Alec Baldwin was told his Donald Trump skits on Saturday Night Live would be a very short-term role.
Alec Baldwin thought he’d only be playing Donald Trump for “two shows” on Saturday Night Live.
The 68-year-old actor has recalled agreeing to play the current President of the United States before the 2016 election, and producer Lorne Michaels didn’t expect it to become a recurring skit on the iconic topical comedy sketch show.
Alec told The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast: “Lorne calls me up [about doing a pre-2016 election SNL appearance as Trump] and I go, ‘I want to go see this screening of this film out in East Stanford with my friends.’
“The great Bruce Weber, the photographer and artist, had made a documentary about Robert Mitchum.
“And Lorne goes [sarcastically], ‘OK, good for you. Good for you. You don’t want to come in and be part of the hottest comedy sketch of the year? You can go watch your Robert Mitchum documentary.’
“So I come in and I do it and he goes to me, ‘It’s only going to be two shows, man. He’s never going to win.’ “
When it came to election night, Trump won to begin his first term as president, and the 30 Rock actor realised he’d have to keep playing him on SNL.
He said: “I’m laying in bed with my wife on election night. We don’t have a TV in our room. I got my computer. We’re both asleep. It’s three o’clock.
“I wake up, [check the result] and I turn to my wife and I go, ‘He won. He won.’ And my wife literally just goes, ‘Ugh.’ She groans.
“And then I go, ‘I got to do this thing for the next four years! He’s going to ask me to do it for four years!’ “
It was at that point Alec started studying footage of Trump, and he insisted body language is more important than “the voice” for an impression.
He explained: “So you start watching tapes of him. In acting school, they taught us watch the footage with the sound off. The voice comes last.
“So I’m watching footage of him and I’m going, ‘Oh, he does a lot of weird gestures and his face is always in a scowl.’”
His research paid off, as Alec previously claimed former White House press secretary Sean Spice told people that Trump’s wife Melania was a big fan.
Speaking at a 92nd Street Y event, the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column reported he said: “Spicer — maybe he had a couple drinks, I don’t know; I wasn’t there… he says to the people at SNL, Melania watches the show every Saturday night. And she points at the TV and says, ‘That’s what he’s like! That is what he’s like! Exactly! Alec Baldwin is exactly like Donald!'”
However, Trump himself hasbn’t been quite so impressed.
He previously tweeted: “Watched Saturday Night Live hit job on me. Time to retire the boring and unfunny show.
“Alec Baldwin portrayal stinks. Media rigging election! (sic)”
On another occasion, he posted: “Just tried watching ‘Saturday Night Live’ – unwatchable! Totally biased, not funny and the Baldwin impersonation just can’t get any worse. Sad. (sic)”
Alec Baldwin only meant to play Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live for ‘two shows’
