Dana Carvey discusses his surprise ‘SNL’ Joe Biden impression

Dana Carvey is spilling the beans on his Joe Biden impression.

The Saturday Night Live alum, who returned to the show for the season 50 premiere on Saturday to play the president in a cold open, discussed his preparation for the part on his podcast Superfly. “It’s been top secret,” Carvey said. “I’ve kept it under wraps for weeks.”

Carvey said that the SNL producer Lorne Michaels asked him to play Biden after the Wayne’s World star began cultivating an impression of the president on his other podcast Fly on the Wall. “Like with George Bush senior, ‘Not gonna do it,'” Carvey said, recalling his impression of the 41st president from the ’80s and early ’90s. “I tried to do that treatment to Biden,’ and I did it on here with our YouTube clips,” Carvey noted.

Carvey’s Biden took the stage in Studio 8H alongside Maya Rudolph’s Kamala Harris, Jim Gaffigan’s Tim Walz, Andy Samberg’s Doug Emhoff, James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump, and Bowen Yang’s J.D. Vance.

The Master of Disguise star noted that he sought to fill a perceived void of Biden impressions. “I didn’t see it out there enough, a Biden impression,” he said. “A lot of brilliant Trumps, Shane [Gillis], James Austin Johnson. Biden is trickier.”

The current president has been played by a wide array of SNL cast members and guest stars, but the show has struggled to solidify one performer to play him consistently. Kevin Nealon first depicted then-Senator Biden in 1991, and Jason Sudeikis played him when he served as vice president during the Obama administration. Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, and Sudeikis later played Biden throughout the Democratic primary prior to the 2020 presidential election, and Jim Carrey portrayed him once he secured the nomination. 

Cast members Mikey Day and Alex Moffat also portrayed Biden, and upon joining SNL in 2021, James Austin Johnson became the de facto Biden impersonator on the show. Casting Johnson as Biden presents a problem, however, when sketches also include Donald Trump, who he also regularly impersonates.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Carvey said he wants to prioritize “getting that high-energy part” of Biden. “That didn’t come out til maybe 6 months into his first term where they asked him some question, he got kinda mad,” he explained. “‘I can do whatever you want!’ You know? That rhythm.”

Carvey also explained that he prioritizes comedy over political statements. “The true north star is to try to make it funny and not really get it to be a political message, per se,” he said. “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 continued, referring to the unexpected conclusion of an incoherent stammering marathon that his Biden embarked on after attempting to say “Build back better.”

The comedian said there were several phrases in the mix for the “Build back better” bit — including one from Carvey’s podcast cohost David Spade. “It was ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,'” he recalled. “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,” he told Spade.

Carvey performed in SNL‘s cast from 1986 to 1993, and has returned to the show four times as a host (and even more times as a surprise guest).

SNL will return Saturday, Oct. 2 with host stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze and musical guest Coldplay.