'Saturday Night Live': Bryan Cranston to host, Jay Pharoah reportedly joining cast

Zap2it, Thursday, September 2, 2010, 4:21pm (PDT)

By editorial@zap2it.com

Bryan Cranston just won his third Emmy, and in a month he'll be getting another honor -- that of hosting "Saturday Night Live."The "Breaking Bad" star says he's been asked to host the Oct. 2 episode of "SNL," the second in the show's 36th season. It will be his first time on the show. (NBC isn't commenting.)"I'm so thrilled and excited, and a little scared," Cranston said Wednesday (Sept. 1) on ESPN Radio's "Mason & Ireland" show in Los Angeles. "It's a direct result and the lovely byproduct of being nominated. ... I don't know what's going on -- I think in a past life, my recent past life, I must have been greatly mistreated, because I don't know why I've been so fortunate in this one."Meanwhile, The Comic's Comic is reporting that "SNL" is on the verge of adding a fourth new face to its cast. Stand-up comic Jay Pharoah, an adept impressionist, is set to join fellow newcomers Taran Killam, Vanessa Bayer and Paul Brittain; he'd be the first African-American addition to the cast since Kenan Thompson came aboard in 2003.Here's a clip of Pharoah doing impressions of Denzel Washington and Will Smith; The Comic's Comic notes he also does a Barack Obama impression and that he'd "likely" take over playing Obama in sketches from Fred Armisen. "SNL" premieres Saturday, Sept. 25.Follow Zap2it and Zap2itRick on Twitter and Zap2it on Facebook for the latest TV, movie and celebrity news.Photo credit: Getty Images

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