket from Steve Martin. The Baywatch star hosted SNL twice under his WWE wrestler name the Rock and thrice as Dwayne Johnson. He reflected on some of his favorite moments from the late-night sketch comedy series in a “Rock Reacts” YouTube video. “When it comes to comedy, you either commit or you don’t commit. So, you gotta f—ing commit,” he said.
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Melissa McCarthy
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: Oct. 1, 2011
Joined the Club: May 13, 2017
The Bridesmaids star joined the club in 2017, despite her monologue on her fourth outing being all about joining (she claimed her appearance on the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary qualified her for membership). McCarthy brought her signature brand of humor to the 42nd season, appearing as White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer. Her live-wire volatility has made her a favorite host since her first appearance in 2011 and her instant classic “Hidden Valley Ranch Taste Test” sketch in which she squeezed an entire jug of ranch all over her face. McCarthy also already has a recurring character, Sheila Kelly — an aggressive and violent woman who first appeared as a Bobby Knight-esque women’s basketball coach in a 2013 sketch.
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Bill Murray
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: March 7, 1981
Joined the Club: Feb. 20, 1999
Murray was the second SNL cast member to come back as a host and join the Five-Timer club (original cast member Chevy Chase was the first, who, ironically, Murray was hired to replace in the show’s second season). Murray made a memorable cameo in season 42, joining his hometown Chicago Cubs to celebrate their World Series victory, but the elusive actor hasn’t hosted since he joined the club in 1999. In addition to his stint hosting “Weekend Update” alongside Jane Curtin, Murray created many memorable characters as a cast member on SNL from Nick the lounge singer to Gilda Radner’s boyfriend Todd DiLaMuca.
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Justin Timberlake
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: Oct. 11, 2003
Joined the Club: March 9, 2013
When Timberlake clinched his membership in 2013, SNL revived the “Five-Timer Club” sketch with members Paul Simon, Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hanks, and Candice Bergen, as well as portraits of John Goodman and Drew Barrymore. Timberlake holds the record for sharing hosting duties and musical guest responsibilities — he’s done it three out of five times. Timberlake debuted one of his signature roles, Robin Gibb on Jimmy Fallon’s The Barry Gibb Talk Show, on his first outing as host, but he secured his position as a hosting MVP with the premiere of the Lonely Island digital short “Dick in a Box” alongside Andy Samberg in 2006. Timberlake has created a series of recurring roles — perhaps most beloved beside his Lonely Island gig is his “Bring it on Down to [insert product]-ville” sketches where he dons a mascot costume and shills product with a series of modified pop songs.
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Jonah Hill
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: March 15, 2008
Joined the Club: Nov. 3, 2018
Fellow Five-Timers Tina Fey, Candice Bergen, and Drew Barrymore welcomed the 21 Jump Street star to the club in 2018 with another revival of the signature sketch introduced for Tom Hanks' fifth go-round. Hill first hosted in 2008, on the heels of Superbad's success, and has made his mark on the show with such characters as six-year-old Borscht Belt comedian Adam Grossman.
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Will Ferrell
No. of times hosting: 5
First time: May 14, 2005
Joined the Club: Nov. 23, 2019
Will Ferrell is a true SNL all-star, with his seven-year tenure as a cast member yielding such iconic sketches as "More Cowbell" and "Celebrity Jeopardy." He's since popped back up on the show many times, including five turns as host. For his inauguration into the Five-Timers Club in 2019, the Anchorman star didn't reprise any of his recurring characters, simply relying on his formidable comedic skills.
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Honorable Mention: Paul Simon
No. of times hosting: 4
First time: October 18, 1975
Joined the Club: May 10, 1986
Simon isn’t technically a member — he’s only hosted four times and he got his membership card for his fifth appearance on the show as a musical guest. Despite his membership being on a technicality, Simon has appeared in both Five-Timer Club sketches (the 1990 Tom Hanks sketch and a 2013 sketch where Justin Timberlake joined the club). In total, he’s appeared as a musical guest eight times and as a special guest of the show five times, including a moving performance of “The Boxer” for New York police officers and firemen on the first episode of the show following 9/11.