Lorne Michaels Made Andrew Santino Fly to New York For ‘SNL’ Rejection

Even though he’s the man in charge of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels “generally avoids the emotional expenditure of telling people that they’re hired,” according to Airmail. 

Amy Poehler agrees. “It’s an amazing sense of discipline, almost Puritan in its restraint, how he doesn’t give himself the pleasure of hiring people,” she says. 

Michaels “never really has a moment where he says, ‘So, welcome to the show,’” Will Ferrell told the New York Times.

And yet, there are signs if you know how to read the tea leaves. After young comedians audition for Lorne and his lieutenants — famously, there are few laughs during those tryouts — some get invited back to spend one-on-one time with Michaels. He might ask you about your family. He could offer popcorn. These are all good signs, pal. You’re probably moving to the Big Apple.

That’s what Andrew Santino thought after he auditioned alongside Pete Davidson and Dan Soder in advance of the 2013/2014 season, he said this week on the Fly on the Wall podcast. He was feeling pretty good about his chances when, after his tryout, he got a call from an SNL producer saying Lorne wanted him to fly back to 30 Rock for a meeting.   

“I flew to New York, and I was like, is this it?” Santino remembered. “Am I going to move to New York? Like, this is wild.”

Santino showed up at Lorne’s office, “and then we talked for an hour about Chicago. He loved talking about Chicago because he knew I was from Chicago. He ate popcorn.”

The popcorn was another good omen, noted Fly on the Wall cohost Dana Carvey. Then Michaels asked Santino if he’d like to meet the people who worked on the show. “And so I walked around and met all the writers.” As job interviews go, the meet-and-greet appeared to be one of the final steps.

Finally, Lorne broke the news. “I think you're going to have a great career,” he told Santino before yoinking the rug from beneath him. “I don't think you're the puzzle piece I'm looking for.”

David Spade couldn’t believe Michaels had the gall to introduce Santino to everyone before kicking him to the curb. “It’s like meeting the family of the girl who breaks up with you.”

But Santino insists he had no hard feelings. He commiserated with Soder, a fellow stand-up and friend. “Yeah, (Pete) is like a decade younger than us! He was a kid. So I was like, yeah, they're gonna pick this malleable, cute kid whose dad died in 9/11 versus a vulnerable redheaded crackpot.”

Does Santino enjoy the current iteration of the show? He says he’s still a fan and has little patience for the haters. “You know, when SNL is at its best is when it's built for its audience. And its audience is usually younger than you. So when you're like, ‘I don't like these sketches,’ it's because it's not for you.”

Pretty magnanimous words from a comedian whom Lorne Michaels did dirty.