Timothee Chalamet lands SNL first with hosting-musical guest gig

There have been many singers who impressed us in the past by pulling double duty as both musical guest and host of Saturday Night Live. Far fewer actors have ever pulled the reverse stunt, but then again, Timothée Chalamet is in a class of his own. The A Complete Unknown star will host SNL for the third time on January 25 in the midst of the comedy show’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and will serve as the musical guest. He’ll likely be performing Bob Dylan songs from the soundtrack of his biopic, though we’d love to see Lil Timmy Tim get a turn at the mic. 

In Saturday Night Live‘s 50-year history, it’s a relatively short list of performers who have pulled double duty (Entertainment Weekly has a full list). A few of those have been singer-turned-actors (like Dolly Parton or Justin Timberlake) or even actor-turned-singers (Jennifer Lopez). A few hosts have randomly performed songs in addition to the other musical guests (actor Gary Busey in 1979, athlete Deion Sanders in 1995). But SNL has never had an actor performing songs from a currently-in-theaters biopic before. It’s the cap on a pretty unique press tour Chalamet has been running for A Complete Unknown, and—if he should manage to secure a nomination, as is likely—a chance for the star to prove to Oscar voters just how authentic his Bob Dylan portrayal truly is.

Chalamet wasn’t the only upcoming host announced on Friday. Dave Chappelle will host the midseason premiere on January 18 with Grammy-nominated rapper GloRilla serving as musical guest. Chappelle has become a major player in the SNL universe over the last decade (even as his comedy becomes more controversial), particularly being called in during times of political transition. Previous hosting gigs include the episodes after the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, and now he’ll take the stage again just days before Donald Trump’s second inauguration. It will be Chappelle’s fourth time hosting SNL; his last appearance on the show was startling Bowen Yang by randomly hopping on stage during the goodnights of Dakota Johnson’s episode last year.