Willem Dafoe Makes ‘SNL’ Hosting Debut Alongside Returning Musical Guest Katy Perry
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A week after his hilarious cameo on ‘SNL’, Willem Dafoe is set to make his hosting debut! Katy Perry joins as musical guest, marking her 5th time on the series.
Live from New York, it’s Saturday night! Season 47 of Saturday Night Live is well underway, and show runner Lorne Michaels has yet to disappoint with his choice of show hosts and musical guests. This week, Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, 66, makes his hosting debut at Studio 8H alongside returning musical guest Katy Perry, 37, on Saturday, January 29.
Owen Wilson, 52, opened the season musical guest Kacey Musgraves, 33, on Oct. 2. The Wedding Crashers star also made his hosting debut in season 47, chalking up the long wait to nerves. “I get really nervous with public speaking. I’ve never done any of those commencement addresses or Saturday Night Live just because I get too nervous,” he explained on a hike to friend Kevin Nealon in a YouTube video. Owen slayed it, and even had some help from his brothers Andrew, 57, and Luke, 50, during his opening monologue.
Learn more about this week’s show below.
Willem Dafoe Hosting ‘SNL’ For The 1st Time
Saturday Night Live welcomes Willem Dafoe for the show for the first time, hot off the success of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Willem is best known to a millennial audience from the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man series in the 2000s, where he brilliantly played Norman Osborn — a.k.a. villain the Green Goblin. Thanks to MCU’s introduction of the metaverse, Willem reprised the iconic role against Tom Holland‘s take on Spidey in Dec. 2021 — introducing a whole new generation to his version of the character.
Beyond his work in the Spider-Man world, Dafoe is a highly respected actor who has earned numerous awards and nods — including four Academy Award nominations. The Appleton, Wisconsin received his first in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in Oliver Stone‘s Platoon back in 1986, followed by another in 2000 for Shadow of the Vampire. He was once again nominated in 2017 for The Florida Project, as well as for playing Vincent van Gogh in 2018’s At Eternity’s Gate. Dafoe got his acting start as a student at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee where he studied drama, landing his first role in 1979’s Heaven’s Gate alongside Jeff Bridges.
A week before his debut, Willem made a hilarious surprise cameo in Will Forte‘s opening monologue. It turns out Willem (per the joke in the monologue) and Will got their back-to-back dates confused. Show runner Lorne Michaels also popped up to help explain. “Wait…but Willem Dafoe? You’re hosting next week!” Will, 51, exclaimed, as Willem said he was “pretty sure” it was “this week.” Lorne then retorted, “You think I would book someone named Will, then someone name Willem?” and blamed autocorrect on his phone for the mix-up.
The ‘SNL’ Musical Guest Tonight Is Katy Perry
Katy Perry is making her 4th appearance on SNL as musical guest — but the singer has hosted once before, in Dec. 2011 (but didn’t sing). This marks her first appearance since the birth of her 16-month-old daughter Daisy and release of 2020’s Smile album. In Dec. 2021, the pop star also began a residency show called Play at the Resorts World Las Vegas.
Katy made her performance debut on the series in Sept. 2010 when she sang her signature hits “Teenage Dream” and “California Gurls,” in addition to popping up in a sketch. She returned in 2013 as performer, with tunes “Roar” and “Walking on Air.” Most recently, she was on in 2017 with jam “Swish Swish.”
Katy and Willem joined forces for this week’s promos with cast member Chris Redd. In one short bit, Willem claims he’s having “deja vu” in the studio, pondering if he’s “done this before.” Katy and Chris both answer, “no,” as Willem adds that it “must have been a premonition” he had about the “best night of my entire life.” In a second, Chris teases he has a past with the “Fireworks” singer, as Willem ponders about their “history.”
What Time Is ‘SNL’ On?
Saturday Night Live airs at 11:35 p.m. PST/EST and 9:30 p.m. MT on local NBC affiliates. The series can also be streamed live on the Peacock app.
‘SNL’ Cast Members This Season
Saturday Night Live has a number of new cast members joining the show this season, including Andrew Dismukes, Sarah Sherman, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson and Aristotle Athari.
Michael Che and Colin Jost remain in their roles as “Weekend Update” hosts, which they took over in 2014 from Seth Meyers and Cecily Strong. Other returning cast members include Pete Davidson, Aidy Bryant, Kate McKinnon, Kenan Thompson, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, Alex Moffatt, Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd, Ego Nwodim, Melissa Villaseñor, Bowen Yang and Cecily.
Beck Bennett and Lauren Holt announced their departures ahead of season 47. Beck, 36, took to social media with a heartfelt message about his exit. “Love you, SNL,” he wrote on Sept. 27. “Gonna miss you so much. Thank you for 8 years of remarkable people and incredible experiences that completely changed my life. I had so much fun,” he also penned, alongside a slew of photo highlights which you can see here.
Lauren also shared a sweet tribute to mark the end of her one year run. “What an incredible year spent with incredible people. I will always be so grateful,” the comedian began. “Cheers to all the cast members past, present, & future…so proud to be/have been a part of this amazing family. These three letters will always bring joy to my heart… SNL, I love you,” she also said.
