Jim O'Heir Teases Potential Run as Tim Walz Following 'SNL' Fan-Casting (Exclusive)
With the 50th season premiere of Saturday Night Live fast approaching on Saturday, Sept. 28—and Maya Rudolph officially locked in to play Kamala Harris—fans are still wondering who will take on the role of vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.
From the moment he was confirmed as the Democratic presidential candidate's running mate on Aug. 6, the country got down to business trying to deduce who would portray him on the long-running sketch series.
Vanity Fair suggested the likes of Steve Martin (who ultimately declined the nomination), Al Franken, Jim Gaffigan and Jim O'Heir.
Even CNN picked up the coverage, with the Parks and Recreation alum sharing a screenshot and joking, "that’s the best pic of me that they could come up with?" while confirming that he was on board with the consideration.
Fans were immediately on board with the idea. One wrote that O'Heir "should obviously play Tim Walz on SNL and I don’t want to hear another word about it." Meanwhile, another said that not only the "physical resemblance" but the general "vibes" made him a "perfect match" to play his fellow Midwesterner.
During an exclusive interview with Parade, O'Heir said his phone "blew up" when the speculation began, though he "immediately" assumed Martin would be the proverbial chosen one.
"He's iconic [on SNL]," he pointed out. But with the comedian's very public declination of the potential casting, fans were left waiting with bated breath to see who may appear on their screens on Saturday night and beyond.
Related: Fans Melt Over Tim Walz's Adorable Reaction to Taylor Swift Endorsing Him and Kamala Harris
"I don't know what will happen," O'Heir told Parade.
While he admitted there's also been "some interest from some of the late-night shows," for now, he's "flattered" to "be in the mix." Seemingly, like SNL viewers, he is waiting to see how it plays out.
As a "big fan" of the current governor of Minnesota, O'Heir said he knows he "could have fun with it." He has already taken note of "a couple of things" Walz does while watching the media coverage.
"You know, we all have things...every one of us have things that people who know us well know that we do," he explained. "Whether it's a facial thing or a body thing. We have things, and he's got a couple."
Beyond his careful character observations of Walz, the two are both from the Midwest, meaning he "wouldn't have to come on and put on some crazy accent." They also, of course, "both have kind of a deep rich voice [and] the white hair," making "some resemblance" undeniable.
Related: Tim Walz Goes Viral as Fans Compare Photo of His "Signature Soup" to Iconic Scene From The Office
As for the spoofing possibilities on SNL, late-night, or otherwise?
"It's a gold mine," he told Parade, acknowledging the material certainly comes from both sides.
"The things that are coming out of people's mouths. I just, I don't know," he says. "Things that we hear now would have shut down a campaign 10 years ago. Now we just take everything for granted, like, ‘Oh, that's just more craziness,’ and we don't think anything of it."
"So, there's so much to spoof," he says, calling specifically upon the remix someone has made to Donald Trump's claims that immigrants were eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio.
"I mean, the ‘eating the dogs eating the cats’ spoof is everywhere. I laughed so hard. There's dances to it. It just makes me laugh so hard."
But, all in all, "there's a lot to parrot." As for whether O'Heir will be the one portraying Walz, SNL fans will just have to sit back with their fingers crossed and see how it all plays out.