You won’t catch Steve Martin portraying Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz on “Saturday Night Live” this fall. The 78-year-old actor and comedian revealed that although producer Lorne Michaels offered him the role, he turned it down.
“I wanted to say no, and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin told the Los Angeles Times. “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.”
Following Vice President Kamala Harris’s announcement of 60-year-old Minnesota governor Tim Walz as her running mate, social media users suggested Martin would be a perfect fit for the role on SNL.
“This SNL season is gonna be wild,” one user wrote on X. “They definitely should get Steve Martin to play Tim Walz.”
Another user posted, “I would like to officially launch my campaign for Steve Martin to play @GovTimWalz on SNL. Because 1- he’s perfect for it, and 2- we all need the Maya/Steve team to make us happy! I made a collage to strengthen my platform.”
One fan even suggested Martin host the premiere of SNL’s 50th season to promote the upcoming season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.”
Martin explained to the Times that he believed accepting the role would be challenging. “It’s ongoing,” he said. “It’s not like you do it once and get applause and never do it again. They need a real impressionist to do that. They’re gonna find somebody really, really good.”
Meanwhile, Maya Rudolph is set to reprise her role as Kamala Harris when SNL’s new season premieres on September 28, as reported by Deadline.
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