Lightly scratch the glitz and glam of working in entertainment, and you’ll discover the not-so-glamorous precarity that comes with such creative pursuits. For most actors, comedians, musicians, artists, it’s a hustle from job to job, while remembering to be grateful for the small wins. Working in this space means self-belief and persistence are not just important qualities to harbour, but ones that must be consistently embodied. Just shy of 27 years-old, comedian Emil Wakim is an unexpected paragon of both. 

Raised in Chicago to doctor parents and academically-inclined siblings, Wakim never envisioned ‘making jokes for a living’ was in the cards or even a legitimate career. But as the youngest, there was some leeway in trying things out that were just a bit more rebellious, to exercise a stubbornness to not grow up.

“I was in high school, probably about 16, and had my sister drive me to downtown Chicago to do an improv open mic at this black box theater,” Wakim chuckles. Loosely piecing together his memory of the experience, Wakim doesn’t recall what he said or did on stage, but he remembers exactly how he felt. 

NUP 205783 00002 13485990
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Emil Wakim’s casting headshot for Season 50 (Photo by: Mary Ellen Matthews/NBC)

“There were like five people left, maybe. I just kind of blacked out and did whatever. I got one or two laughs, and I just got a rush from that. I remember thinking—cool, I’m not a complete slob…I just didn’t have that feeling that I wanted to do it again tomorrow, again, yes, but not tomorrow.”

More than a decade since the buzz of his first comedy open-mic in front of a handful of people, Wakim is now a cast member on Saturday Night Live’s 50th season. A production that is easily the most revered comedy show on the planet, if not the most watched, and Wakim is the first Lebanese-American (and third person of Middle-Eastern descent) to join it.


Meeting Emil Wakim today, his casting feels only natural: a commanding presence, animated and effortlessly funny. Yet, his journey from the small Chicago black box theatre to the hallowed halls of Studio 8H was far from obvious. It wasn’t until a year into college at the University of Indiana, Bloomington—dragging along as a business major—Wakim found comedy as his passion and had another go at stand-up, let alone consider it professionally.

It was at the Comedy Attic, a vibrant local comedy club near his college campus, that Wakim got his real start in stand-up. He started off editing promo videos for the club, picking up Adobe Suite in a week’s crash course on YouTube and soon enough he was a helper of many hats at the Comedy Attic: doing green room interviews of the talent, making posters, driving headliners to and from the airport—but always around comedians—inspired to work on his own material, eventually doing sets himself. It was in one of these many rides picking up headlining comedians, that Wakim found himself hitting it off with veteran comedian Nikki Glaser. 

NUP 206222 00019 13485991
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1870 — Pictured: (l-r) Jane Wickline, Ashley Padilla, and Emil Wakim during the “SNL For Trump” Cold Open on Saturday, November 9, 2024 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)

“Meeting Nikki was really monumental for me,” says Wakim, a particular earnestness in his voice. “She asked if I wanted to do a guest set at one of her shows, from that I ended up opening for her on tour. And I went from being a business student to being like, I’m doing comedy as my own. This is the only out I have. This is the only path I’m picking.”

While the path was chosen, it was most definitely not an easy one to tread. Especially as Wakim wrapped up his college degree at the start of the pandemic. 

NUP 206233 00003 13485985
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1869 — Pictured: Emil Wakim during the “Beppo” sketch on Saturday, November 2, 2024 — (Photo by: Chinaza Ajuonuma/NBC)

“I remember feeling a lot of shame in business school because I would be perceived putting lower effort in.” He jokes to say, “Luckily it was all pass/fail the last semester, so we pulled through”, sincerely adding in retrospect, “I will say though, once people saw I was getting places in comedy, they were like, ‘oh, this kid, was really just working hard actually’ The truth is hard work just looks different to different people. You have to keep on going at it.”

And Wakim, most definitely did keep going at it. Whether it was returning to do gigs at the Comedy Attic, continue doing shows for Glaser and other renowned comedians like Hasan Minhaj and Roy Wood Jr., or moving to New York, sending consistently timed follow up emails to get a late-night set on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for nearly eight months before booking the show in 2022. 

In a moment of candidness, Wakim slows his usual cadence of sharing anecdotes to touch on the moments in show business that don’t get spoken about as often. “You know I’ll be honest; pre-SNL it wasn’t feeling the best. Belief in my product was the only thing that got me anywhere.”

Just as you would expect him to linger on how he builds that belief system Wakim disarmingly slips back into a chaotic humor, “Dude, there was a moment I was, like, ‘Do I have to start, like, posting TikToks?!’ I was like, oh God., that’s what came of this? I have to think about processing front-facing videos? I was doing so much stuff. I was like working on a pilot. And then I was, like, f*** it, maybe I’ll start a podcast.”


For a stand-up comedian who was figuring out his next steps, being called to audition for SNL (let alone becoming a cast member) is a dream as far-fetched as they come. For most in the comedy space, SNL is often a years-long endeavor, it is the gig to skyrocket their career, an impossibility. It was the same for Wakim. 

SNL truly was beyond a dream. Whenever, my agent told me he sent in tapes during casting season, I was always, like, whatever, because I didn’t even think I was eligible for it. But when the time came, every time I passed an audition, I had a weird confidence and adrenaline. The imposter syndrome took a back seat, and I just tried to put my best foot forward.”

NUP 205852 00045 13485992
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1866 — Pictured: (l-r) Michael Longfellow, Devon Walker, and Emil Wakim during the “Coach Alan” sketch on Saturday, October 5, 2024 — (Photo by: Will Heath/NBC)

As someone who’s hustled every gig he’s worked to get, from the Comedy Attic to getting on Jimmy Fallon, the saying ‘the harder you work, the luckier you get’ worked its magic on Wakim come August this past year. From a phone call from his agent while he was spending some down time with family, to his first audition, his final screen test, and a meeting Loren Micheals for an interview at the famed ‘30 Rock’ address—Wakim booked SNL in a month. Wakim got a call from an unknown number and stepped out from lunch with fellow potential castmates right after his meeting with Michaels. “I was geeking out,” exclaimed Wakim. “They just said I’m just calling to see if you want to be on the cast of Saturday Night Live? And I was like, um yeah. For real? And they said, yeah, for real.”

Having spent a successful three months on the show now, Wakim has never felt more grateful to be a part of something. “It’s the best thing. Every week is new and brings a different energy. It’s definitely addictive.” He adds with a nostalgic smile across his face, “it’s the thing that made me love comedy when I was younger. It’s the goofing around with friends, the staying up late and doing the bits but it’s the highest version of it. And I get health care now by doing that?! It’s insane.”

NUP 206262 00002 13485987
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE — Episode 1870 — Pictured: (l-r) Bowen Yang as Richard and Emil Wakim during the “Janitor” sketch on Saturday, November 9, 2024 — (Photo by: Holland Rainwater/NBC)

Heading into the second half of the season, after a well-acclaimed debut on the show, reflecting on all that has done thus far, Wakim is still figuring out the humour that feels most authentic to him. But he’s aware that at present there’s an appetite for jokes inspired by his personal experiences, as niche as he thought they may be.

“I feel people actually are excited and eager to hear things coming out of our side of the world now, or that side of the world, you know. I think it’s cool to be an American and someone who’s born in America, but also identifies as Lebanese to kind of bridge those two things on such a big platform.” Emphasizing, “And, there’s space for it.”

For a young Wakim, getting to do the show is a dream come true, and he fully recognizes the value of him being on it – breaking monolithic ideas of representation for a new generation of viewers. 

EMIL SNL
New York. Dec 5, 2024. Emil Wakim attends The American Museum of Natural History’s 2024 Museum Gala (Photo by Anthony Behar/Sipa USA)

“Growing up it was a thing I never imagined could happen: that I could talk about how specific of an upbringing I had, and have people be like, “oh my God, I totally get that. My dad’s the same!” He pauses to find the right words. “It’s really cool, it’s a really special thing. I don’t even know how to express it really, but I can’t wait to go back. And I can’t believe I get to do this again.”

Needless to say, audiences can’t wait to have him back either.