How Did Lorne Michaels Save Jimmy Fallon's Career?

April 11, 2024

Jimmy Fallon is again on the Tonight Show following the top of the WGA strike and after facing toxic workplace allegations from staffers. The host has since apologized, announcing he's "embarrassed" and that he feels "so bad."

Accusers claimed that they have been in "constant state of fear" whilst on set. They even said it used to be "common knowledge" that "Fallon's temperament, mood, and treatment of staffers is erratic." As a consequence, "nobody told Jimmy 'no.' Everybody walked on eggshells, especially showrunners."

As he enjoys not being canceled like Ellen DeGeneres — who misplaced her sunlight hours series after equivalent accusations — the Saturday Night Live alum shared in a brand new podcast interview that SNL's showrunner, Lorne Michaels stored his career at one point. Here's the reality about their dating.

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How Did Lorne Michaels Cast Jimmy Fallon On SNL?

Fallon's first attempt at joining SNL was a failure. He had despatched in a tape from Los Angeles and used to be later invited to audition. On the massive day, he did a Troll doll bit that gained him the identify of "funniest person in the Hudson Valley," per The List. Unfortunately, it didn't impress Michaels at all. "I totally bombed it and it was terrible," Fallon recounted.

"I couldn't get the crowd going, they didn't quite know what I was talking about, and I rushed into it. I was so nervous," he added. His spot was then given to Tracy Morgan who was once in the display from 1996 to 2003. The following yr, Fallon returned for every other audition. This time, he were given in after doing an Adam Sandler influence that made Michaels giggle.

"At the time he had just left the show, and no one had done an impression of Adam," recalled the TV presenter. "And I made Lorne laugh — he put his head in his hands, and he laughed, and I thought, 'Wow!'" Years after Fallon left the display in 2004, Sandler gave the impression on the Tonight Show where the previous addressed his successful influence.

"You go 'All right, all right. Do the impression for me.' I was like, 'Oh my gosh,'" he mentioned of coming to the Happy Gilmore star to clear the air. "I just did, like, you know, the goofy 'Yabbadaba!'" And you cross, 'All right, that is just right. Good luck, kid!'" Fallon continued.

Sandler then said that he didn't mind the impressions at all. "I do consider all the time getting calls from anybody who mentioned your name, from buddies in my hometown, going 'Hey, did you see they had been making amusing of you?'" he said. "But as I were given older, I was like, 'What the hell is the difference, man? It's amusing! Who cares!'"

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Did Jimmy Fallon Quit SNL?

In 2004, Fallon announced his departure from SNL after a six-year stint. The choice got here from his need to pursue a film career. "My purpose was once simply to be in motion pictures — be like a rom-com man or something," he instructed Entrepreneur (via Nicki Swift). He thought "It's just the path" to follow.

But after a couple of credits in Taxi with Queen Latifah and Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore, Fallon realized that it wasn't working out for him. "Six years later, my film career didn't pan out," he later told USA Today. In July 2023, Fallon and Robert Downey Jr. opened up about their failed auditions for The Holiday starring Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, and Jack Black.

The two were hopeful in getting the parts that Law and Black ended up filling. "I was in a lodge room with Robert Downey Jr., Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, and we read this script... I stated, 'If Jack Black says no to this film, I'm so in. I'll do it for half his value,'" Fallon told Howard Stern, alongside the Iron Man actor.

Unfortunately, the film's director Nancy Meyers rejected them (at least in a nice way), saying: "This used to be nice. It's just now not a great fit. It's no longer a super are compatible." Stern then told the actors "that movie would were so much higher with the 2 of you guys."

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How Did Lorne Michaels Save Jimmy Fallon's Career?

During a recent episode of the Strike Force Five podcast, Fallon told his co-hosts Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, Jimmy Kimmel, and John Oliver about the time Michaels saved his dead-end movie career. Apparently, the SNL boss once told the host, NBC doesn't really want you," adding "I'm not even on their list."

But after the "two movies that didn't work," Michaels convinced NBC to let Fallon host Late Night. "I think Lorne said, 'Look, I've worked with Jimmy. He's a hard worker. He's going to be great at this. Either you do this with Jimmy or I’m not involved,'" Fallon stated of that second. "Or something like that. He actually went to bat for me and changed my life."

His spouse, Nancy Juvonen additionally licensed of Michaels' recommendation. And because it grew to become out, the chief had already steered that career pivot to Fallon when he left SNL. "I was leaving [SNL] and so [Michaels] goes, 'Would you ever want to do it? A talk show?' I go, 'I don’t think so,'" he mentioned. "And so I said, 'Well, in six years ask me and if I, you know, if I'm around, I’ll think about it.'"

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