Star quits his regular Saturday Night Live role

Donald Trump has quit his job.

No, not the real one – but Alec Baldwin has said that he’s ‘done’ playing the US President on Saturday Night Live.

‘I can't imagine I would do it again. I just can’t,’ he told USA Today.

He said that it had never been his goal to become known for the impersonation, and that as his work schedule ramps up this autumn he wouldn’t have the time to do it.

‘They should find somebody who wants to do it.’ he said. ‘They [the SNL cast] are all my dear friends and I love going there, but the other thing is that I'm going to go to work this fall in a way I haven't done in a while. 

‘My wife and I had a son a year ago, and since he was born, I've worked minimally because I wanted to be there for my wife and kids. 

‘But the party's over this fall and I'll be travelling. SNL just crushes my weekends, and now weekends are going to become much more precious to me because that's time with my kids.’

He also revealed that he had been slated by viewers who compared his caricature of Trump unfavourably with Anthony Atamanuik’s uncanny impersonation on Comedy Central's The President Show – and confessed that he agreed with them.

‘All these people were attacking me, saying, "Oh, your impression sucks and you suck. Please go away.",’ he said.

‘It also was something I thought to myself: "I really don't have a lot invested in my Trump impersonation, so please find someone and convince Lorne [Michaels, the SNL showrunner] to replace me." 

‘I'm completely down with that. Winning the Emmy for that show aside, it was not some career goal of mine.

So if [Atamanuik] wants the job, it's his. He can have it…. I feel like I'm done with that now. I'm so done with that.’

Here he is in action:

Published: 9 Jun 2019