Jim Carrey, who has spent years slamming President Donald Trump with his artwork, will play Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on the upcoming season of Saturday Night Live. NBC confirmed the news on Wednesday, shortly after Vulture published an interview with executive producer Lorne Michaels where he discussed what went into picking Carrey for the impression.
“There was some interest on his part. And then we responded, obviously, positively,” Michaels said. “But it came down to discussions about what the take was. He and [head writer] Colin Jost had a bunch of talks. He and I as well. He will give the part energy and strength, and… [laughs], hopefully it’s funny.”
Carrey will join Alec Baldwin as Trump and Maya Rudolph as Senator Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate, when Saturday Night Live returns on October 3 for five straight episodes before the election.
“I made the decision early on, or at least about a month ago, that we would do something we hadn’t done before, which was five shows in a row,” Michaels told Vulture. “Because there are four debates and then it’s Halloween, and that’s the weekend before the election. And sadly, if the election gets extended, then we’ll be doing six or seven shows in a row. Fatigue has been part of it, so we’re trying to make sure that everyone is safe and protected and looked after. The show will be compromised on some levels of production, but it will be recognizable as the show you’ve seen all these years.”
In addition to the casting news and the aggressive on-air schedule, NBC also revealed Saturday Night Live will work closely with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on health and safety protocols that allow for the show to have a limited in-studio audience.
Last week, NBC announced Saturday Night Live will return to Studio 8H inside New York’s Rockefeller Center after finishing the previous season with pre-taped episodes produced remotely. The last live episode of SNL happened on March 7, shortly before the coronavirus pandemic shut down live entertainment in New York and Los Angeles.
While the entire current cast of Saturday Night Live, including stars like Pete Davidson and Kate McKinnon, will return for the new season, NBC also announced the show had added three additional feature players: Lauren Holt, Punkie Johnson, and Andrew Dismukes.
While Baldwin has played Trump since the 2016 election, Saturday Night Live has frequently swapped in actors to portray Biden, including former cast member Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, and John Mulaney.
“Obviously Woody did Biden on the first show last season and did it brilliantly,” Michaels said. “Jason has done it in the past. Part of it also is whoever does it has to basically relocate to New York because of quarantine. So, there were a lot of factors involved in that. But I’m thrilled Jim’s doing it.”
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