Newest ‘SNL’ Cast Member: Justin Timberlake?

Make no mistake about it: Justin Timberlake likes going on Saturday Night Live. But does he like it enough to put his music career on hold and join the cast full time?

Possibly.

“I could totally see living here (in New York) for a season and doing SNL,” the six-time Grammy winner tells USA Weekend.

Timberlake has been somewhat of an SNL fixture in recent years, hosting on three occasions and popping up for cameos an additional six times (most recently on the September 25 season premiere).

Strange as it may seem, it’s not unheard of for a celebrity—even a previous SNL host—to buckle down as a cast member, though the ride seldom lasts more than a year.

Here’s a run-down of some notable names who couldn’t resist the chance to say, “Live from New York…”

Billy Crystal (cast member, 1984-85) hosted SNL twice a year before joining the cast. An established stand-up comic, Crystal was well known for his portrayal of one of TV’s first openly gay characters on the ABC sitcom Soap from 1977-81.

Robert Downey, Jr. and Anthony Michael Hall (cast members, 1985-86) had a handful of coming-of-age teen comedies under their belts. Pre-SNL, Hall appeared in Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club; Downey Jr. landed Tuff Turf; and they both co-starred in Weird Science.

Chris Elliott (cast member, 1994-95) spent most of the 1980s as a performer, and Emmy winning writer, on NBC’s Late Night with David Letterman. He later starred in Fox’s cult-classic sitcom Get a Life from 1990-92 and the film Cabin Boy in 1994. His debut SNL appearance prompted enthusiastic applause from the studio audience.

Janeane Garofalo (cast member, 1994-95) had done sketch comedy (Fox’s Ben Stiller Show), situation comedy (HBO’s Larry Sanders Show), and big-screen comedy (Reality Bites) before her underwhelming season with SNL.

Michael McKean (cast member, 1994-95) was first a musical guest—alongside his Spinal Tap bandmates—then a host, a decade before joining the SNL cast. He had been a series regular on the long-running ABC sitcom Laverne & Shirley.

Randy Quaid (cast member, 1985-86) was an Academy Award nominated character actor, best known as Cousin Eddie in 1983′s National Lampoon’s Vacation. Today he may be best known as Dennis Quaid’s batsh*t crazy brother.

Martin Short (cast member, 1984-85) had previously spent two seasons with the acclaimed sketch comedy series SCTV, where he originated “Ed Grimley” before it became his signature SNL character.