Few television series have quite the history of Saturday Night Live. For five decades, the show has provided us with some of the most memorable comedy and most memorable comedians that we’ve ever seen. Will Forte is certainly among the top tier who have found incredible success thanks to the show, but it turns out that he still gets starstruck when meeting the comedians who are even bigger names.
Forte was one of many who attended the massive SNL 50 event that saw some of the biggest names in entertainment, former cast members, former hosts, and more, in attendance. Speaking with EW, Forte admits he still gets starstruck quite regularly, and mentions two specific SNL vets who make him feel that way, Bill Murray and Martin Short. Forte said…
Everywhere you turned, there was a new exciting person. So many people who I was fans of from the show that I never got to meet. I've been near Bill Murray so many times, but never had the courage to go up and introduce myself. I still get starstruck around people, and I get really quiet and shy. Even around people who are incredibly easy to talk to, like Martin Short — couldn't be a nicer person than Martin Short, and I still get really quiet. I just turned into a dummy. So people are very patient with me.
I’m not sure i can blame Will Forte all that much. As somebody who has had the opportunity to meet and talk with celebrities on a not infrequent basis, it never feels like it gets any easier to talk to them. Even people who aren’t necessarily A-list celebrities by most definitions can be intimidating if it’s somebody whose work you respect.
Bill Murray would likely come across to most as intimidating, and while Martin Short might actually be as nice as he appears, if I met him, you can be sure I wouldn’t know what to say.
Of course, Will Forte would have a much easier time starting a conversation, especially at a big SNL party, because he was a big part of the show’s success, too, just like those people he met at the event. Forte said…
I'm starstruck around so many of those people. It was really fun because I kept seeing these really fun people that I'm a fan of, and I'm like, 'Oh, that's right, I'm part of this thing too. Geez, wow. What a cool thing.'
Forte says that when he was actually a cast member on Saturday Night Live, he rarely, if ever, had a chance to come to terms with the history and importance of it all because the hectic show schedule made that difficult. It’s only now that he has a chance to come to terms with the fact that he’s part of it, just like the people he has trouble talking to. He continued…
The 50th anniversary was a very, very special time. Cause when you're there, it's this amazing place with this tradition, and it's such an honor to be there, but you're grinding through each week and you're stressed out, and you get through the week and then you gotta just dive into the next week. And you have very little time to really take a big-picture look at what's going on. You're just moving forward.
One imagines there are a few current SNL stars who feel about Will Forte that he feels about Bill Murray and Martin Short. I get the impression he won’t mind if they come up and start a conversation
