Screen legend Steve Martin is opening up about why he declined the chance to play Kamala Harris’ running mate, Tim Walz, on Saturday Night Live.
After Harris announced Walz as her right hand for her Democratic presidential bid on Tuesday, many social media users on X (formerly Twitter) quickly named the Father Of The Bride star as a front-runner to parody the Minnesota governor on the iconic sketch show.
Apparently catching wind of the internet chatter, Steve, who bears a resemblance to the politician with white hair and glasses, reacted with a cheeky response on social media.
“I just learned that Tim Walz wants to go on the road with Marty Short,” the actor wrote on Threads, nodding to his pal and fellow comedian Martin Short.
Steve and Martin, co-stars of Only Murders in the Building, are slated to go on a U.S. comedy tour this fall.
The following day, Steve told the Los Angeles Times that SNL creator Lorne Michaels had already reached out to him to offer him the gig, but the comedian explained why he politely turned it down.
“I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Steve told the Times of the offered recurring gig for the show’s 50th season.
“I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really nail the guy.’ I was picked because I have grey hair and glasses.”
There was one more thing that gave the Emmy winner, who will turn 79 later this month, pause: the time commitment.
“It’s ongoing,” Steve says. “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.”
Fans of SNL will recall that actor Alec Baldwin spent years playing Donald Trump after taking on the role before the 2016 election, while SNL mainstay Maya Rudolph has also regularly portrayed Harris since 2019 and will be reprising her role through the current presidential campaign.
Steve has hosted the late-night show 16 times in total, Rolling Stone reported.