Harper Steele Recalls Being Cut from SNL Sketch for Dan Aykroyd
Source: Late Night with Seth Meyers · All Late Night with Seth Meyers reports
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Summary
In this Late Night with Seth Meyers segment, Harper Steele discusses her transition from longtime SNL writer to actor in the new Peacock limited series The Good Daughter, based on Karin Slaughter's novel and premiering November 12, 2026. She recounts her limited prior acting experience (a third-grade lisp-ruined line as John Paul Jones), the supportive but terrifying experience acting alongside Rose Byrne, Meghann Fahy, and Brendan Gleeson, and the rare all-female key crew that felt transformative. The conversation turns to their shared SNL history, including Steele writing sketches that featured Meyers and a specific 2002 Winter Olympics cold open where Meyers was replaced by Dan Aykroyd at the last minute.
Editorial Assessment
The interview is warm, self-deprecating, and factually solid, drawing on Steele's real career arc from SNL writer (including the documented 2002 "Mormons on the Slopes" sketch) to her Emmy-nominated documentary Will & Harper and now acting. Viewers get a clear picture of the joy and terror of her first major role, plus candid insight into gendered differences on film sets. What is lightly missing is deeper discussion of the thriller plot or any potential challenges of her acting debut, but this is a late-night talk segment, not a profile. Framing celebrates female-led production and trans visibility through personal anecdote rather than advocacy, avoiding heavy political skew. Overall high-quality, light entertainment grounded in verifiable personal and production history.
Key Moments
Harper Steele's last acting role before The Good Daughter was in third grade playing John Paul Jones, where a lisp ruined her line about sinking the Serapis.
Steele's personal anecdote; consistent with her limited pre-2026 acting credits and third-grade timeframe.
The Good Daughter has an entirely or predominantly female crew and cast including director Steph Green, writer Karin Slaughter, DP Zoe White, and a trans woman in the project.
Confirmed across Peacock press: directed by Steph Green, written entirely by Karin Slaughter, stars Rose Byrne and Meghann Fahy; Steele herself appears as Lenore.
In a 2002 SNL Salt Lake City Olympics sketch, Harper Steele originally cast Seth Meyers and Will Ferrell as Mormon skiers trying to convert Amy Poehler; Dan Aykroyd replaced Meyers after Lorne Michaels' office request minutes before air.
SNL transcript and video confirm the sketch with Ferrell, Aykroyd, Poehler, Maya Rudolph, and Meyers as reporter; timing of Aykroyd addition matches Steele's and Meyers' accounts.
Seth Meyers received his first "Live from New York" as a concession after being cut from the sketch.
Meyers confirms this in the interview; he was the reporter in the aired sketch and the line would align with his early SNL role.
The Good Daughter streams November 12 on Peacock and is based on Karin Slaughter's novel.
Multiple official Peacock and press releases confirm the exact binge-release date of all six episodes on November 12, 2026, with Slaughter adapting her own 2017 book.