John Goodman says his SNL audition was 'the worst thing I've ever done'

John Goodman's Saturday Night Live audition was no good, man.

Though he's gone on to host the sketch show many times, the actor's 1980 tryout for SNL was apparently a disaster, as Goodman recalled on The Tonight Show Friday.

Cringing at the thought of it, the Roseanne star said his audition was "the worst thing" he's ever done in his acting career.

"It's not that I had any material to show or anything good to do. I just knew they'd hire me, 'cause I'm a nice guy," Goodman told Jimmy Fallon with a wry smile. "It's the worst thing I've ever done in front of people in my life. I wrote something about 15 minutes before I went over there and... oh, God, it was awful."

Goodman auditioned for the notorious sixth season of SNL, which introduced an entirely new cast after creator and longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels departed the show. (Some of the cast members who were hired instead of Goodman included Joe Piscopo, Gilbert Gottfried, and Charles Rocket.) Since failing to make the cut, however, Goodman has hosted the show 13 times, beginning in 1989 — so, you know, no hard feelings.

"It used to be my favorite thing I'd do every year would be Saturday Night Live," the actor said on The Tonight Show. "They always made me feel at home, and you're with a bunch of smart and funny people. It just feels great."

Goodman can currently be seen on season 2 of HBO's The Righteous Gemstones, while West Side Story star and recent Golden Globe winner Ariana DeBose will be stepping in to host this week's edition of SNL. You can see more from Goodman's Tonight Show interview below.

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