'SNL' Star Taran Killam Credits Amanda Bynes for Helping His Career

The original cast on SNL was called The Not Ready for Prime Time Players. Despite what the name would suggest, they were all incredibly talented folks who had worked elsewhere. Sure, they weren’t movie or television stars, but they were perfectly capable. And, to that end, when the cast has included people who were already stars in their own right, the results have been mixed. Kenan Thompson is the exception that proves the rule. More often than not, I assume new SNL cast members don’t have much TV experience. For instance, I would have easily said Taran Killam’s first big television job was the famed sketch show. I would have been wrong.

Killam joined the cast in 2010, and y’all, I loved him on the show. He knew how to nail the inherent silliness of sketch. I’m floored to learn that he was only on the show for six seasons because it felt like much longer. The reason it feels like I’ve been watching Killam longer than I thought is because I have. The dude has been working since he was 12. There are a lot of bit parts on his resume, but he started landing big roles in cable shows a decade before he stepped foot in Studio 8H.

I went through a period in the 2000s when I thought SNL was “old hat” and MADtv was where it was at! That period did not last long, but I know it was happening at a time when Killam was on the show (2001-2002), so I definitely saw him. Scrubs was a favorite of mine when I was in High School, and while that didn’t stick, I definitely watched it all the way through, which means I laughed at a pre-SNL Taran Killam on that show as well. My time watching Nickelodeon came to an end once I hit middle school, but I sure as hell remember watching The Amanda Show, and Killam was on that, too!

Taran cited the Amanda Bynes-starring The Amanda Show as being integral to his career on a recent episode of the Fly On The Wall podcast with David Spade and Dana Carvey. He went as far as to say he had a “very important relationship” with the child star. “It was my first job, literally the last week of high school, I got cast on her show,” he explained to the hosts. “We worked together for three weeks, then. I went away to college, I didn’t have an agent anymore, I was focused on school. They called me back to do more, they helped me get an agent.”

Killam notes that “being on The Amanda Show started [his] grown-up acting career.” But his work with the Nickelodeon star did not stop there. “We were friends, we did a movie together, Big Fat Liar. She was the best,” Killam said. “It was a very important relationship to me in my life.” Unfortunately, Bynes’ career did not continue the same way Killam’s did. She has dealt with mental health and substance abuse issues. It sucks and is not unique to her experience with child stardom.

The trio went on to praise the former star, with Killam saying she’s “one of the most talented people [he’s] ever met.” Spade added, “I think she’s one of those people everyone pulls for, like Britney [Spears],” as Bynes had also dealt with a conservatorship that was ended in 2022. Now, Bynes just wants to live her life. 25 years ago, she helped Taran Killam launch his career, and he’s still grateful. He ended their discussion of her by stating, “She’s truly one of the best.”