Miles Teller was always intended for the Studio 8H stage, and he has the video evidence to prove it. The “Top Gun: Maverick” star started season 48″Saturday Night Live” with a monologue that included an obscure reference to his early role in the film Whiplish, shouting Tom Cruise, and the winning joke that the Top Gun sequel was the rare film that managed to strike a chord with the military and LGBTQ+ community. But the highlight of Teller’s monologue came when he showed a clip from a home video of him and his sister recreating the classic Spartan cheerleaders “SNL” sketch when he was a kid.
The original sketch was removed Will Ferrell and Cheri Ottery as two teenagers desperate for a spot on the school cheerleading squad. In Teller and his sister’s version, 8-year-old Teller played Ottery’s character (he “had a setup for it,” he explained), while his sister took on the role of Ferrell. Together, they acted out a segment of “Who’s That Spartan in My Tipi” for their parents, while their younger sister watched from afar. (The Spider-Man star joked that his little sister was being played by Lorne Michaels as she peeked around the corner from another room wearing what looked like a child-sized costume.)
What made the moment even sweeter was that Teller’s mom gave him the footage while she and his dad were in the studio audience. “How crazy is that? “My parents used to watch me do skits in my living room, and now they’re here watching me host Saturday Night Live,” he said.
In addition to his nostalgic monologue, Teller reunited with his Top Gun: Maverick co-star John Ham for the self-referential cold open show, played game show host with the likes of Adam Levin and Armie Hammer, and stepped into the role of Charmin the bear. Check out the gallery to see all of Teller’s sketches from his “SNL” debut.
