One of the great traditions of SNL is the audition. Supposedly, all auditions are done on a stage in from of Lorne Michaels. Each actor gets 10 minuted to do whatever impression or scene he or she wants. The most nerve-racking part, however, is the Lorne doesn't laugh during the performance. Since most tapes aren't available online, I've compiled the best I can find. Phil Hartman was on the show from 1986-1994, doing over 70 impressions. Perhaps his best known impression was of Bill Clinton.
Jimmy Fallon acted on the show for 6 seasons, anchoring weekend update. I remember him for always cracking up during sketches. Even so, he was a distiguished performer whose new show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon was Emmy-nominated.
Dana Carvey was certainly an elite SNL performer, best known for playing the Church Lady, George Bush Sr., and Garth Algar (sidekick in Wayne's World).
John Belushi was at the core of the SNL cast in seasons 1 through 4. My favorite role for him was the Samurai Delicatessen.
Not long ago, Will Ferrell's audition was available online but NBC has cracked down and deleted all the videos. If it comes up somewhere, I'll post it as soon as I can because it's the best audition I've seen.
