Why Tom Holland Won’t Host SNL<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> Leonardo DiCaprio, Viola Davis, Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Tom Cruise, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, and, last but not least, Tom Holland.<\/p>\n Of the major names on that list, it\u2019s always surprised me that Tom (Holland, not Cruise) has never hosted SNL. He\u2019s multitalented, great at accents, and he\u2019s certainly not afraid to get a little silly \u2014 his Lip Sync Battle<\/a> episode is iconic for a reason! The big question is, why hasn\u2019t he ever done it? This is something that fans have speculated about<\/a> for a long time, and we now have some solid answers.<\/p>\n Chatting with SNL alum Amy Poehler on her Good Hang<\/a> podcast<\/a> this week, 30-year-old Tom shared his valid apprehensions about stepping into Studio 8H as host. \u201cI\u2019m heavily dyslexic, which is one of the reasons why \u2014 and I\u2019d love to talk to you today about it, actually \u2014 is why I\u2019ve never done SNL,\u201d he said, prompting Amy to let out a gasp of realization. \u201cBecause of the cue cards?!\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n For context, since the very first episode in 1975, SNL has relied on the cast reading their lines from handwritten cue cards<\/a>. Though it may seem rather outdated, the cue cards have been described as a \u201cfoolproof<\/a>\u201d way of avoiding other technical issues during the live broadcast. That said, it certainly doesn\u2019t work for everyone \u2014 particularly if you struggle with dyslexia, like Tom.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so petrified at the concept of trying to read something, and then they change [it],\u201d Tom told Amy. \u201cFor me, I can read fine, but when I have to read out loud, it just becomes like a kind of\u2014 it\u2019s like a mental block, and I can freeze.\u201d<\/p>\n Interestingly, he went on to explain how he manages his dyslexia in his day-to-day work as a movie star. \u201cFor me, my worst day at work is the read-through,\u201d he said. \u201cI will really try and highlight everything and learn my lines ahead of time so that I\u2019m more skimming it than I am reading it [in front of everyone].\u201d<\/p>\n Going back to the SNL discussion, Tom confirmed that he\u2019s turned down multiple offers to host over the years, saying: \u201cI\u2019ve been really lucky that they\u2019ve asked me a few times to do it, and the truth is that I\u2019m 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\u2019s just that thing of the cue cards.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, \u201cIt scares me. I\u2019m dyslexic\u2026 When I hear about how that show works, changing things at the last second, and I want to be good at it. I\u2019ve been watching that my whole life, and like, I don\u2019t want to be the guy, the host who sucks. I owe Lorne Michaels more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n Funnily enough, Zendaya\u2019s never hosted SNL either, so maybe she and Tom could do it together next season? Couples have hosted<\/a> before! Lorne, if you\u2019re reading this\u2026<\/p>\n