The 25 Best 'SNL' Players of the Last 25 Years: #15-11

On February 9, 1991 — 25 years ago this month — Adam Sandler made his Saturday Night Live debut as a featured cast member in Season 16. And we thought that was a great excuse to take a look back at the past quarter-century of SNL history and rank the 25 best cast members who’ve joined the show since Sandler did. We debated each nominee’s on-air performance only based on longevity, versatility, cultural impact, and overall magnificence, and came up with the following list. Live, from New York… it’s the 25 best SNL cast members of the last 25 years.

Related: The 25 Best ‘SNL’ Players of the Last 25 Years: #25-21

Related: The 25 Best ‘SNL’ Players of the Last 25 Years: #20-16

15. Jimmy Fallon (Seasons 24 - 29)
Why He Made the Cut: It certainly didn’t hurt that he was a looker, but Jimmy was more than a pretty face. He quickly won over viewers with his guitar and parody lyrics — notably holiday-themed rewrites of songs by popular artists like Alanis Morissette and Counting Crows — and his impressions. He tackled Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Howard Stern, Mick Jagger, and Robert De Niro among others during his tenure. He also created memorable original characters like the Boston teen Sully, IT nerd Nick Burns, and webcasting stoner Jarret. In the end, he became just as famous for breaking character as he was for making them up. His tendency to get the giggles, especially around Will Ferrell (“More Cowbell,” “Luvahs In A Hot Tub”), annoyed some, supposedly including himself, but mostly endeared him further to his fans.

Signature Moment: The first “Barry Gibb Talk Show” was also the only one made while he was still a cast member, but the following sketch encapsulates all of the things that make viewers look back on Fallon’s run fondly — singing, dancing, mimicry of the rich and famous, topical and straight-up silly humor, and some slight slipping out of character. It was also one of the first glimpses of what brilliance would come out of collaborating with Justin Timberlake, a winning formula that has oft been repeated on his current gig, The Tonight Show, and usually wins the Internet. —Carrie Bell

14. Andy Samberg (Seasons 31-37)
Why He Made the Cut: Andy literally changed the game at Saturday Night Live and turned the show from a must-watch experience to a must-share experience with his Digital Shorts. Not that the current Brooklyn Nine-Niner wasn’t great in his live sketches: his impressions of Nicolas Cage and Mark Wahlberg were certainly highlights (after all, we have Samberg to thank for “Say hi to your mother for me”).

Signature Moment: The game-changing “Lazy Sunday” digital short (the show’s second) is more than 10 years old and still so damn funny (Sorry, “Dick in a Box”). —Breanne L. Heldman

13. Tracy Morgan (Seasons 22 - 28)
Why He Made the Cut: It was a slow burn to SNL stardom for Tracy Morgan as he was used quite sparingly in the beginning. His first on-camera appearance was as a cliché Caribbean man who promised — in very few spoken words — that he would help you get your groove back in a commercial parody. Eventually he was given the opportunity to prove his comedic worth through an array of lovable doofs and sexpots like Astronaut Jones, Woodrow the Homeless Man, and combative Safari Planet host Brian Fellow, and through impressions (Samuel L. Jackson, Mike Tyson, Al Sharpton). He also did not shy away from portraying the fairer sex as his Star “I’m a lawyer!” Jones proves beyond a reasonable doubt. Morgan added some edge to the show because he was not afraid to go there when it came to mocking boss Lorne Michaels, race, women, or swearing. He was so much a character himself that it became a recurring gag to have him confront hosts with uncomfortable/vulgar questions guerilla-style backstage. He’d also freely give his opinions on, say, Barack Obama on “Weekend Update,” even when his thoughts clashed with those of his future 30 Rock boss and biggest supporter Tina Fey.

Signature Moment: He made good use of stereotypes for comedy’s sake — his black Bond couldn’t swim, and he and Bernie Mac were rowdy moviegoers who talked to the screen even at The Pianist. The same goes for Morgan’s MVP moment as Pure Mash liquor pusher Uncle Jemima. The bit is part Song Of The South satire, part advertisement, and even features him in drag. —CB

12. Ana Gasteyer (Seasons 22 - 27)
Why She Made the Cut: In the late ‘90s, SNL experienced a swell of talented female cast members, with Gasteyer a part of that renaissance. She was incredibly versatile, able to slide from biting Martha Stewart and Celine Dion impressions to silly Culp Family Musical Performances with Will Ferrell.

Signature Moment: Gasteyer and Molly Shannon’s NPR hosts appeared in recurring sketches, but the funniest one was the time Alec Baldwin came by to promote his Schweddy Balls. Gasteyer got to indulge her naughty streak in this now legendary SNL moment. —Kelly Woo

11. Fred Armisen (Seasons 28-38)
Why He Made the Cut: He did nearly 100 celebrity impersonations and appeared in more than 850 sketches (second only to Kenan Thompson, according to Time), and while those numbers suggest Armisen’s versatility, his real talent was in always keeping it weird, but charming. Who else could pull off with equal success impressions of everyone from Prince, Penny Marshall, and Barack Obama to Liberace, Joy Behar, and blind New York governor David Paterson (who eventually appeared with Armisen on the show, after initially complaining about the impersonation) — as well as original characters like Venezuelan comedian Fericito, Gay Guy from New Jersey, and rambling political comedian Nicholas Fehn? Armisen was a consistent provider of laughs with his Weekend Update characters, and that is one of the reasons the weekly news segment has suffered since he left SNL.

Signature Moment: Armisen’s best celebrity impersonation — which he says he initially did because he thought it would increase his chances of actually meeting one of his favorite stars — was Prince, and it’s precisely because he approached the quirky singer formerly known by a symbol with a spoofing, but still reverent heart. As in 2004’s “Prince Christmas Special,” in which Armisen’s Prince managed to convince guest Robert De Niro to sit on his purple snowmobile and “make snowmobile noises,” and lent Star Jones a magic mask that helped shed light on her marriage to “Al Reynolds Jones.” In less loving hands, faux Prince would have come off weird and creepy, but Armisen’s embracing of the singer’s oddities made his Prince… okay, still weird, but charmingly so. —Kimberly Potts

Saturday Night Live airs Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. on NBC. Come back to Yahoo TV on Friday, when the countdown continues.