Many actors can say they have received the opportunity to play a real person in a biopic, but fewer have had the honor of meeting the legend whom they are portraying. Lamorne Morris got to be one of the lucky ones when, after he was cast as Garrett Morris in the upcoming 2024 movie Saturday Nigh t, and he revealed he learned a lot from the former SNL star personally. Sony’s new movie comes from director Jason Reitman , who also co-writes with Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire director Gil Kenan.
The Saturday Night movie hits theaters October 11 and depicts, in real time, the hectic struggles that took place at Studio 8H in the moments leading up to the premiere broadcast of the eponymous variety show. It's a show which eventually came to be known as one of the all-time best sketch comedy series , but that wasn't so clear at the time. One person who witnessed the behind-the-scenes insanity firsthand was founding Not Ready for Primetime Players member Garrett Morris, who made a huge impact on SNL in just five seasons .
His experience on the set during that legendary first night is being brought to life by Lamorne Morris. The actor — best known as one of the most hilarious New Girl characters , Winston Bishop — and the former SNL cast member are not related, by the way, even though Garrett is “not entirely convinced” he is not Lamorne’s father , as the actor jokingly said previously. I had the opportunity to speak to Lamorne, who is hosting an event for Mike’s Hard Lemon.