Comedy icon Steve Martin won’t be playing Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live (SNL) despite fans believing he’d be a perfect fit.
After Harris revealed Walz as her pick for Vice President should she emerge victorious this November, viewers were quick to dream up their own choice for who might play the Minnesota governor when he inevitably appears in a future SNL episode. With SNL alum Maya Rudolph already set to portray the Democratic presidential nominee (according to Deadline), Martin, for many, felt like the obvious choice to play her running mate.
The Father of the Bride and Only Murders in the Building star tells The Los Angeles Times that SNL mastermind Lorne Michaels has already called him with an offer to play Walz for an unspecified amount of time. It’s an enticing offer that Martin says he politely declined.
“I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” he explains. “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’ I was picked because I have gray hair and glasses.”
Although Martin has a lengthy history with the long-running New York sketch comedy series that has seen him featured as a host more than a dozen times, it wasn’t enough to convince him to commit to an extended stay. The nearly 79-year-old actor says it would simply be too much for him to return as the same character over a long period of time.
“It’s ongoing,” Martin continues. “It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again. Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They’re gonna find somebody really, really good. I’d be struggling.”
SNL is set to return for its 50th season next month, and Martin’s staying busy, too. The actor will return for Only Murders in the Building Season 4 along with his two co-stars, Selina Gomez and Martin Short, on August 27. In March, a two-part documentary about his life titled Steve! (Martin) released on Apple TV+. It sounds like Michaels is on the hunt for an actor to play Walz, but it’s currently unclear who will get the part.
In the meantime, you can learn more about the upcoming movie based on SNL’s first episode, Saturday Night. It’s already picked out a selection of actors to play notable figures from the show’s history, including Dan Aykroyd, Garrett Morris, Chevy Chase, and John Belushi.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
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