Miles Teller fulfilled his childhood dreams as the host of Saturday Night Live.
In the season 48 opener, the Top Gun: Maverick star revealed that he and his sister would recreate sketches at home as a child, including Will Ferrell’s classic Spartans Cheerleaders sketch.
However, Teller, at the age of 8, played not Ferrell’s character but Cheri Oteri’s because he “had the frame for it,” and Ferrell’s role was taken on by his older sister.
“I am honored to be here. Growing up, my family and I would watch SNL every week,” he said during the monologue. “My sisters and I would re-enact some of the skits and my mum would videotape them.”
Thanks to Teller’s mom, footage of the home video was played including the memorable “who’s that spartan in my teepee?” ending.
“How crazy is that? My parents used to watch me do sketches in my living room and now they’re here watching me host Saturday Night Live,” the first-time host added.
Teller’s monologue came after he appeared as Peyton Manning in the cold open, the first time a host has appeared in the cold open since Chris Pratt in 2014, according to the Saturday Night Network. He had his stellar co-stars: Jon Hamm and snowboarder Shaun White.
SNL’s Season 48 premiere comes after a major cast overhaul. With the new season of the sketch show, four new comedians joined Marcello Hernández, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow and Devon Walker.
Cast members who left before the new season included Kate McKinnon, Aidy Bryant and Kyle Mooney, Pete Davidson, Melissa Villaseñor, Alex Moffat, Aristotle Athari and Chris Redd.
