Dana Carvey Says His Cameo as Joe Biden ‘SNL’ Was ‘Top Secret’

The Saturday Night Live alum played the president in the late-night sketch show’s cold open on Saturday

Saturday Night Live kicked off its 50th season with a few special appearances, including Dana Carvey playing President Joe Biden in the cold open. Carvey, who took over for cast member Mikey Day, says he had to keep the cameo under wraps ahead of the premiere.

“It’s been top secret,” Carvey said on a new episode of his podcast, Fly on the Wall, which he hosts with David Spade. “I’ve kept it under wraps for weeks.”

The comedian confirmed that SNL producer Lorne Michaels asked him to play Biden after Carvey “casually developed” an impression of the president the podcast, comparing to the one he has previously done of George Bush Sr. “I tried to do that treatment to Biden and I did it on here with our YouTube clips,” Carvey told Spade. “Extrapolating it, making it silly and weird.”

He added, “I didn’t see it out there enough, a Biden impression. A lot of brilliant Trumps, Shane [Gillis], James Austin Johnson. Biden is trickier. But, for me, part of that continuum of getting that high energy part of him. And that didn’t come out until maybe six months into his first term where they asked him some question and he got kinda mad.”

Carvey added that with any impression “the true North Star is to try and make it funny and not really give it a political message, per se.”

He recounted putting the sketch together, which saw Biden roaming the stage in confusion at a Kamala Harris rally. “I didn’t write it down or, you know, sharpen my pencil that he would say, ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter!’ with declarative intent,” Carvey said of the part where Biden attempts to say “Build back better.” There were actually several phrases in the mix, including one suggested by Spade.

“It was ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’” Carvey said. “Then it was he would say, ‘I can’t believe it’s not butter,’ and then you gave me one, ‘Bed, bath, and beyond!’ which is a good one, too, because ‘Beyond’ is good with Biden.”

Carvey was part of the Saturday Night Live cast from 1986 to 1993. The comedian has returned as host four times since. He noted on the podcast, which was taped ahead of the episode premiere, that he plans to give the audience “some of the inside scoop” about playing Biden on Saturday Night Live in future episodes.

Over the years, Biden has been played by numerous actors and SNL cast members, including Kevin Nealon, Jason Sudeikis, Jim Carrey, Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, and Alex Moffat. The premiere on Saturday also saw comedian Jim Gaffigan playing Tim Walz and Andy Samberg as Doug Emhoff.