Who's This 'SNL' Dude Roasting Bieber?

Do you remember what you were doing when you were 21-years-old? Pete Davidson, a comedian and SNL star only recently able to legally drink alcohol, was throwing jokes around at the Comedy Central Roast of fellow 21-year-old, Justin Bieber, a singer only recently able to show his face on national television again after going on an unofficial atonement tour following a number of less than charming incidents over the past few years. Now that I think about it, I actually did attend a roast of my similarly aged cohorts at the age of 21, but I was at a sorority function, not practicing a professional skill on national television; because it's pretty remarkable to be (in)famous enough to deserve a roast or to be the one doing the roasting by the time you're 21-years-old. It takes a lot of hard work, and usually a helping hand from the likes of Usher Raymond or Lorne Michaels.

Many comedians covet the idea of getting a spot on the Saturday Night Live cast for much of their career, but for Davidson, SNL is basically the very, very beginning. He was hand-selected by Michaels to be a featured player in the show's landmark 40th season at just 20 years old. Even more shocking, that just makes Davidson the fourth youngest cast member to be featured on SNL, preceded by Anthony Michael Hall, Eddie Murphy, and Robert Downey Jr. But even though Davidson was only two years out of high school when he got the "Live from New York" call, he still paid a few dues in the comedy world...

Stand-Up

Davidson dropped out of college to pursue stand-up full time when he was just 19-years-old even though he wasn't particularly confident in his ability to make it. Much of his "early" stand-up included joke about how life was going to be pretty tough following moving out of his mom's house: "I'm 6'3, 145 pounds... I have a problem with wind. I don't even know what race I am."

TV Career

Davidson did pretty well though. While pursuing stand-up, he was also managing a pretty hefty comedic television roster. Before being cast on SNL, he was a series regular on my personal favorite spawn of Nick Cannon, Wild 'N Out, and MTV show, Guy Code (his girlfriend is Carly Aquilino from Girl Code... presh).

A Big Break on SNL

Davidson hasn't gotten a crazy amount of screentime on his first SNL season, but as the only new cast member brought on in the 40th season, he's made a pretty big impression. In his very first episode as a featured player, Davidson got a guest segment on Weekend Update that caused a little bit of controversy for it's content, but also big praise from critics and viewers who recognized the new kid's confidence. It's easy to liken Davidson to other laid back, likable guys who came before him on SNL like Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, but it's also easy to recognize that Davidson has a style all his own.