Who’s the best Joe Biden impersonator in ‘SNL’ history? [POLL]
When former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Dana Carvey returned to Studio 8H in Season 50 to portray United States President Joe Biden, he actually became the 10th person overall to wear the iconic white wig. Biden has been a fixture on NBC’s late night sketch series since 1991, when Kevin Nealon played the then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman in a single sketch that lampooned Clarence Thomas‘ Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Nealon was followed, in order, by Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, Jim Carrey, Alex Moffat, James Austin Johnson, Pete Davidson, Mikey Day, and now Carvey. So who’s the best Joe Biden impersonator in “SNL” history? Vote in our poll below and then defend your choice down in the comments section.
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In October of 2021, a sketch called “Ghost of Biden Past Cold Open” welcomed three versions of POTUS onto the stage at the same time: Alex Moffat, who briefly played him after the 2020 election; Jason Sudeikis, whose impression of Vice President Biden during Barack Obama‘s campaign and presidency lasted the longest; and James Austin Johnson, who accepted the role between 2021 and ’22. “People used to like me,” Johnson’s President declared in the clip. “The press would call me Uncle Joe. I miss the old me. Where the hell did that guy go?” Cue the Oval Office door bursting opening as Sudeikis’ younger, hipper Biden barged in wearing aviators and pointing finger-guns.
Woody Harrelson took on the part in 2019 for the Democratic candidate debates, with his enormous white teeth stealing the show. He was then followed by John Mulaney, who played Biden just once when he hosted in February of 2020, and made a joke about how he looked different because “the surgery is starting to settle.”
Jim Carrey as Biden and Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris made the most of the 2020 election cycle, as both actors appeared for six weeks in a row between October and November. Note that Rudolph continues to impersonate Harris four years later, while Carrey has yet to be asked back after that run of episodes.
The three most recent portrayers of the 46th president are Pete Davidson, Mikey Day and Dana Carvey. Davidson only appeared for about a minute as a tattooed, deep-voiced, “real universe” Biden in January of 2022; Day played him between 2023 and ’24 including most recently at March’s State of the Union; and Carvey, a fan-fave “SNL” alum, became a bumbling Biden in Season 50 who expressed frustration that he was pushed out of running for a second term.
“SNL” airs live coast-to-coast this season on NBC on Saturday evenings at 11:30 ET / 10:30 CT / 9:30 MT / 8:30 PT.
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