Five Adam Sandler Characters We're Still Obsessed With: How to Watch His SNL Episodes
Opera Man, Canteen Boy and more of the iconic SNL alum's best moments.
From 1991 to 1995, Adam Sandler brought the goofiest, most joyful characters to Saturday Night Live.
The Sandman is a master of silly voices and catchy tunes, and some of his jokes have remained in our heads for decades. His "Weekend Update" songs will always be legendary and his characters unforgettable, so there's never a reason not to revisit his impact-oh on Saturday Night Live-ohhhh.
Let's look back at five iconic Adam Sandler SNL characters below, and stream episodes from his five seasons on Saturday Night Live on Peacock anytime.
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Five of Adam Sandler's most unforgettable SNL characters
Opera Man
Opera Man sang about the news in a mix of Italian, Spanish, and English words with an "oh" at the end, usually as a "Weekend Update" guest. When Home Alone 2: Lost In New York became a hit in theaters, he belted, "Home Alone-oh, mucho dinero, Little bambino millionair-oh." The character debuted in 1992, and Sandler spoke about his origins on the David Spade and Dana Carvey's Fly on the Wall podcast.
"First time I did it, it was just gibberish," he said. "There was a man who used to sing Opera on the street. He'd hold the can out and he'd come at you [singing]."
Sandler brought Opera Man back to "Weekend Update" in 2019 to sing about "Game of Thrones-ah, almost finito."
Watch Adam Sandler's return as "Opera Man" here.
Canteen Boy
The awkward and naive Canteen Boy first appeared in 1993 in an episode hosted by John Goodman. An assistant scoutmaster who is mercilessly mocked and bullied by everyone he meets, he never responds in exactly the way they're expecting. He can also get back at his tormentors by calling upon his snake friends. As Canteen Boy grew older, so did the subject matter of his sketches.
Canteen Boy was created by Sandler and longtime SNL writerTim Herlihy, who went on to co-write most of Sandler's films. The character is based on a neighbor of Herlihy's then-girlfriend, now wife. Herlihy is also the father of Please Don't Destroy member and Season 51 SNL writer Martin Herlihy.
"It started very wholesome," Herlihy told Seth Meyers in July 2025. "He was just in the Scouts too long and just trying to keep the neighborhood [safe]."
For their 1998 movie The Waterboy, Sandler and Herlihy created a new character by combining Canteen Boy with another popular Sandler character...
Cajun Man
Cajun Man was a "Weekend Update" character who debuted in 1992. He wore a straw hat and overalls and answered questions from anchor Kevin Nealon on anything from sports to politics. His answers were rarely more than one word, and almost always rhymed with the word "Cajun."
Sandler's character in The Waterboy, Bobby Boucher, is a combination of Cajun Man's simplicity and Canteen Boy's kindness.
Brian, Host of the Denise Show
Over the course of three Season 19 episodes, The Denise Show chronicled one man's obsession with his girlfriend, Denise (Shannen Doherty). It was a talk show hosted by Brian (Sandler) where the callers included people who had seen Denise, Brian's disappointed dad (Phil Hartman), and Denise's friend (Nicole Kidman).
It was eventually revealed that Brian also previously hosted The Linda Show, all about his ex-girlfriend Linda (Nancy Kerrigan). Only Adam Sandler could make a stalker ex-boyfriend seem almost lovable.
The Herlihy Boy
Named after Tim Herlihy, the Herlihy Boy was born out of a last-minute addition to Season 19, Episode 8.
"People were starting to like some of the stuff I did, and I wasn't on the show that week," Sandler explained to Seth Meyers on Late Night. "And Lorne [Michaels] said to Jim Downey, 'Adam's light, ask him if he has anything.' Usually you gotta read in front of the whole cast and the whole crew, and if they laugh, you get it on. If they don't...a lot of my stuff didn't work."
Late on that Wednesday night, Sandler came up with the Herlihy Boy, a boy desperately offering his house-sitting services, and more. With a quiet desperation, he begged to be allowed to water your plants and to bring in your mail and sleep in your bed. As Mr. O'Malley, Chris Farley would loudly berate the audience for taking so long to agree. As Meyers told Sandler, "it's really a sketch about Farley."
"I had the title role, but that was a big move in my era," Sandler said. "If you wrote Farley into a sketch, you knew it was probably gonna get on and it was probably gonna be a great time."
How do I stream Adam Sandler's SNL episodes?
Sandler was an SNL cast member from midway through Season 16 to Season 20, and you can stream sketches from all of those seasons on Peacock. Be sure to check out this Adam Sandler compilation to enjoy even more of his funniest moments on the show!
