Actor and comedian Jon Lovitz is getting candid about his five-year run as a Saturday Night Live castmate.
During an appearance on an October 2026 episode of Michael Rosenbaum‘s podcast, Inside of You, Lovitz, who joined SNL in 1985, described being on the sketch comedy series as “very great and difficult.”
He then explained that the show’s cast won’t often find approval from SNL creator and executive producer, Lorne Michaels.
“If you’re on the show looking for approval from Lorne, that’s like you’re dead in the water. But he’s got a million other things on his mind. I get along with him great. I love the guy. He gave me the life I dreamed of. But when I was on the show, it was a very rough year,” said Lovitz.
In addition, the 69-year-old noted that his sketch comedy background was from The Groundlings, where he was allowed two weeks to “write a sketch.” However, at SNL, the weekly show’s writing was limited to just one night.
“I was there till 7 in the morning from Tuesday when I wrote three sketches a night. I worked my a– off, which is a big reason why I did so well. I mean, you know, yeah, it was a lot of pressure that year,” explained Lovitz during the podcast interview.
He then noted that his character, Tommy Finnegan, known for lying, became extremely popular with SNL viewers, which lessened the pressure.
“Then my character hit, but we had a rough time for a while,” said the League of Their Own star.
Jon Lovitz Shared How He Came Up With Tommy Finnegan
During a 2023 interview on The Howard Stern Show, Lovitz shared that he came up with Tommy Finnegan during his time at the Groundlings. He said he first tried out playing the liar during a segment where different characters introduce themselves to the audience.
“I go, ‘Oh, my name is Tommy Finnegan. I’m a member of Pathological Liars Anonymous. In fact, I am the president of that organization. And I was playing it like an old movie character from the ’30s because I like those old movies,” said Lovitz. “And then they asked me, the audience, asked questions. They go, ‘How long have you been lying?’ I go, ‘I never lied.'”
He then said fellow Groundling member, screenwriter Robin Schiff, pointed out the genius of the character.
“Robin Schiff, she wrote Romy and Michele, big writer, she was in the group, and she goes, ‘Jon, just stay in character, and you can say anything. You set it up perfectly.’ I didn’t even realize it. And she goes, ‘I’ll ask you a question. What’s your favorite sport?’ And I went, ‘Uh, bowling.’ And we started laughing,” recalled Lovitz.
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