For most celebs, hosting Saturday Night Live is a dream come true. Actors especially seem to love the whole experience, with folks like Ben Affleck, Emma Stone, Dwayne Johnson, Jonah Hill, and Jack Black having hosted the show as many as five times.
But, despite SNL being somewhat of an A-list rite of passage, there are still a ton of super, super famous people who, for one reason or another, have never taken on the coveted hosting gig. This includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Viola Davis, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, and, last but not least, Tom Holland.
Of the major names on that list, it’s always surprised me that Tom (Holland, not Cruise) has never hosted SNL. He’s multitalented, great at accents, and he’s certainly not afraid to get a little silly — his Lip Sync Battle episode is iconic for a reason! The big question is, why hasn’t he ever done it? This is something that fans have speculated about for a long time, and we now have some solid answers.
Chatting with SNL alum Amy Poehler on her Good Hang podcast this week, 30-year-old Tom shared his valid apprehensions about stepping into Studio 8H as host. “I’m heavily dyslexic, which is one of the reasons why — and I’d love to talk to you today about it, actually — is why I’ve never done SNL,” he said, prompting Amy to let out a gasp of realization. “Because of the cue cards?!” she replied.
For context, since the very first episode in 1975, SNL has relied on the cast reading their lines from handwritten cue cards. Though it may seem rather outdated, the cue cards have been described as a “foolproof” way of avoiding other technical issues during the live broadcast. That said, it certainly doesn’t work for everyone — particularly if you struggle with dyslexia, like Tom.
“I’m so petrified at the concept of trying to read something, and then they change [it],” Tom told Amy. “For me, I can read fine, but when I have to read out loud, it just becomes like a kind of— it’s like a mental block, and I can freeze.”
Interestingly, he went on to explain how he manages his dyslexia in his day-to-day work as a movie star. “For me, my worst day at work is the read-through,” he said. “I will really try and highlight everything and learn my lines ahead of time so that I’m more skimming it than I am reading it [in front of everyone].”
Going back to the SNL discussion, Tom confirmed that he’s turned down multiple offers to host over the years, saying: “I’ve been really lucky that they’ve asked me a few times to do it, and the truth is that I’m actually just really scared. I love the show, and I love the idea of having fun and making a fool of yourself in such a fun, creative way. It’s just that thing of the cue cards.”
While a few openly dyslexic celebs, like Jennifer Aniston and Salma Hayek, have successfully hosted SNL in the past, Tom certainly wouldn’t be the first star to turn it down due to cue card anxiety. His Marvel colleague, Mark Ruffalo, shared similar comments in 2024, saying, “It scares me. I’m dyslexic… When I hear about how that show works, changing things at the last second, and I want to be good at it. I’ve been watching that my whole life, and like, I don’t want to be the guy, the host who sucks. I owe Lorne Michaels more than that.”
Funnily enough, Zendaya’s never hosted SNL either, so maybe she and Tom could do it together next season? Couples have hosted before! Lorne, if you’re reading this…
Catch Tom on the latest episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler here.
