All About Ben Marshall, the Please Don't Destroy Member Joining SNL's Season 51 Cast

Ben Marshall's role on Saturday Night Live is going to look a little different in Season 51. 

Since 2021, the actor and comedian has been a writer on the show, periodically appearing on SNL as part of the group  Please Don't Destroy . He and fellow PDD members Martin Herlihy and John Higgins produced 39 Digital Shorts starring the trio between Seasons 47 and 50, often set in their shared office and featuring the week's Host.

Higgins announced his departure from  SNL  on September 2, signaling the end of Please Don't Destroy's run on  SNL. But NBC shared exciting news the following day: Marshall is moving on up to become one of five new Featured Players.

Get to know Marshall before his debut as an official cast member below.

RELATED: SNL Just Added 5 New Season 51 Cast Members

What is Ben Marshall famous for?

Marshall is best known as one third of the comedy trio Please Don't Destroy.

Marshall met Herlihy and Higgins at NYU. They founded Please Don't Destroy in 2017 , right around when Marshall made his TV debut as an intern on The Tonight Show . 

The group rose to popularity on social media during the pandemic with sketches about vaccines , Zoom meetings , and " reverse Cameo ."

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Their first Saturday Night Live sketch, " Hard Seltzer ," aired on October 9, 2021. Marshall and Herlihy tried some new, very weird new products as Higgins worried about drinking J.C. Penney and Jiffy Lube-branded seltzers. 

While their second sketch starring Season 47 Host Rami Malek was cut for time, the fourth PDD sketch broke out with help from Host Pete Davidson and Musical Guest Taylor Swift. " Three Sad Virgins " launched the trend of famous people absolutely roasting Marshall, Herlihy, and Higgins, which continued in videos with Dakota Johnson  and Charli XCX .

They got Bad Bunny to dress up as Shrek and Mikey Madison to become Squidward, and they learned self defense from Travis Kelce. They even  parodied The Voice with help from Tate McRae. 

Ben Marshall's had a few movie and TV roles

In 2023, PDD wrote and starred in their own movie,  Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain . Marshall, fittingly, took on the role of "Ben."

In 2025, Marshall guest-starred as Rusty in  Poker Face  Season 2 Episode "The Taste of Human Blood." He'll also appear in the upcoming comedy 72 Hours  alongside Kevin Hart, Marcello Hernández , and fellow SNL cast newbie Kam Patterson . 

Did Please Don't Destroy break up? 

No.

Despite the changes in their employment, PDD is not breaking up IRL — they continued to perform the final dates of their 2025 tour  after the SNL  news broke. Marshall  clarified the group's status on Instagram  after the show announced he'd been cast.

"I love these boys so much," he wrote. "I couldn't be more grateful to have gotten into this business with my two best friends. Getting to write for SNL together and make our own videos for the show was beyond our wildest dreams and I'm so proud of everything we've made so far."

"This is a new chapter, but we're not going to stop working together anytime soon," he continued. "Thanks to anyone who has watched our videos, watched our movie, or seen us on tour. It means the world. PDD 4 ever." 

Higgins commented, "I will be watching every Saturday (Sunday morning) brother," while Herlihy posted four hearts. 

Ben Marshall is one of five new cast members joining SNL Season 51

Marshall will be joined as a new featured player by Veronika Slowikowska , Jeremy Culhane, Tommy Brennan and Patterson. The new season will premiere October 4, and NBC Insider has everything you need to know .