Dana Carvey on why he was ‘delicate’ with Joe Biden ‘SNL’ impression
Dana Carvey had a tricky task impersonating Joe Biden on “Saturday Night Live.”
During a recent episode of his “Fly on the Wall” podcast, the 70-year-old comedian explained why he took a “delicate” approach to playing the former president, 82, on the sketch comedy show’s 50th season.
“I knew that he was compromised mentally. I mean, it was obvious,” Carvey said. “But it was a delicate thing in the comedy world.”
Carvey continued, “There were a lot of people who did not want to do anything that would kind of ding him in an awkward way.”
“But it’s comedy!” guest Julie Bowen pointed out, a notion that Carvey agreed with.
“That’s the key, if I can do Biden, if I can make Biden funny to everybody, then I am where I want to be,” he explained. “And to make it funny, it had to be recognizable. And so there were certain things I did not include in my package.”
The comedian also described his experience spoofing Biden as “surreal,” “bizarre” and “at times a lot of fun.”
Carvey’s co-host and fellow “SNL” alum David Spade noted that Biden’s role in the government made him “fair game’ to be mocked on the show.
“I think it’s easier to make fun of him if he’s the president than if it’s just a 90-whatever-year-old man and just go, ‘Look at this a–hole,’” said Spade, 60. “So once he’s president, he’s more fair game. But no one made fun of him forever.”
Carvey made his “SNL” debut as Biden during the Season 50 premiere in September. The episode also featured Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris, Andy Samberg as Harris’ husband Douglas Emhoff, Jim Gaffigan as Harris’ running mate Tim Walz, Austin Johnson as Donald Trump and Bowen Yang as Trump’s VP JD Vance.
The comedian previously revealed on “Fly on the Wall” that “SNL” creator Lorne Michaels asked him to play Biden after Carvey started doing impersonations of the politician on his podcast.
“I didn’t see it out there enough, a Biden impression,” Carvey said. “A lot of brilliant Trumps, Shane [Gillis], James Austin Johnson. Biden is trickier.”
Over the years, Biden has also been spoofed by Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, Jim Carrey and Mikey Day on “SNL.”