Why Will Ferrell Left Saturday Night Live In 2002 After 7 Seasons

Beloved actor and comedian Will Ferrell joined Saturday Night Livein 1995 and stayed on for seven years, ultimately leaving in 2002—but why did he decide to walk away? Saturday Night Live is incredibly celebrating its 50th anniversary this year after getting its start on NBC in 1975, making it one of the longest-running shows of all time. Saturday Night Live has certainly had its ups and downs over the years, and public opinion about the show continues to be complex, but its impressive legacy is undeniable.

This is no doubt in part why Peacock just released the docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, one of multiple specials about SNL's 50th anniversary, charting the extensive history of the show. One thing the docuseries makes clear is Will Ferrell's success on the show, which was apparent from the beginning. In fact, Ferrell's audition material was used in a sketch for his very first show, proving how outstanding Ferrell was from the start. If Will Ferrell was such a hit on Saturday Night Live, though, why did he leave after seven years?

Will Ferrell Felt It Was The Right Time To Leave & Build On The Momentum Of His Popularity For His Film Career

Will Ferrell Was Likely Right To Make This Decision

Although many were sad to see Will Ferrell go (Maya Rudolph and Jimmy Fallon reportedly cried when he left, not to mention the audience responses), leaving Saturday Night Live was an intentional career move by Ferrell. According to The Wall Street Journal, Ferrell explained:

"I was creeping up on my seventh season, and it was just feeling like, for better or for worse, a good time to go. It was a mix of scary and ‘No, this is the right time.’ I don’t know why. Because there really wasn’t a pile of scripts waiting for me. It was more like, 'I’m doing well from the show. I’m pretty well-known. Let’s use this momentum to try.'"

Will Ferrell is far from the only former Saturday Night Live cast member to have built a tremendously successful acting career after leaving the show. Among some of the others are Robert Downey Jr., Adam Sandler, Kristen Wiig, and Eddie Murphy, to name just a few, all of whom had stints of varying lengths on the show. It seems this plan paid off, as Will Ferrell's career really took off after he made the leap and decided to leave Saturday Night Live.

Will Ferrell Didn't Become A Huge Movie Star Until After He Left SNL

SNL Was Only The Beginning For Will Ferrell

John C. Reilly and WIll Ferrell as Brennan and Dale knock each other out in Step Brothers

As Will Ferrell explained in his interview with The Wall Street Journal, when he made the decision to walk away from Saturday Night Live, it wasn't because he had a ton of offers coming his way. Yes, he had gained plenty of notoriety from the show, and he had a number of successful roles before his departure—including Zoolander (2001), which remains one of Ferrell's most popular movies to date. However, he was not yet the mega star he would ultimately become.

After he left Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell's career flourished to an entirely new degree. In the years immediately following the end of Ferrell's time on SNL, he appeared in some of the most significant movies of his career, including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Elf (2003), Old School (2003), and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006). It's of course impossible to say with certainty what Ferrell's career would have looked like had he not left SNL, but it's clear that this career choice worked out for him.

In the years immediately following the end of Ferrell's time on SNL, he appeared in some of the most significant movies of his career.

What Lorne Michaels Has Said About Will Ferrell's SNL Legacy

Michaels Considers Ferrell Among The Top Two Or Three Ever On The Show

Molly Shannon and Will Ferrell in an SNL sketch. — Molly Shannon Will Ferrell SNL

Although he ultimately walked away from Saturday Night Live and more exclusively pursued an acting career, Will Ferrell remains one of the most beloved cast members from SNL's 50-year history. Several of his sketches, including "More Cowbell," which was very prominently featured in SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night (one of only four episodes in the docuseries was entirely dedicated to that sketch), are among the most popular to date. In fact, many consider this the best SNL skit of all time.

Creator and producer of Saturday Night Live Lorne Michaels seems to agree with the assessment of Will Ferrell as one of the best Saturday Night Live cast members. Per The Hollywood Reporter, of Ferrell's role on the show, Michaels said:

“I never rank, but Will’s definitely in the top two or three that have ever done the show...There’s no question.”

This is incredibly high praise, especially coming from Michaels, and it only further goes to show what an immense impact Ferrell had in his seven years on the show.

Will Ferrell's departure was very likely a loss for Saturday Night Live, not only in terms of viewership but also because it's clear many of the cast and crew enjoyed working with him. Even so, this career move meant that Ferrell was able to focus more fully on his acting career, bringing audiences characters like Brennan Huff in Step Brothers and, much more recently, the Mattel CEO in the 2023 smash-hit Barbie—and so many in between. Long after his seven-year run on Saturday Night Live, Will Ferrell's impact on the show and his massive success afterward are both clear.