Actor Steve Martin may have the gray hair and glasses — and even the will of fans — but he will not portray Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, on “Saturday Night Live”
Martin talked with the Los Angeles Times after Harris announced Walz would be her running mate. He said he received a phone call from Lorne Michaels, a producer at “SNL,” and Michaels asked him to impersonate Walz on the show.
“I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin said.
“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,” Martin said.
There was also the matter of scheduling. Martin would be tasked to appear on the show on a continual basis, which did not mesh with his current schedule, Fox News reported.
“It’s ongoing. It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again,” Martin said to the LA Times. “Again, they need a real impressionist to do that. They’re going to find somebody really, really good. I’d be struggling.”
Many on X, formerly Twitter, posted about the need for Martin to do the gig, per Fox News.
“So Steve Martin is definitely gonna play Walz on ‘SNL’ right,” one user posted.
“‘SNL’ get Steve Martin on the phone NOW,” another wrote.
Others on X have voiced their opinions who they think should play Walz.
Everyone keeps saying Steve Martin but it needs to be Danny DeVito
— k.elizabeth (@kathleenelee) August 7, 2024
(Also who would make this graphic w Chriswtf) pic.twitter.com/Ese0VlK9r4
Deadline reported former “SNL” star Maya Rudolph has been tapped to play Harris in the show’s 50th season.
Rudolph previously played Harris in 2019 when Harris was President Joe Biden’s pick for vice president.
In 2020, the outlet wrote about the time Harris asked Rudolph what it was like to impersonate her on the show.
“In terms of Senator Harris, I didn’t have an impression because I wasn’t walking around the house doing my ‘Kamala.’ But I think it starts with trying to get someone’s voice if you can,” Ruldolph said then. “There’s nothing crazily overt about Sen. Harris, but I have to tell you, when I got to [SNL] and they put the wig on me, it was done.”
