Saturday Night Live: Steve Martin Declined Offer to Play Tim Walz in Season 50

The SNL alumnus has opted to not play the Democratic vice presidential nominee on SNL.

By Adam Barnhardt

Tim Walz is likely to be a big character on this season of Saturday Night Live given the live sketch comedy goes all-in on political lampooning. Earlier this month, it was confirmed presidential candidate Kamala Harris would be played by Maya Rudolph once again, and Lorne Michaels and company have been on a hunt for their Walz, Harris' running partner on the Democratic ticket. Although the show has yet to announce who'll play the character, one popular fan choice for the spot has said he won't be doing it. Wednesday, Steve Martin reveal he turned down Michaels' offer to play Walz.

"I wanted to say no and, by the way, he wanted me to say no," Martin told the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday. "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."

The comedy icon went on to say the role required far more time than he wants to dedicate at this point in his career.

"It's ongoing," Martin added. "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."

Who is in the Saturday Night Live cast?

Cast members for Saturday Night Live season 49 include almost the entire cast from season 48 of SNL. Returning stars include Michael Che, Mikey Day, Andrew Dismukes, Chloe Fineman, Heidi Gardner, James Austin Johnson, Punkie Johnson, Colin Jost, Ego Nwodim, Sarah Sherman, Kenan Thompson, and Bowen Yang. Featured players that are part of the cast include returning stars Marcello Hernandez, Molly Kearney, Michael Longfellow, and Devon Walker, plus the show's only fully new cast member for the year, newcomer Chloe Troast. The comedy troupe Please Don't Destroy, made up of Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, are also a recurring part of the series.

Related:

Punkie Johnson and Molly Kearney have left the show ahead of its 50th season.

All 49 seasons of Saturday Night Live are also now streaming on Peacock.

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