Live from New York, Jake Gyllenhaal hosts Saturday Night Live this week

Jake Gyllenhaal at Ambulance premiere
(Image credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)

Jake Gyllenhaal is set to take on the hosting duties for Saturday Night Live this week, April 9, the second time for the actor whose latest movie, Ambulance, released in movie theaters on April 8. Gyllenhaal will be joined by musical guest Camila Cabello, also doing her second SNL appearance.

Gyllenhaal is an Oscar-nominated actor (Brokeback Mountain), whose big credits include Spider-Man: Far From Home, Nightcrawler, Prisoners and Donnie Darko. The actor is sure to promote Ambulance real quick on the show, which is the brand new Michael Bay action movie where he stars with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Eiza Gonzaléz. Check out What to Watch’s review of Ambulance right here.

While a lot of his movies don’t necessarily fall into the comedy genre (though Gyllenhaal and Abudl-Mateen II singing "Sailing" in a recent Ambulance trailer is pretty funny), Gyllenhaal has shown his ability to make people laugh before, including multiple times on SNL.

This latest hosting stint will only be Gyllenhaal’s second on the show (his first came all the way back in January 2007), he has appeared on the show a few times in the interim. Most notable was his appearance in February 2020 when John Mulaney hosted and he cameoed during a Broadway-inspired musical satire of New York’s LaGuardia airport; Mulaney and Gyllenhaal had previously worked together in the comic’s Netflix special John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch, which is also hilarious and worth a watch.

Camila Cabello, meanwhile, previously appeared as the musical guest on SNL in October 2019. She returns this week having just released her latest album, Familia.

Check out NBC’s promos for this week’s Saturday Night Live featuring Gyllenhaal, Cabello and cast member Bowen Yang.

Saturday Night Live is truly living up to its name these days, as the variety show airs simultaneously across the US, at 11:30 pm ET on the east coast and 8:30 pm PT on the west coast. The show is also now streaming live on NBCUniversal’s Peacock. Though if you’ve missed it live you can catch up with the latest episode on Peacock and Hulu the next day.

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Michael Balderston
Assistant Managing Editor

Michael Balderston is What to Watch’s assistant managing editor and lead movie writer, covering movies coming to theaters, writing movie reviews and highlighting new and classic movies on streaming services; he also covers a range of TV shows, including those in the Taylor Sheridan universe, Slow Horses, Only Murders in the Building, Jeopardy!, Saturday Night Live and more, as well as the best ways to watch some major US sporting events.

Based outside of Washington, D.C., Michael's previous experience includes writing for Awards Circuit, TV Technology and The Wrap.

Michael’s favorite movie of all time is Casablanca, while his favorite TV show is Seinfeld. Some 2025 favorites include One of Them Days and Black Bag for movies, and The Pitt on TV. Follow on Letterboxd to keep up with what I'm watching.

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