After all these years, Dan Aykroyd still isn’t ready for primetime, but in this case, it was his choice.
Earlier this year, Aykroyd, who broke out as an original member of the Saturday Night Live cast in the 1970s, was noticeably absent from the SNL 50 anniversary special. But he’s still close to his Studio 8H roots and is even releasing a forthcoming graphic novel that continues the story of the Blues Brothers, one of his most iconic SNL characters.
As it turns out, Aykroyd loves the NBC sketch show so much that he actively chose to sit out the 50th so that he could watch the special without interruption from home. “I wanted to be at home and I wanted to watch the show beginning to end,” Aykroyd reveals to Entertainment Weekly while stopping by our video studio at Comic-Con 2025.
NBC
Laraine Newman and Jane Curtain hold up photo of Gilda Radner on ‘SNL50’
“I knew if i was there, I’d be in a dressing room, I’d be working,” he continues. “I wanted to see it live. I’m a fan of the show today, and I watch it all the time. I love these new players; I think they’re just great. I just wanted to see and live nostalgically with my family in my own home, eating my own popcorn.”
Several of Aykroyd’s fellow original cast members were present, however, including Laraine Newman and Jane Curtin. Newman even did a sketch with more recent alum Pete Davidson in which she reminisced about her time on the show, while Davidson reprised his recurring character of Chad, responding “Okay” to Newman’s heartfelt memories.
Newman and Curtin also were responsible for one of the night’s most moving moments, holding up a photograph of the late Gilda Radner during the cast’s goodbyes at the end of the show. “Lorraine’s piece definitely,” Aykroyd responds when asked about what segment of the show made him most emotional. “That was beautiful. That was wonderful.”
Aykroyd also reminisces about his time making The Blues Brothers alongside blues legends that he grew up admiring. He remembers his time filming with Aretha Franklin in the diner in particular, noting that he was incredibly nervous to be sharing the screen with her. “As soon as she started to sing, I got a feeling in my stomach,” he shares. “When I stood up off the stool, I thought my legs were going to buckle.”
NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty
Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as the Blues Brothers on ‘Saturday Night Live’ on Nov. 18, 1978.
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The former SNL star was attending Comic-Con to promote new graphic novel The Return of the Blues Brothers: The Escape of Joliet Jake written by his daughter Stella, Judy Belushi Pisano’s son, Luke, and James Werner.
“Jake and Elwood are still in jail in 1997, and now they’re trophies and no one wants to let them go,” Aykroyd teases of the book, which hits shelves on Oct. 7. “And the story picks up from there.”
Aykroyd also weighed in on Dylan O’Brien’s portrayal of him in last year’s Saturday Night. Watch his full interview in the livestream above.
Check out more of EW’s coverage from San Diego Comic-Con 2025.
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