The comedian spoke with ET about his new movie, 'The King of Staten Island,' available on demand on June 12.
Pete Davidson has been part of Saturday Night Live's cast for almost six years -- and says he isn't planning to leave anytime soon. While promoting his upcoming film, The King of Staten Island, the 26-year-old comedian touched on his future at the legendary comedy sketch show.
"I will be there as long as they allow me to be," Davidson told ET's Lauren Zima. "I think I'm very lucky to be on that show and I'm really lucky to have Lorne Michaels as, you know, not only a mentor and a boss, but a friend. I'll be there as long as they allow it."
When Davidson joined SNL at the age of 20 in 2014, he was one of the youngest cast members ever and the first to be born in the '90s. Amid his time on the NBC show, he's also had roles in various films and TV series, including Trainwreck, What Men Want, The Rookie and more.
His latest film is one his most personal work yet. Directed by Judd Apatow, The King of Staten Island stars Davidson as Scott, a wannabe tattoo artist who never truly grappled with the death of his firefighter father. (Davidson's own father, firefighter Scott Davidson, died in service on 9/11.) When his mother (Marisa Tomei) starts dating another ladderman, he's forced to finally grow up.
Apatow also directed Trainwreck and the two credit Amy Schumer for bringing them together.
"We were casting Trainwreck and sitting around one day with our YouTube open and I said, 'Who do [you] know that's funny that I don't know?'" Apatow told ET. "And the first person [Amy] said was Pete. And then we went on YouTube and watched one of his sets and he was crazy funny -- and crazy funny at 20 years old!"
"I started doing standup when I was around that age and I was not funny at all," cracked the director. "None of us were as funny as he was at that age and then he did a cameo in Trainwreck. And the next day [former SNL cast member Bill Hader, who also starred in the comedy] called Pete and he said, 'I just called Lorne Michaels and said you should be in the cast of Saturday Night Live.' And then he auditioned and got it."
Davidson, meanwhile, said that he's looking forward to hearing what his SNL castmates think of his more dramatic turn in his upcoming film. "I think we sent out the screeners this week, so I'm really looking forward to that," he noted.
One special person who has seen the movie ahead of time is his mother, Amy. "Yeah my mom's seen it. It's a love letter to pretty much my whole family. My mom, sister and my dad," Davidson confessed. "And she saw it at the screening and she really loved it and it really meant a lot to me. I think we made her proud."
Watch the trailer for the movie, below. The King of Staten Island will be available on demand on June 12.
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