Moments after the dust settled from Vice President Kamala Harris’ decision to tap Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, a natural question bubbled up in the social media sphere: Who should play the guy on “Saturday Night Live”?
Who should play Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz on ‘Saturday Night Live’? Here are 10 picks.
Of course, Maya Rudolph is coming back as Kamala Harris. Will Steve Martin be TV’s Tim Walz?
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 7, 2024 at 3:45PM
There are two schools of thought on such roles.
Actors can either go the James Austin Johnson as Donald Trump route and mount a vigorous impression of the politician that some could mistake for the man himself. Or they can take a page out of Chevy Chase’s book and hit the stage as themselves, merely adopting some of Gerald Ford’s more lampoonable qualities.
Here are 10 performers who could play Walz on the 50th season of “SNL”:
Michael Longfellow
There are really only two current cast members who can channel the right energy to either imitate or parody Minnesota’s governor. And that’s going to be Mikey Day and Michael Longfellow
Day already got a shot at playing a vice presidential hopeful when he was tapped to portray Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia opposite Beck Bennett’s then-Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, though like many Day performances, it was a workhorse role meant to move things along rather than make a splash. That’s where Longfellow comes in. His Weekend Update appearances regularly go viral, and his devil-may-care attitude would pair well with plenty of Walz-isms, such as the governor’s repeated insistence that JD Vance and Donald Trump are “weird people.”
Bill Hader
“SNL” loves to tap alumni and longtime guest hosts as avatars of popular politicians. Look no further than Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin, Alec Baldwin’s Donald Trump and Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris.
And one of the show’s erstwhile impressionists might be the man for the role. Hader knows how to channel the spirit of the folks he impersonates and turn them into rock-solid performances that rival even James Austin Johnson’s Trump.
Jack Black
We’ve seen some folks lamenting the fact that the late, great Chris Farley would have made a fantastic Walz. And they’re absolutely right.
Black would bring a similar physicality to the role, as you can see in the video above. The man can also do some very impressive things with his eyebrows, which could lend itself to a very good debate sketch.
Danny DeVito
Imagine DeVito channeling Frank Reynolds and basically playing that character, but as Walz. That’s it. That’s the performance.
Nick Offerman
The “Parks and Recreation” cast member is no stranger to playing no-nonsense government leaders. We can imagine Offerman, in that now-iconic Ron Swanson cadence, delivering one of Walz’s favorite mottos on the campaign trail: “Mind your own damn business.”
He’s also campaigned for Harris, which makes him a natural choice.
Jim O’Heir, whose bumbling Jerry Gergich in “Parks and Rec” eventually became mayor of the fictional Pawnee, Ind., would also make a good pick.
Seth Rogen
Rogen’s particular brand of comedy is a bit more raunchy than you’d typically expect from the more mild-mannered Walz. But the Minnesota governor’s recent sly wink at Vance’s fictitious affinity for couches has us thinking, maybe?
Jeff Daniels
Daniels may best be known among Gen Xers and millennials as Harry Dunne, the hilarious foil to Jim Carrey’s Lloyd Christmas in “Dumb and Dumber.” So we know the man has the comedic chops to anchor a series of sketches.
But just check out this clip of him strumming the guitar during an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,’ which proves he’s also got the folksy twang necessary to pull off a Walz impression. Mix that with a bit of “The Newsroom’s” Will McAvoy and that could be it.
Julia Sweeney
Sweeney spent four years on set at “SNL,” from 1990 to 1994. You might remember one of her most famous characters: The androgynous Pat, whose eponymous sketches revolved around cast members and guest hosts tiptoeing around the character’s gender lest they get it wrong.
Sweeney spent much of Tuesday posting excitedly about the Harris-Walz ticket, going so far as to suggest she’d be game for a return to 30 Rockefeller Center. The possibility got plenty of folks excited and her most prominent booster was none other than fellow comedian Patton Oswalt.
The now-former likely pick: Steve Martin
Martin’s got the straight-man act down to a science, from his stone-faced portrayal of Lucky Day in “The Three Amigos” to his most recent turn on the small screen opposite Selena Gomez and Martin Short in “Only Murders in the Building.” Imagine taking that sort of cadence and handing Martin a series of cue cards with a few Walz-isms written on them.
Martin himself weighed in on the speculation Tuesday evening. “I just learned that Tim Walz wants to go on the road with Marty Short,” he posted on social media. Martin has reportedly declined the role, per the Los Angeles Times.
It would have been a natural fit, although we think there’s one guy who could edge Martin out ever so slightly.
The right choice: Jim Gaffigan
Take Gaffigan, put some thick-framed eyeglasses on him and have him do his regular stand-up routine as Walz. It works.
Remember how Lorne Michaels hired Larry David to play Bernie Sanders because the two were just so darn similar? This would be kind of like that.
Gaffigan pretty much looks like Walz already. We know Martin’s practically got the role on lock. But you never know.
Twin Cities
Residents of this St. Paul neighborhood are suddenly neighbors to a vice presidential candidate. ‘It’s neat,’ they say.
At a time of heightened political tensions, neighbors have mostly shrugged off Tim Walz’s rise the last couple months. With added security, the neighborhood has actually grown quieter since his nomination, they said. Mostly, it has amounted to a funny little thrill.
