Pete Davidson (born November 16, 1993, Staten Island, New York, U.S.) is an American comedian, actor, and writer best known for his role on Saturday Night Live (SNL). He became known for his relatively young age among the cast, his self-effacing style, and his perso
Davidson began opening for touring comedians such as Nick Cannon at age 15. Years later he landed a guest role on the television show Brooklyn Nine-Nine and appeared in MTV shows such as Guy Code and Wild ’n Out. He met comedian Amy Schumer at the Comedy Cellar in New York’s Greenwich Village, which led to a small role in her comedy Trainwreck (2015). While working on that movie, director Judd Apatow asked Schumer whom he should get to know. She suggested Davidson, and Apatow asked him to do a cameo with then-SNL cast member Bill Hader, who was so impressed with the young actor that he recommended him to the show’s executive producer, Lorne Michaels.
Davidson joined the cast of SNL in 2014, when he was 20. His wide-eyed look and quick wit won him an instant following, but he later said that he felt like an outsider on the show because of his age. “Everyone was 10-plus years older than me and I had a hard time fitting in,” he told Page Six in 2025. “No one was mean, but there was an age difference. They were getting married, having kids and I was like, ‘Do you guys want to come over to play video games?!’ So I hung out with Lorne.”
Davidson plumbed some of his own personal drama as source material for the show. In the 2018–19 season, for example, he poked fun at his whirlwind engagement to and subsequent breakup with pop star Ariana Grande. That same season, he ignited a firestorm by taunting then-congressional candidate Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL who wears an eye patch because of an injury that cost him an eye while serving in Afghanistan. “You may be surprised to hear he’s a congressional candidate from Texas and not a hit man in a porno movie,” Davidson joked. “I’m sorry; I know he lost his eye in war or whatever.” The following week, after Crenshaw was elected to the House, Davidson apologized to the Republican politician, saying, “The man is a war hero and he deserves all the respect in the world.” Crenshaw joined him on the set of “Weekend Update” and took the opportunity to make jokes at Davidson’s expense. At the end of that season, The Washington Post praised Davidson for injecting “a desperately needed mixture of laughs and pathos into a show that’s been criticized for growing stale as it continually hammered the Trump administration.”
