Jason Sudeikis Hints At Leaving 'SNL'

Unlike Kristen Wiig and Andy Samberg, who left "Saturday Night Live" at the end of last season, cast member Jason Sudeikis has been less clear about his future with the show. But in recent comments to Men's Journal, he sounds like he's preparing to officially announce his departure from the show sooner rather than later.

"I’ve left places before. This is very, very different," Sudeikis told the magazine, according to an excerpt published in The New York Daily News.

Although Sudeikis was widely expected to leave the show alongside Wiig and Samberg at the end of last season, he did not receive a send-off in the season finale like the other two longtime cast members. (HuffPost's Mike Ryan speculated that he was actually grimacing during Wiig's "She's a Rainbow" number.)

Also unlike Samberg and Wiig, Sudeikis has also not publicly commented on whether he will remain on the show. If he stays, next season would be his ninth season as a cast member.

But as his film career heats up, with big roles in the hit "Horrible Bosses" and the upcoming Will Ferrell/Zach Galifianakis comedy "The Campaign," Sudeikis seems to be eyeing the Studio 8H door.

"Goodbyes are tough," Sudeikis said, adding that working on "SNL" is "an amazing job and a horrible job."

Complicating matters is the fact that Sudeikis plays GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney on the show, and "SNL" will likely feature Romney prominently through the November presidential election -- and possibly beyond, if Romney wins. That said, such a substitution would not be without precedent: The role of President Bill Clinton was taken over by Darrell Hammond after Phil Hartman left "SNL" in 1994.

But Sudeikis also plays Vice President Joe Biden, making things a bit trickier. In April, longtime "SNL" writer Jim Downey told The New York Times that he thought Sudeikis could remain on the show for political sketches, but leave after November (assuming Romney loses).