Tracy Morgan, a former cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2003, recently opened up about the challenges he faced during his early years on the iconic comedy show. In the Peacock docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night, Morgan shared that he felt a sense of disconnection and cultural isolation during his first three years on the show.
He recalled trying to share his unique perspective with the cast, saying, “I wanted to show them my world, how funny it was,” but felt like he wasn’t being fully understood. Morgan pointed out that coming from a predominantly African American, inner-city background made it difficult to relate to the mostly white environment at SNL. “I’m coming from a world of Blacks. I’m an inner-city kid. To be on the whitest show in America, I felt by myself. I felt like they weren’t getting it,” he explained.
The early isolation was tough for Morgan, who was used to a very different stage environment before joining SNL. However, a pivotal conversation with SNL creator Lorne Michaels helped change his perspective. Michaels told him, “Tracy, I hired you because you’re funny, not because you’re Black. So just do your thing.” This advice helped Morgan find his confidence and allowed him to develop his own comedic style, eventually leading to some of his most memorable characters, like Brian Fellow, Astronaut Jones, and Dominican Lou.
Morgan’s time on SNL helped lay the foundation for his successful career, which included starring in Tina Fey’s sitcom 30 Rock and appearing in hit movies like Cop Out, Superhero Movie, Coming 2 America, and Death at a Funeral. The docuseries SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night is currently streaming exclusively on Peacock.