Kevin Hart Re-enacts His 'Horrible' Audition for 'SNL'

Kevin Hart has reenacted the "horrible" audition he did in front of Lorne Michaels, the producer behind Saturday Night Live.

Anderson Cooper's 60 Minutes interview with the comedian aired on April 21, during which the pair discussed various aspects of Hart's career. Hart told Cooper that for an audition he did for SNL, he attempted an impression of NBA player Avery Johnson, a former basketball point guard. However, Michaels had no idea who Johnson was.

The 60 Minutes X account (formerly Twitter) shared a video of the conversation to the social platform on Wednesday with the caption: "Kevin Hart re-enacts the impression he did during his 'Saturday Night Live' audition that he says left SNL producer Lorne Michaels unimpressed."

The excerpt was take from of 60 Minutes Overtime, which offers additional content on the internet. Newsweek emailed a spokesperson for Hart and contacted Michaels via an email to NBC, which airs SNL, for comment Wednesday.

Comedian Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart at The Kennedy Center on March 24, 2024, in Washington, DC. He has reenacted the "horrible" audition he did for SNL. Paul Morigi/Getty Images

Cooper pointed out that Hart didn't choose to do an impression of a more well-known basketball player.

"But not, not, It's not like somebody, Shaquille O'Neal, who, anybody—," Cooper asked before Hart responded: "No, it was not an NBA star, it was not an NBA star, it wasn't a face of the NBA, I was like, 'I think I can do a good Avery Johnson.'"

Johnson played point guard for several NBA teams, but he is best known for his stint with the San Antonio Spurs from 1994 to 2001, where he won a championship in 1999 alongside Hall-of-Famers David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Cooper then asked Hart to demonstrate his Johnson impression.

"'Pass me the ball,'" he said, attempting to mimic the basketball player. "There it is."

"That was it?" Cooper asked with a laugh.

"That's it, I just hit you with it," Hart said as Cooper continued to laugh. "Your reaction was much better than Lorne Michaels'."

While Michaels has been known to go to a New York Knicks game over the years and he's had a handful of players—such as LeBron James, Charles Barkley, Michael Jordan, and Carmelo Anthony—on the show, he wasn't impressed by Hart's impression.

Even though Hart may have never made it on SNL as a cast member, he has appeared on the television program numerous times throughout his career. He made his hosting debut on March 2, 2013, and came back on January 17, 2015. He hosted a third time on December 16, 2017.

Hart has been making jokes about his stature for years and elsewhere in the interview, he finally revealed his true height.

Cooper explained that a variety of media outlets have described his height differently, with GQ reporting he was 5'5" and the Los Angeles Times saying he was 5'4".

"GQ finally got it right. Five-foot-five. Like, with a shoe on, like with a sneaker," Hart said.

He added: "Now if I put a boot on, I can get to 5'5" and a half."

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Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. She reports on film and TV, trending ... Read more

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