'SNL' Surprise: Watch Legendary Actor Return for Cold Open Cameo
This week, legendary actor Christopher Walken walked into the cold open.
Saturday Night Live had a living legend visit this week for a cameo in the cold open sketch. This week's episode opened with a skit about President Joe Biden putting up Halloween decorations, and in the process, he was visited by "the spirit of Halloween" – played by Christopher Walken. Fans went crazy for this drop-in performance.
The cold open featured SNL cast member Mikey Day playing Biden with a strong impression that will likely be a staple for the show going forward. He alluded to world events and cracked jokes about Biden's age – even climbing a ladder while joking about how dangerous the act might be. However, the crowd really went crazy when Biden wished for someone to come along and teach him the true meaning of this holiday. With that, Walken entered the Oval Office and introduced himself as the Halloween equivalent of Santa or the Easter Bunny.
"It's the Halloween way. It's what the holiday is all about," he said. "Sure, there's spooky goblins, creepy crawlers, hocus pocus – but it's about comaraderie, really. Meet the neighbors you don't want to see again on any other day. After all, you can't spell Halloween without 'hello.'"
Walken returned later in the episode to introduce the night's musical guest, Foo Fighters. The actor is 80 years old himself, so the jokes about the president's age might have hit a little close to home for him. However, like Biden, Walken is still working. He has three upcoming projects listed on his IMDb page at the time of this writing, including another season of the Apple TV+ original series Severance. Walken also has a role in the sci-fi epic Dune: Part Two, which was originally meant to hit theaters at Thanksgiving but has now been pushed back to March 15, 2023. Walken will play the galactic emperor, Shaddam IV.
Walken's Dune co-star Timothée Chalamet will host SNL when it returns in two weeks – possibly timing that was set in stone before the premiere date was moved. Chalamet can still promote Wonka, which premieres in December, but if Walken is in New York City fans might see him again in Studio 8H. Then again, if the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike isn't over by then, Chalamet will not be allowed to promote any movies and may have little to talk about on the show. SNL will be back on Nov. 11 on NBC.