Joining the Saturday Night Live (SNL) ensemble is frequently the ultimate validation for writers and comedians. Well, the show in itself is the Holy Grail of television comedy. Well-known comedic performers like Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, and Adam Sandler have all had their careers launched by the show. Being hired as a rookie means getting a direct passage to working at the highest level of live sketch comedy, which immediately increases your industry visibility and opens opportunities to television and film partnerships. Therefore, it is almost impossible for an aspiring artist to pass up an opportunity to be on SNL.

However, there are some who had to say no to the show and still became successful. Here are 10 of the famous celebrities who did so.

Saying no to SNL might have been the hardest thing she could have done in her entire life, considering it was her dream to be on the show. She had once dreamed of being in New York, falling in love with a writer from SNL, and living a happy life in the Big Apple. But fate had something else planned for her entirely.

When she got an offer to be a writer on SNL, she was already doing the US version of The Office. However, creator Greg Daniels was ready to let her break the contract only if SNL gave her a spot on the cast besides writing, as she was already starring in a small role on The Office besides being a writer there too. So, she could not fulfil her dream at that time, although she did get a chance to guest write that spring.

In the ‘80s, SNL was going through a change in leadership. As soon as D*** Ebersol came into power, he tried to take a bold step by going after Second City’s most talented players. While he was able to get Catherine O’Hara to his side (although for a very brief period), he was unable to convince John Candy to do the same.

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The main issue was that Candy was a part of the already well-known sketch comedy group of the Second City, which also included stalwarts like Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, and Catherine O'Hara. Despite this little detail, Ebersol continued to try to get Candy to join SNL. The book Saturday Night by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad claims that Candy felt embarrassed to be caught in the middle of the conflict between Second City Television (SCTV) and Saturday Night. Although he continued with the latter, he did host Saturday Night Live in 1983 and made a few cameos.

In a 2006 interview with The A.V. Club, J****** co-creator Jeff Tremaine revealed that although the reality TV show that he created with Johny Knoxville was gaining traction, it was slow. They created a brief tape that essentially described J******. It was quite well-liked and spreading around. SNL was able to get its hands on it. The show's producers were impressed with what they saw and offered Knoxville a role on Saturday Night Live, where his stunting skills would be put to use. However, Knoxville said no to SNL, choosing his friends and complete control over his intellectual property.

Bonnie Hunt, famous for Jumanji and Cheaper by the Dozen, had an opportunity to become a staple of television comedy, but declined due to something that she did not agree with. During the screening process, she asked Michael Lorne just one question regarding improvisation.

She just wanted to know if artists were allowed to improvise the ending of an act if they felt the ending was not landing properly. Lorne said no, and that was it for Hunt. Her decision to join SNL was dependent on that one simple thing, and she chose not to be a part of a system that could not give her complete freedom.

Andy D*** was also offered a part on SNL early on in his career, but had to decline because he came straight off The Ben Stiller Show. However, in actuality, he revealed that he was afraid to accept the offer, fearing that he could not do different characters every week. He lacked confidence then and regrets not saying yes to the show at that time.

There was a time when Catherine O’Hara left her iconic sketch comedy group on Second City Television (SCTV) to explore the high-energy, fast-paced world of Saturday Night Live. Her participation in the 1981 season was short-lived, lasting just a few weeks, as admitted by O’Hara herself.

The late actress only stated that she made a mistake by quitting SCTV in the first place, despite numerous accounts claiming that she was scared off by an event in which writer Michael O'Donoghue raged at the show's other writers. In a relatively short period of time, she knew that she did not belong with them and had to return home.

Amy Sedaris tried out for a role when Janeane Garofalo left in 1995, but she was also starring in a play named One Woman Shoe, which she had written with her brother David. She revealed in a 2001 interview with Interview Magazine that at the time, the play was all she needed and hence passed on the opportunity.

In the 1970s, Lorne Michaels begged The Beatles to return as musical guests on Saturday Night Live after they disbanded, claiming that NBC had given him permission to present them with a $3000 certified check. John Lennon revealed in David Sheff's book All We Are Saying that they did give it some thought, but ended up not going through with it.

Charlie Barnett, a legendary street performer and comedian who played the role of Dave Chappelle's mentor, lamented his lost chance with Saturday Night Live for many years. Barnett made rapid progress during the audition process, but he ultimately abandoned a final reading because he was worried about his lack of education (he had left school in the eighth grade).

Although there have been many doubts about whether Jennifer Aniston was ever genuinely offered a seat on SNL, Aniston is the one who initiated the rumor. Adam Sandler, Aniston's Just Go With It co-star and former cast member of Saturday Night Live, remembered seeing Aniston enter Lorne Michaels' office on the ninth floor in the early 1990s. She was there to discuss her possible inclusion in the SNL cast, but ultimately declined, citing that it was a boys' club.

Although Saturday Night Live holds great reverence in the world of television, sometimes there are things that become greater than the immense possibilities and promises of a better future offered by the show at the time. While SNL is not the only way to succeed in the comedy show business, as proved by the above-mentioned lot, it can be a great addition to one’s repertoire.

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Which name on the list shocked you the most? Do let us know in the comments.