Prime Time Player with Local Roots story Joshua Baethge
photos courtesy of Aristotle Athari
“S
aturday Night Live” featured player Aristotle Athari remembers exactly where he was when he found out he got the gig. It was September 2021, and he was in a liquor store buying wine for his upcoming wedding when his phone rang. The caller ID said “Lorne Michaels,” “SNL’s” creator and longtime producer. Athari wanted to take a screenshot to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating. However, fearing he might accidentally hang up on Michaels, he answered. Next thing he knew, he had his dream job. “I yelled out ‘oh my God,’ but I did it in a way that made it sound like I’d left my baby at the mall or something,” he says. He married his longtime girlfriend, Maura Grace, a few days later to cap off a week unlike any other. The next month, he joined the 47th season of “Saturday Night Live.”
