Steve Martin should totally play Tim Walz on Saturday Night Live, right?
Early Tuesday morning, surprisingly good political news broke: Vice President Kamala Harris selected Governor Tim Walz as her running mate for the 2024 Presidential Election.
For years, Maya Rudolph has portrayed Harris on SNL. She has even won an Emmy for the role.
As news of Harris’ eminently likeable running mate began to circulate, social media users immediately began discussing Steve Martin. The reasons are fairly obvious.
Tim Walz is now VP Kamala Harris’ running mate!
Early on Tuesday, August 6, a slew of reports shared that Vice President Kamala Harris had selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
He was an early frontrunner after she declared her candidacy. Walz has an extremely down-to-earth communication style and a broad political and cultural appeal. He was one of the first major politicians to summarize disgraced former president Donald Trump and his political allies as “weird.”
Just hours later, the Harris campaign confirmed that Walz would be on the ticket. This was positive news in many ways. And it could be exciting news for Steve Martin fans, as well.
See, every major political cycle sees parodies of the most notorious figures in politics — especially presidential candidates — on Saturday Night Live. The long-running improv show is something of a touchstone for the political pulse of much of the country.
As we noted, Maya Rudolph’s award-winning parody of Vice President Harris is indelible. And SNL has generally helped to shape politics, from playing a major role in the 2008 election to allegedly being why Trump fired Sean Spicer as his press secretary.
So who will be playing Maya Rudolph’s running mate? It’s anyone’s guess. And it could be an existing cast member. Or it could be a celebrity who has hosted or otherwise appeared on Saturday Night Live dozens of times over many decades.
Will Steve Martin portray Tim Walz?
Steve Martin is a legendary comedian. His appearance has also not changed very much — something that many younger social media users realized when a 1978 clip of him (on Saturday Night Live, no less) went viral.
He happens to bear a remarkable resemblance, from certain angles, to Governor Tim Walz.
They’re hardly “twins.” But then, neither are Maya Rudolph and Vice President Kamala Harris. But Steve Martin certainly has the comedic chops to play off of Rudolph’s “funt” parody.
Steve Martin is 78 years old. He reached adulthood when 60-year-old Tim Walz was a baby.
(Walz is only about six months older than Harris, who will turn 60 in October. Even Harris’ criminal opponent has admitted that he had assumed that she was younger)
We suspect that age will not be an obstacle. In fact, age could help Martin and Rudolph represent the distinctive vibes of the real-life political candidates.
‘SNL’ influences how people remember political gaffes, debates, and more
As it happens, Tim Walz can be very funny in a wholesome way. It is arguably part of his appeal as a politician. We have no doubt that Steve Martin could bring his significant acting and comedic chops to bear to don the role.
That said, it’s possible that he’s too busy starring on Only Murders In The Building. Similarly, there are other actors — including current SNL cast members — could portray Walz.
Other names have cropped up on social media. Frank Welker is a famous voice actor. Wallace Shawn has a storied career and a keen interest in politics. We’re sure that SNL‘s eventual pick will be entertaining. And, likely, this choice will help to shape how people remember this election cycle — and perhaps the next eight years.