Perhaps more so than any of Saturday Night Live's other former stars, Adam Sandler has been a magnet for mega-projects in Hollywood over the past 24 years. So much so, that he hadn't ever returned to his former NBC home to serve as its host in all that time. He's back now, though, and is set to take the stage for the May 4 episode. That is, of course, if he even makes it to Saturday night without collapsing from sketch-ridden exhaustion.
Adam Sandler appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers to talk about his big return to Lorne Michaels' SNL, and he pointed out that while it's been a great and happy time, it's taking a lot out of him.
I love Lorne and I wanted to see him and do it with him, and be on the show and bring back some guys. But I gotta tell you, it's knocked me out. I'm so knocked out right now.
Even though Adam Sandler spend some early years of his career living it up in the Saturday Night Live studio and offices, everything has come a long way since the early 1990s. Especially in the age department.
When Seth Meyers asked Adam Sandler if he made the effort to take part in one of SNL's long-night writing sessions, the star of Netflix's upcoming Murder Mystery confirmed that he had, and that it was not a boon for maintaining a non-hostile mood after the fact. Here's how Sandler put it.
When you do Saturday Night Live, you write the skits on a Monday, Tuesday kinda thing, and a lot of the guys [and the women] stay late. I stayed until like 4 [a.m.]. It wasn't bad. I came back, I was delirious, I was nasty. Nasty to the hotel guy when my key wasn't ready. 'Come on, man!!' I was a little psychotic. I haven't bounced back from that yet. Tonight, I gotta sleep, though.
So if anyone notices at the top of Saturday night's show that Adam Sandler looks ready to bite the heads off of nails in order to spit them back in people's faces, it might be because he's still trying to catch up on his sleep. Chances are, though, that he'll be just fine. In any case, we hope he's not too tired to deliver some news updates via operatic solos.
Luckily for Adam Sandler, the Saturday Night Live team reached out to him long before his scheduled hosting date. As the comedian put it, it was his Netflix special 100% Fresh that inspired the decision to get him on board, so he's had a while to get re-acclimated with SNL's current comedy stylings. When Seth Meyers was asked to host a Season 44 episode late last year, on the other hand, he said he was given about a week's notice. I guess it helps that he works in the same building.
Though Sandler says he's having a great time connecting with the current cast, as well as bringing some old friends back into it, there is one semi-complaint he brought to the table: he waited too long to return, though not for the reasons one might guess. Here's how he put it:
I should have come back to the show before it was HD. Good lord, I waited a long time. I don't really look like Adam Sandler anymore, but that's alright.
There's no doubt that Adam Sandler looks a tad older than he did on his last regular season episode 24 years ago. But so long as his comedic chops remain youthful and timeless, fans should have a great time watching him host.
Check out the awesomely creepy promo the show put together earlier this week.
Saturday Night Live will air Adam Sandler's episode on Saturday, May 4, at 11:35 p.m. ET, with Shawn Mendes as the musical guest. There are only two episodes left after that, to be hosted by Emma Thompson and Paul Rudd.
