James Marsden Recalls Failed SNL Audition: ‘A Bad Choice’

James Marsden has a lot of regrets about him Saturday Night Live Audition years ago.

The 51-year-old actor appeared on the Wednesday, December 18, episode of Live with Kelly and Markwhere he was about the time he auditioned – “if you can call it that,” quipped – to be there SNL. Although he didn’t get the role, Marsden joked about the story that came from it.

“They did a nationwide talent search and a friend of mine from my acting class or whatever, who I did these humorous skits with, said, ‘Let’s go and audition for this,'” he explained. “I think they made us do it…It wasn’t even about ‘Create an interesting character’ or whatever. It was like, ‘Do whatever stupid thing you do.’ I don’t know why we decided to do that, but we clucked like chickens and just walked around each other.”

“Yes, it was a bad choice,” he added.

When hosts Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos suggested he host the famous late-night sketch comedy show, Marsden said he would “love to” but revealed he had a bigger wish.

“I did 30 Rock with Tina Fey for a while, and I said, “You know, my dream was always to be there.” SNL‘,” he recalled. “And she says, ‘Well, you’re going to host at some point.’ And I say, ‘No, as a regular.’ I want to be the boys!'”

“She was like, ‘Well, you probably can if you want,'” he revealed. “But yeah, I just love doing impressions and different characters.”

“It’s time for you to host this show,” Ripa then said, while Consuelos deftly chimed in: “Yes, host the show and do the Clucky Chicken.”

Even though he didn’t make it SNL, Marsden has achieved great success in his career. In January 2024, he was announced for his role in “ jury duty, in which he played an exaggerated version of himself in the hilarious Amazon Freevee mockumentary.

The show followed a cast of actors portraying quirky American citizens being called as jury members, along with an unwitting non-actor, Richard Gladden, who believed the whole experience was real.

In the end, he lost the award to Matthew Macfayden for his role in HBO’s Consequencebut Marsden shared a screenshot later that evening showing his mother Kathleen’s kind message about his nomination.

“My favorite moment tonight was when your picture was shown with the other five nominees,” she gushed in the caption. “Just like I’ve seen the pictures of various nominees this way my whole life. And I say to myself: My son is one of the six chosen and there he is on the television screen next to the other nominees.” . MY son did that. I can’t stop smiling.

Marsden captioned the photo with a red heart emoji, “My mom, I love you.”

He is currently preparing for the premiere of the upcoming film on December 20th Sonic the Hedgehog 3 after promoting his roles in Michael Keaton’s film Knox walks away and Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted Earlier this year.

Never miss a story again — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Live with Kelly and Mark airs weekday mornings on ABC (see local listings).