By Cara Sprunk
8:09am PDT, Sep 11, 2018
On Sept. 17, "Saturday Night Live" stars and writers Michael Che and Colin Jost will host the 70th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards. The duo, who anchor the popular "Weekend Update" segment on "Saturday Night Live," are following a long line of alums of the sketch-comedy show who have hosted the Emmys including Andy Samberg, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon. In anticipation of the 2018 ceremony, which hasn't had more than one host since 2008, Wonderwall.com is sharing a few things you should know about these talented comedians.
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Colin was once a competitive swimmer
Colin Jost's skills go far beyond comedy. The 36 year old, who grew up on Staten Island in New York, was on the swim team and became a lifeguard when he was growing up. "My family stills belongs to the Great Kills Swim Club," he told the Daily News in 2015. "I literally spent 13 hours a day there while I was growing up." He was seriously good too. "When I was 10, I went to the Junior Olympics for the 50-meter and 100-meter breaststroke," he told Us Weekly in 2016.
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Michael was a correspondent on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"
Before nabbing the "Weekend Update" anchor position, 35-year-old Michael Che enjoyed a brief stint on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." He left NBC's "Saturday Night Live," where he was a writer, to go to the Comedy Central show. Despite knowing very little about politics — at least that's what he claimed during his stand-up acts — he was made a correspondent on the show for three months.
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Colin was the editor of his high school newspaper
Even as a teen, Colin Jost was interested in humor. While a student at Regis High School in Manhattan, he served as the editor of the school's newspaper, The Owl. "I wrote a humor column called Owl Droppings," he told Us Weekly.
Michael grew up in a big family
Michael Che grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where he was the youngest of seven children. Even though he has the bigger family, it doesn't mean he has more fans than his "Weekend Anchor" co-host. Michael told GQ that his whole family thinks Colin is the funnier host.
Colin appeared on "The Weakest Link"
In 2002, Colin Jost was a junior at Harvard and appeared on an episode of the game show "The Weakest Link" during the show's "College Week." Colin, who was called "genius boy from Harvard" by the host, correctly answered questions about Alfred Hitchcock and Olympic figure skaters but failed to identify where Kent State University is located. However, he ended up winning, taking home $5,250. "It was clearly all luck that it worked out that way," he told The Harvard Crimson.
Michael was named after Che Guevara
Michael Che's real name is Michael Che Campbell. "I was named after Che Guevara," he told Vulture. "My dad is a huge history buff and he named me after Che Guevara 'cause he loved Che Guevara for whatever reason. Which is a very polarizing figure, because when I tell people I was named after Che, they're either like, 'Oh, wow, that's cool,' or they're like, 'You know, Che killed people.' I'm like, I didn't pick my name."
Comedy runs in Colin's family
Colin Jost's only brother, Casey Jost, is also a comedian. He's a writer for "Impractical Jokers" and has appeared on "Inside Amy Schumer." Before "Impractical Jokers," Casey was a writer for "Saturday Night Live" alum Jimmy Fallon's late-night show.
Michael is artistic
Before he was a comedian, Michael Che was an artist. "[Art] was my therapy, it was my creative outlet," he told The Village Voice. "Art takes so much practice. People will tell you you're good before you are. They want to encourage you. Luckily for me, I never really bought into any of my hype. I always knew it took a lot of work for me to be what I wanted to be." He began painting canvases and T-shirts and ended up selling his shirts on the streets of New York.
Colin has been working on "Saturday Night Live" for a long, long time
In 2005, Colin Jost joined the writing staff of "Saturday Night Live." He became a supervising writer in 2009 and then head writer in 2012. It was not until 2013 that he stepped out of the writers room and in front of the cameras when he joined the "Weekend Update" desk.
Michael is the first black co-anchor of "Weekend Update"
When Michael Che was named co-anchor of "Weekend Update" in 2014, he followed in the footsteps of stars like Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Seth Meyers and Jimmy Fallon. But none of his predecessors were black, giving Michael the honor of being the first African-American co-anchor in the then-nearly 40-year history of "Saturday Night Live."
Colin was president of the Harvard Lampoon
While a student at Harvard, Colin Jost joined the staff of the Ivy League school's comedy magazine, The Harvard Lampoon. Before that, he didn't even realize he could write comedy for a living. "[That] didn't even settle into my brain until years of being at the Lampoon, when you started meeting alumni who would come back and they seemed like really fun, happy guys and they were doing these jobs that were really difficult at times, but that they really like. And it just seemed like a more interesting path than other things that were out there," Colin, who later became president of the mag, told the Boston Globe. "I was there 80 hours a week, probably, not always writing, mostly just joking around. But that counts. When you're around people who are trying to be funny all day and trying to one-up each other, that's just naturally — if you want to do it — it's going to make you better."
Michael went to a famous high school
Like his co-anchor, Michael Che is also an alum of a pretty famous school. The comedian attended the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which was the inspiration for the 1980 film "Fame." Alumni of the school include Jennifer Aniston, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Awkwafina and Timothée Chalamet.
Colin dates Scarlett Johansson
In 2017, Colin Jost started dating Scarlett Johansson. The two have known each other for a long time. "The first time she hosted "Saturday Night Live" was the first year I was a writer on the show," Colin told "Entertainment Tonight" of the actress' 2006 hosting debut. "So we've kind of known each other since then… she's the best." He made it clear he was smitten, telling "ET," "She's pretty cool… it's hard to have a lot of complaints. She's pretty awesome."
Tommy Hilfiger offered Michael a job
Michael Che's T-shirt designs were a huge hit. Tommy Hilfiger was so impressed, he hired Michael to design collaged logos after seeing what the artist was selling on the sidewalk. "He said, 'Do you know why I'm doing this? Because somebody gave me a chance. So I'm giving you a chance,'" Che told The Village Voice of Tommy. "I'll never forget that." Unfortunately, anxiety took over, fueling a creative block, and Michael soon left. He said he hasn't painted since.
Colin went to college with Mark Zuckerberg
Like Colin Jost, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg went to Harvard, and the two overlapped while at the Ivy League university. "Everyone's always like, 'Did you meet Mark Zuckerberg? Did you hang out with him?' and I'm like, 'No, because he was in a lab creating Facebook and I was, like, learning about alcohol,'" Colin told Andy Cohen on an episode of "Watch What Happens Live."
Michael got a late start in comedy
At the age of 26, Michael Che decided to give stand-up comedy a try. He first considered a comedy class but couldn't save up the money for it. He ended up doing an open-mic night at a basement bar called Comedy Corner where it cost him $5 to perform. "Immediately, onstage looking down at the microphone and watching them look up, I was hooked," he told The Village Voice. "After that I went onstage every day, maybe two to three times a day, just open mics, open mics, open mics. Maybe four times a day. Maybe five times a day."
Colin wrote a movie
Colin Jost has also written a movie. His first feature film, "Staten Island Summer," came out in 2015. Naturally, he enlisted a few of his friends from "Saturday Night Live" to help. Fred Armisen, Will Forte, Kate McKinnon, Cecily Strong and Bobby Moynihan all were featured in the flick, which was inspired by Colin's upbringing.
Colin helped Michael get his "SNL" gig
Michael Che and Colin Jost were friends before they became co-workers. In fact, if it weren't for Colin, Michael might never have ended up on "Saturday Night Live." "Colin was the one that was like, 'You should come in and guest-write on the show,'" Michael told GQ.
Colin's mom was the chief medical officer for the FDNY
Colin Jost's mom is a big deal. "My mom has been a doctor with the FDNY for 35 years and was the first female chief medical officer," he revealed to Us Weekly. Supporting firefighters has always been important to the comedian. "Serious talk: My mom and grandpa and basically my whole family is with the FDNY. Help @answerthecall," he tweeted in 2014 in reference to the charity that supports widows and families of fallen New York police and firefighters.
