- Pete Davidson said he earned $3,000 per episode when he joined “Saturday Night Live.”
- Davidson starred on the show for eight seasons between 2014 and 2022.
- He’s since landed various film and TV roles, plus brand deals.
Pete Davidson is known for his eight-season tenure on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” but he wasn’t making big bucks when he joined the popular sketch comedy show in 2014.
“My biggest indulgence after my first ‘SNL’ paycheck? Do you guys know what they pay us? It’s like three grand an episode. I think I got dinner,” Davidson said in an Instagram video for New York Magazine, as part of their latest issue featuring past and present “SNL” cast members.
Davidson got his big break in Hollywood when he landed a job as a featured player on season 40 of “SNL,” which premiered in 2014. He appeared in 20 of the 21 episodes that season, bringing his estimated salary to $60,000.
The comedian, then 20 years old, was one of the youngest-ever hires and the show’s first cast member born in the 1990s. Davidson most notably played a character named Chad in various sketches and was a frequent guest on the “Weekend Update” segment.
Although Davidson seemingly considered his early “SNL” paycheck small, his growing popularity led him to land even more work as an actor.
While on “SNL,” Davidson took on other projects, including starring in Machine Gun Kelly’s music video for “Loco,” playing a supporting part in the hit Netflix rom-com “Set It Up,” and having a cameo in the DC comics movie “The Suicide Squad.” He also starred in the films “Big Time Adolescence” and “The King of Staten Island.”
Davidson exited “SNL” in 2022 after season 47 concluded. He’s since returned as a host for the season 49 premiere and had a cameo on a season 50 episode hosted by John Mulaney.
In addition to his work on “SNL,” he released three comedy specials: “Pete Davidson:” SMD, “Pete Davidson: Alive From New York,” and “Pete Davidson: Turbo Fonzarelli.”
Davidson reportedly earned $500,000 per episode for his eight-episode Peacock series “Bupkis,” in which he starred as a heightened, exaggerated version of himself. The show was canceled after one season.
The actor has also earned revenue from his work as a brand ambassador for Smartwater and Manscaped. Perhaps his most note-worthy splurge to date was a decommissioned Staten Island ferry, which he and “SNL” star Colin Jost purchased for $280,100 while “very stoned,” Davidson said.
Representatives for Davidson and “Saturday Night Live” didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
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