“SNL”'s Ben Marshall Reveals the 'Weirdest' Part About Becoming a Featured Player This Season (Exclusive)
- - “SNL”'s Ben Marshall Reveals the 'Weirdest' Part About Becoming a Featured Player This Season (Exclusive)
Stacy LambeJanuary 2, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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Esther Kuhn/NBC
Ben Marshall on 'Saturday Night Live' on Nov. 8, 2025 -
Ben Marshall reveals the "weirdest" part about joining Saturday Night Live as a featured player for season 51
The comedian was previously on SNL as a member of the comedy group, Please Don't Destroy, from seasons 47 to 50
Please Don't Destroy created digital shorts for SNL
For Ben Marshall, this season of Saturday Night Live is a different one.
The comedian originally joined NBC's sketch comedy series as a member of the comedy group, Please Don't Destroy, in season 47. The trio — which also included John Higgins and Martin Herlihy — wrote and starred in digital shorts for four seasons before their run came to an end with season 50. Higgins has since left SNL while Herlihy transitioned into a full-time writer for season 51.
Although Marshall has had experience in front of the camera, most of his time on SNL has been in pre-taped videos and not necessarily on live TV. However, this season, he's made his stamp on the show by appearing alongside Sabrina Carpenter in "Surprise," Nikki Glaser in "Beauty and Mr. Beast" and Glen Powell in "Bob Army" among many other sketches.
While he has held his own alongside the hosts and senior cast members, including Bowen Yang and Sarah Sherman, he admits there's one thing that he's still adjusting to this season. "I'm still getting used to reading cue cards," Marshall tells PEOPLE while promoting Please Don't Destroy's holiday roast campaign with White Claw.
"That's the weirdest part. It's not something that you can really prepare for," he continues, noting SNL is filmed "like old timey show business." He adds, "Red lights turn on and you're reading a cue card and someone's moving it."
Will Heath/NBC
From Left: Ashley Padilla and Ben Marshall on 'Saturday Night Live' on Oct. 11, 2025
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While Higgins is no longer on SNL — he has contributed to "Weekend Update" segments for two episodes during season 51 — the comedian chimes in on the conversation to offer his friend help. "I could come over. We could practice if you want," he says.
Higgins then also shares what it's been like watching both Marshall and Herlihy on the show this season. "It's been amazing watching both of them. It's very fun and exciting. It's like a new chapter in a very fun way," he says.
As for Herlihy, he's written various sketches this season, including "The Rudemans," "Psychic Talk Show" and "Experienced Lawyers" starring Amy Poehler and "Mechanical Bull" starring Glaser. He starred in one too that he wrote called "Social Experiment."
He also got to reunite with Powell after sharing the screen with the actor in the remake of The Running Man.
If there was any added pressure knowing that he was writing for Powell, the comedian admits it was like any other week. "I feel like you think so. Like maybe on a Monday, you think, like, 'Oh, I better bring it.' But then by Tuesday, it's always just the same, you know? And then you only have the amount of ideas that you have," he explains.
Looking back on his episode, which aired on Nov. 15, Herlihy says Powell was "super cool. He is the best. He is so funny and he is so good at acting. He's a f------ movie star, it's sick."
"His episode, I thought, was pretty amazing. Like, I don't know if there was one dull moment," Herlihy continues, adding that Powell "was awesome" to work with.
Saturday Night Live returns on Jan. 17 at 11:30 p.m. ET on NBC with Finn Wolfhard as host and A$AP Rocky as musical guest.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
