Dane Cook continues to lament the missed opportunity of joining the star-studded Saturday Night Live cast.
In a recent appearance on the Fly on the Wall podcast, the comedian opened up about his regrets over backing out of his SNL audition early in his career, revealing he got cold feet just outside the building.
“On my way to my audition at SNL, I had a full-on panic attack,” he revealed, adding, “I sat on a bench outside of Rockefeller Plaza. And I didn’t go in.”
“I actually called my manager. I said … ‘I can’t do it.’ And he’s like, ‘Why? They’re all waiting for you. They wanna see you. They’re looking for something to fill that void,” Cook, 52, revealed.
The Good Luck Chuck actor was tapped by the show to fill in the space shortly after Adam Sandler exited the NBC comedy sketch in 1995.
Looking back on the missed chance, Cook admitted, “I blew it that day.”
He also shared that he felt unprepared for the confrontational environment of the show.
“I also knew from a few friends that had been on the show that it was that it was more confrontational, and I was very beta at that time,” he explained. “And I was like, I’m not gonna be able to fight for skits. I can barely, you know, get my food order out … for a waiter at lunch. I’m not gonna be able to survive at SNL.”
Although Cook never made it onto the SNL cast, he did host the iconic show twice, in 2005 and 2006.