Adam Sandler created many indelible characters during his time on Saturday Night Live, and he has since collaborated with alums of the long-running show in his films. After portraying such iconic figures as Opera Man and Canteen Boy, and introducing the world to “The Hanukkah Song,” he was fired from the show in 1995. While a cast member, however, he starred in the film Billy Madison, a big-screen vehicle that announced his signature brand of goofball swagger. In that film alone, he shared the screen with SNL players like Norm Macdonald and Chris Farley, beginning a tradition that continues to this day.
His 1998 film The Waterboy, which incidentally featured the first of many Sandler film cameos by Rob Schneider, became a massive hit, transforming the young comedian into a bona fide movie star. His films, which include comedy hits like Big Daddy, Happy Gilmore, Anger Management, and Grown Ups, have earned more than $2 billion at the box office, and Sandler’s Netflix movies have yielded some of the highest view counts in the streaming service’s history. Beloved by audiences but often lambasted by critics, Sandler has never shied away from making the types of movies he wants to make, and oftentimes he’s done it alongside his SNL friends.
Over his decades in the film industry, Sandler has surrounded himself with a strong stable of comedic talent, many of whom he met through Saturday Night Live. From Chris Rock to Maya Rudolph, Dana Carvey to Andy Samberg, some of SNL‘s heaviest hitters have gone on to share the screen with the Sandman. Here is every SNL cast member who has ever made an appearance in an Adam Sandler movie.
Dan Aykroyd
Dan Aykroyd is probably most well-known for his role in Ghostbusters, but he was also a member of Saturday Night Live‘s first cast ever. Co-hosting “Weekend Update” with Jane Curtin, as well as starring in classic sketches like “Coneheads” and “Two Wild and Crazy Guys,” Aykroyd eventually parlayed his TV appearances into a robust film career. His biggest collaboration with Adam Sandler came in 2004’s 50 First Dates, where he plays Dr. Joseph Keats, a physician specializing in brain disorders. He also played smaller roles in Pixels and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
Jon Lovitz
Jon Lovitz received two Emmy nominations for his work on SNL, and perhaps surprisingly he’s one of the performers who’s collaborated with Sandler the most. His most famous turn is most likely as Jimmie Moore, who belts out Kool and the Gang’s “Ladies’ Night” in The Wedding Singer. However, he’s also appeared in Grown Ups 2, The Ridiculous 6, Little Nicky, and Eight Crazy Nights.
Dana Carvey
Dana Carvey had a real rogue’s gallery of characters on SNL, from Church Lady to President George H.W. Bush, to Garth Algar, a role he reprised in both Wayne’s World films. His work earned him five Emmy nominations and one win. To date, he’s appeared in two Sandler flicks: as a possessed referee in Little Nicky and a puppeteer in Jack and Jill, the first film to ever sweep the Razzies.
Kevin Nealon
When Kevin Nealon left SNL after nine seasons, he was the cast member with the longest run on the show. While that record would eventually be broken, Nealon’s iconic four-year run behind the desk at “Weekend Update” helped springboard him into a whole slew of film projects, including numerous collaborations with Adam Sandler. His most iconic role is as the Zen golf pro who teaches relaxation techniques to Sandler in Happy Gilmore. His dry, quiet sense of humor clashes marvelously with the film’s frenzied tone, and Sandler would utilize that contrast in future collaborations, including Just Go With It, Blended, You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, Little Nicky, Anger Management, and Eight Crazy Nights.
Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller only appeared on four episodes of Saturday Night Live, but he’s worked with Sandler on three exceedingly different projects. In Happy Gilmore, he’s the sadistic nursing home orderly who terrorizes Happy’s grandmother, a role he reprised in a brief cameo at the opening of 2020’s Hubie Halloween. However, he and Sandler also shared the screen in Noah Baumbach’s The Meyerowitz Stories, which features two of the best performances the comedic actors have ever given.
Chris Rock
Superstar comic Chris Rock left SNL to join the cast of In Living Color, but he’s most famous for his stand-up and film career. He’s one of the main dads in Grown Ups, reprising his role in that film’s sequel. Before Rock’s turn in Saw sequel Spiral, he also collaborated with Sandler in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard, and in You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, where he appears in a cameo as a taxi driver.
Rob Schneider
Of all the performers in Sandler’s regular stable of funny friends, none has made more appearances in the movie star’s films than Rob Schneider. From his first appearance as the “You can do it” guy in The Waterboy, to his most recent turn in Hubie Halloween, it’d be easier to list the Sandler films that don’t feature an appearance by Schneider.
Chris Farley
There truly was nobody like Chris Farley. His legendary career as a sublime physical comedian was tragically cut short when he died of an overdose of cocaine and morphine at the age of 33. His legacy lives on in clips of his performances as a Chippendale’s dancer, as motivational speaker Matt Foley, and as an irate school bus driver in Sandler’s first film, Billy Madison.
David Spade
Farley’s main partner on-and-off screen was David Spade, who starred alongside him in the film Tommy Boy. After the success of that film, Spade went on to play large roles in Sandler films like Grown Ups and Grown Ups 2, as well as the comedian’s Netflix films The Do-Over and The Ridiculous 6. The actor also has the distinction of appearing in drag in two of Sandler’s films, as a groupie in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and as Monica in Jack and Jill.
Ellen Cleghorne
Ellen Cleghorne was the first Black woman on SNL to last longer than one season. She was most famous for appearances as Queen Shanequa, but also impersonated legendary Black performers like Patti LaBelle and Tina Turner. She has small roles in Little Nicky and Grown Ups 2, where she plays the wife of Tim Meadows’ character, Malcolm.
Tim Meadows
Tim Meadows is one of the longest-running cast members on Saturday Night Live. While his big first foray into films, The Ladies Man, was a flop, he will forever be known as Principal Duvall in Mean Girls. His Sandler collaborations are many, playing Malcolm, an old rival of Chris Rock’s character who now works at K-Mart, in the Grown Ups films and appearing in Hubie Halloween and Jack and Jill.
Norm Macdonald
Norm Macdonald was called the best “Weekend Update” host in SNL history by Entertainment Weekly. His dry-as-a-bone delivery made him a fan favorite, and he co-starred in Sandler’s first film, Billy Madison. Since then, he’s made brief appearances in various other movies featuring the comedian, including Grown Ups, The Ridiculous 6, and Jack and Jill.
Colin Quinn
Colin Quinn has been most prolific as a stand-up performer in the years after his stint on SNL. He’s appeared in four Sandler movies, most notably as restaurant chef Dickie Bailey, the childhood rival of Sandler’s character in Grown Ups. Additionally, he played a strip club DJ in That’s My Boy and a janitor in Hubie Halloween.
Ana Gasteyer
Ana Gasteyer has shifted to a career in musical theater in the years following her time on Saturday Night Live. The performer behind “NPR’s Delicious Dish” and “Martha Stewart’s Topless Christmas Special” has only appeared in one Sandler film, as Mrs. Ravensdale in That’s My Boy.
Tracy Morgan
Tracy Morgan’s most famous role will probably always be that of Tracy Jordan on the hit NBC comedy series 30 Rock. However, he also starred alongside fellow SNL alum Adam Sandler in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard. One of the most cringe-worthy parts of the film, he’s dripping in stereotypes as the gay cheerleader inmate, Ms. Tucker.
Chris Parnell
While he was fired twice from SNL, Chris Parnell also helped bring the show into the YouTube age with the viral Lonely Island sketch “Lazy Sunday.” In Sandler’s first film after striking a four-picture Netflix deal, Parnell plays a bank manager named William.
Rachel Dratch
Rachel Dratch has been a mainstay of the comedy world since her appearance on SNL. Her most famous character on the show was Debbie Downer, the unimpeachable killjoy who appeared in a plethora of sketches throughout the performer’s time on the show. She’s actually appeared in four Sander films, including Just Go With It, Click, That’s My Boy, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.
Maya Rudolph
Maya Rudolph has made many a return to SNL recently, as Vice President Kamala Harris and Beyonce. She followed up her initial run on the show with a whole slew of successes, including Bridesmaids, Big Mouth, and The Good Place. Throughout the years, she’s appeared in many Sandler projects, most recently donning a Bride of Frankenstein wig in Hubie Halloween. She also plays Drew Barrymore’s pregnant friend in 50 First Dates, and Chris Rock’s wife in the Grown Ups films.
Will Forte
Will Forte transplanted his SNL character directly to the big screen in the cult comedy MacGruber. He’s been a prolific presence on screens large and small since his time on the show, but he’s appeared with Sandler in Grown Ups 2, That’s My Boy, and The Ridiculous 6.
Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live‘s longest-running cast member, with 18 seasons under his belt. Despite his mainstay status on the show, he’s only appeared in one Adam Sandler film. In 2020, he played a police officer in Hubie Halloween.
Andy Samberg
Samberg spent seven seasons on Saturday Night Live, popularizing the “Digital Shorts” segments and helping bring the series into the Viral Age. He’s had massive success after leaving the show, starring on Brooklyn 99 and the hit Palm Springs. In the meantime, he’s collaborated with Sandler in two films, as a male cheerleader at a car wash in Grown Ups 2, and as Sandler’s son in 2012’s That’s My Boy.
Bobby Moynihan & Taran Killam
Bobby Moynihan was probably most known on Saturday Night Live for his portayal of “Snooki” and “Drunk Uncle.” Taran Killam was one of the cast members pre-Alec Baldwin to portray Trump. In 2013, both performers, alongside SNL alums, provided one of the only comic highlights of Sandler’s Grown Ups 2. They’re two of the male cheerleaders at the car wash with Andy Samberg and Will Forte.
Mikey Day
Mikey Day is a current member of the SNL cast most well-known for his spot-on impressions of Donald Trump Jr. and Prince Harry. In 2020’s Hubie Halloween, he plays a haunted house employee with an axe in his head.
