‘Should We Be Concerned?:’ Jim Gaffigan Reflects On Being Nervous Before Debuting As Tim Walz On SNL

Jim Gaffigan revealed being tense before his viral portrayal of Tim Walz on SNL ahead of the United States election.

Published on Nov 27, 2024  |  11:18 AM IST |  38.4K
Jim Gaffigan (CC: Instagram)
Jim Gaffigan (CC: Instagram)

No matter how seasoned an artist is, appearing on live television, especially on Saturday Night Live, can make them nervous. The same happened with Jim Gaffigan, who recalled being nervous before making his debut and portraying Tim Walz on the comedy sketch show.

The comedian and actor discussed this during his appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers. Ahead of the election held in November, Gaffigan did multiple sketches as Walz. But the day before making his debut, he confessed that he was tense about how it would all go because at that point he had not read a script.


The comedian told the host that he was contracted for five but only ended up doing one table read because the script was not completed. He admitted to not knowing how the last-minute show would be. He recalled calling them the day prior to filming and asking, “Hey, uh, is there a script or something? Should we be concerned? Did you guys forget?' And I love to improvise, but I'm not a huge fan of cold reading," joking that he maybe did not know how to read.

To this, Meyers, who is an alum of SNL, said that there is not so much time, especially with the political sketches to rehearse it or to get familiar with the script. While talking about the cue card supervisor at SNL, Wally Feresten, they would just ask them to read what he has held up.

Gaffigan ended up doing multiple sketches portraying Walz, but even after that he still experienced nervousness. The comedian told the host that he has performed stand-ups for 35 years and that he had been in so many situations that were awkward, but there was nothing that actually prepared you for live television. 

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He added, “You walk out and you shake Lorne Michaels' hand; it's like meeting Thomas Jefferson, and then you're supposed to do a sketch. It's bizarre.” 

The Jim Gaffigan Show star continued by mentioning that they are aware that it is a very famous show and many people watch it. He further said, “There are clips of it, and if it's a political thing, it'll be on the Sunday political shows. But I didn't realize that, within a 24-hour period, everyone on the planet has seen the cold open if it's a real topical one.”


The comedian mentioned that the reviews about the same differed on each social media handle. He said that if you looked at it on one platform, they would call out that sketch, but if one looked at another website, they would say that the sketch was great.

ALSO READ: ‘Have A Mad Crush On Him’: Courtney Love Gushes Over THIS Rapper, Says He’d Love To Work With Him

Credits: Entertainment Weekly, YouTube
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