"A little terrifying": Saturday Night Live's Dave Chappelle reveals how he felt while going up on stage to deliver his monologue

During Saturday Night Live star Dave Chappelle's recent discussion with Mo Amer, he talked about his SNL monologue preparation, and more. On Variety's latest Actors of Actors segment, featuring Dave Chappelle and Mo Amer, fans witnessed the duo sharing their experiences in the industry.

Dave Chappelle revealed that he never performs his "actual monologue" during rehearsals, as it was a tradition. Recalling how delivering the monologue on Saturday Night Live was "joy" for Dave Chappelle, he said it was a "gift." Being able to give that on live television, he said, it was "exhilarating.

"The joy of doing that show for me is the monologue. Like, what a gift for a standup to be able to do what he does on live television, on such a revered platform, like SNL is. But it's always exhilarating. It's a little terrifying, but just a little," said Dave Chappelle.

Dave Chappelle opens up about his monologues on Saturday Night Live and how that experience has been for him

Dave Chappelle and Mo Amer appeared for Variety's Actors on Actors on June 4, 2025, where they talked about various interesting and iconic moments.

During their talk, when Mo Amer asked about having "longest sets" on SNL, he referred to that as "The pinnacle of standup." He said watching Dave was like watching a "master at work."

Listening to him, Dave Chappelle responded that his first time delivering the SNL monologue was like "winging it." He also mentioned that even if he didn't have jokes, because of his experience, he could do it. However, he said it was "dangerous" on live television.

"Like, even if I don't have jokes, I got experience enough. But on live television, it's dangerous, 'cause you've gotta navigate the standards and practices, and all the rest of it. But to LoreniMichaels' credit, he never knows what I'm gonna say."

Fans must remember that Dave Chappelle's last Saturday Night Live monologue was on the January 18, 2025 episode.

In his fourth time hosting SNL, Dave talked about California wildfires, election rights, and more.

Sharing more about his monologue rehearsal, he mentioned that it was his tradition never to do his actual monologue during the rehearsal:

"As a tradition, I never do my actual monologue in rehearsal. You know for me, rehearsal is just, how's the sound, and this, and that, and the other. And just getting used to being on the set, you know, and having people count you in, which is, that never happens in standup."

Dave Chappelle mentioned that it was "joy" to be a part of SNL and deliver monologues for the show. However, he admitted that it was "just a little" terrifying, and always "exhilarating."

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Fans can stream Saturday Night Live episodes on NBC.

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