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Everything to Know About Ramy Youssef, SNL's March 30 Host
The Poor Things star is an Emmy-nominated actor, director, and show creator who just released his second comedy special, More Feelings.
When Ramy Youssef accepted the Golden Globe for Best Actor, TV Musical or Comedy in 2020, he looked out at the star-studded audience and joked, "Look, I know you guys haven't seen my show. Everyone's like: 'Is this an editor?'"
A lot has happened for Youssef in the four years since.
Youssef has continued to gain fans of Ramy, the three-season Hulu series that he created and stars in, and his standup comedy tour has attracted the likes of Taylor Swift (he says Swift can be "really funny" herself). If you're a fan of The Bear, you've seen his work behind the camera. And in 2023, Youssef had his highest-profile acting role yet, co-starring with Emma Stone in Poor Things—handpicked by director Yorgos Lanthimos without so much as an audition.
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On March 30, 2024, Youssef will host Saturday Night Live for the first time, a week after the release of his second HBO comedy special, More Feelings. Ahead of his SNL episode, get to know more about Ramy Youssef and his movies, TV shows, and specials.
Like his Ramy character, Ramy Youssef is an Egyptian-American from New Jersey
Though he was born in Queens, New York, Youssef is proud to be from the Garden State, having grown up in Rutherford, New Jersey. His 2024 comedy special, More Feelings, was filmed in Jersey City's White Eagles Hall.
Jersey is the setting for his semi-autographical Ramy series, which follows a young Egyptian-American man, his family, and friends.
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"I made this show because I really wanted to humanize a Muslim family—which turned out to be a lot easier than humanizing New Jersey," Youssef joked in a June 2019 interview with Jimmy Fallon. "People don't want to believe New Jersey is a good place!"
Ramy has earned Youssef two Emmy nominations for acting and directing, as well as nominations from the Screen Actors Guild, Critics Choice Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and the Golden Globes. The Season 3 episode "Egyptian Cigarettes" earned particular acclaim for exploring life for residents of Israel and Palestine, filmed on location in the region.
Ramy Youssef's movies and tv shows
Like fellow SNL Host Ariana Grande, Youssef's career has Nickelodeon roots. He played Kevin on the Nick at Nite sitcom See Dad Run from 2012-2014, appeared in the Nickelodeon TV movie One Crazy Cruise, and guest-starred on Nicky, Dicky, Ricky, and Dawn.
In 2017, Youssef had a recurring guest role on Mr. Robot, which starred 2021 SNL Host Ramy Malek. Following a small part in the Gus Van Sant film Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, Youssef debuted Ramy on Hulu in 2019.
Youssef's first major big-screen role, playing sheepish medical student Max McCandles in Poor Things, came after director Yorgos Lanthimos reached out to him about the part without an audition or screen test. Telling The New York Times that Lanthimos had been familiar with his stand-up, Youssef said he had "imposter syndrome" about taking the role.
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"I got off the call with him and I was like, whoa, did this guy make a mistake? Has he lost it? After I read it, I actually felt like it was written for me," he told the Times. "I don’t think it was, but it just felt like something I could do, even though it would be way different than anything I’d done."
Youssef also voiced the character Safi in Disney's animated film Wish, starring Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine.
He has two HBO comedy specials, Feelings and More Feelings
On why he loves to get onstage, Youssef told The New York Times, "In a weird way, standup felt like the stability that school gives. There’s no guarantees, but if you actually do it, you will be learning."
His first comedy special, Ramy Youssef: Feelings, premiered on HBO in 2019. The follow-up Ramy Youssef: More Feelings came out on March 23, also on HBO.
Both of Youssef's specials were directed by Chris Storer, a recurring collaborator with Youssef who's best known for creating the series The Bear.
Youssef directed a buzzy episode of The Bear
In 2023, the Poor Things actor helmed Season 2's "Honeydew" episode. Youssef's work earned him a Directors Guild of America (DGA) Award nomination.
Filmed in Copenhagen, Youssef and cast member Lionel Boyce actually trained for a day at Noma, a restaurant that's billed as the best in the world.
"It's really kind of sad actually, because it's a table that some people wait a year for," Youssef joked to Jimmy Kimmel in March 2024. "I thought people would be truly devastated if they knew after a year, I made their food."
Watch Ramy Youssef host Saturday Night Live on March 30 on NBC and Peacock, streaming next day on Peacock.
