'Saturday Night Live' best host poll: Is Chris Hemsworth the funniest Sexiest Man Alive?
Of all The Avengers stars, Chris Hemsworth seemed like the most unlikely to cut loose on Saturday Night Live. Perhaps I’m unfairly judging him that way because of his Sexiest-Man status and a Thor-laugh that isn’t exactly contagious. Yet it was Hemsworth—not Downey or ScarJo—who hosted SNL to unofficially usher in the final eight-week blitz for Marvel’s huge superhero blockbuster: The Age of Ultron.
The verdict: not bad. Pretty good, actually. Hemsworth willingly played along with the writers who did not overlook his chiseled good looks. There was the very funny American Express commercial that chronicled his hard-luck ascent to stardom, where every career pot-hole was seemingly filled with a trampoline. There was the Nickelodeon parody where he and Taran Killam played twins whose oh-so-clever classroom switcheroo was undermined by their slight but noticeable differences. And there was Hemsworth as Thor himself, celebrating the Avengers victory over Ultron on the news and planning the post-war bash at Dave & Busters. I think his brothers—Luke, Liam, and Loki—would’ve been proud of him.
Dakota Johnson is our current leader in this year’s Mr. Saturday Night voting contest, but her debut score of 36 percent doesn’t exactly bode well for the long haul. Bill Hader and Martin Freeman are the proven frontrunners, though Freeman slipped this week while Hader continued to climb. Oscar-winner J.K. Simmons was dragging and finally got eliminated, leaving Blake Shelton on the bubble.
Previous vote:
Dakota Johnson 36.0% (—)
Bill Hader 26.1% (+5 pts)
Martin Freeman 22.4% (-10)
Blake Shelton 7.9% (-4)
J.K. Simmons 7.6% (-21)
Our rules are simple: Who was the best, most memorable SNL host this season? More specifically, who do you hope gets invited back next year? Whose hilarious episode enjoyed multiple viewings on your DVR? Whose show had your boss, your mom, and your roommate still giggling on Monday morning? It’s subjective, of course, but let’s reward the guest hosts who brought something special to the table.
So far, we’ve voted off Sarah Silverman, Chris Rock, Chris Pratt, Cameron Diaz, Woody Harrelson, James Franco, Amy Adams, Jim Carrey, Kevin Hart, and Simmons.
Below, watch one representative clip from each of the five hosts, just as a small taste of their recent performances. You’re not voting on this one sketch alone; be sure to consider the entire episode. Make your pick below, and the host with the least support will be eliminated; the other four will advance to compete against the still-unannounced host of the March 28 show. Ultimately, we’ll dismiss the less memorable hosts and crown a new Mr. or Mrs. Saturday Night in May. Watch and vote below.
Bill Hader
Martin Freeman
Blake Shelton
Dakota Johnson
Chris Hemsworth
