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Pete Davidson's Career History, from SNL to Bupkis
His recent project, the semi-autobiographical show Bupkis on Peacock, looks at his life before the spotlight.
Pete Davidson's new show Bupkis, which he co-wrote, executive produced and starred in, is unlike anything else on television. It is summarized as a "heightened yet still fictionalized version of Davidson’s real life," starring Edie Falco, Joe Pesci, Kenan Thompson, and dozens more recognizable faces who play the fictional Davidson's family and friends.
Before taking on this creative, trailblazing endeavor, Davidson solidified his name in the comedy world through a handful of roles in popular TV shows and movies. Revisit his rise to fame that made him a household name.
Where is Pete Davidson from?
Davidson is very open about his childhood roots in Staten Island, New York (the setting of Bupkis). His father, Scott Davidson, was a firefighter who died while responding to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Episode 2 of Bupkis ("Do as I Say, Not as I Do") tells part of this story, showing a young Davidson at his uncle's wedding just weeks after the attack.
How did Pete Davidson get famous?
A stand-up comedy pro, Davidson did his first set at age 16 in a bowling alley in response to a dare from his friends. This led him to pursue stand-up in his teens —which gave him opportunities like appearing on the series Guy Code and Failosophy. In 2013, Davidson appeared on Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
According to his biography, Davidson's life changed for good when he joined the cast of Amy Schumer's film Trainwreck (2015). The movie co-starred Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader, who was impressed by Davidson and introduced him to Lorne Michaels.
When did Pete Davidson join SNL?
After Hader's introduction, Davidson joined the cast of Saturday Night Live for its 40th season in 2014, when he was just 20 years old. He immediately became a beloved part of the show, as his Weekend Update appearances and delightfully goofy characters took off.
Davidson used his SNL connections to continue furthering his comedy career off-screen. He paired up with John Mulaney for a comedy tour called "Sundays with Pete and John" and also appeared on Justin Bieber's Comedy Central Roast.
What movies has Pete Davidson been in?
Besides his life-changing role in Trainwreck, Davidson has appeared on the silver screen quite a few times. He had a key role in the popular Netflix movie Set It Up (2018) and starred in Hulu's film Big Time Adolescence (2019).
In 2020, Davidson starred in The King of Staten Island, a film that is also somewhat autobiographical for him as it focused on the grief of losing a parent in the 9/11 attacks. He co-wrote the movie with Judd Apatow and David Sirus and it got a great deal of critical acclaim after its release.
Since the success of his own film, Davidson has also had roles in The Suicide Squad (2021) and I Want You Back (2022). He starred as David in the critically acclaimed film Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022), which depicted a wealthy friend group experiencing a hurricane together in what became a deadly night.
Davidson also voiced the character Mirage in Transformers: Rise of the Beast (2023) and starred as Bowie in the Fast & Furious film Fast X (2023). He was also in Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 alongside Chris Pratt and Chukwudi Iwuji as the character Phlektik.
Stream all episodes of Bupkis on Peacock.
