Dana Carvey says smashing ice cream into Maya Rudolph's face on “SNL” was unplanned: 'Did it within 2 seconds'
"I thought, 'Here's ice cream, big gob. Here's Maya's face,'" the "SNL" alum said of his latest stint playing President Joe Biden.
Dana Carvey saw the opportunity to create a chaotic moment on live television — and he took it immediately.
The Saturday Night Live alum, who returned to the show last week to once again play President Joe Biden in a cold open with Maya Rudolph's Kamala Harris and Andy Samberg's Doug Emhoff, revealed that the sketch's most memorable moment was an act of improvisation.
"The ice cream cone was not planned," Carvey said on his Fly on the Wall podcast, referring to a massive soft serve cone that he used as a prop during the sketch and ultimately smashed into Rudolph's face. "I asked the prop master to give me an ice cream just to hold for the dress show. And then the air show, she gave me much bigger [one], and I didn't ask her."
Since the dessert, which is a notorious favorite of the real Biden's, ended up being so much bigger during the live show, the gears in Carvey's comedy brain began turning. "I was right kinda gesturing," he said. "I thought, 'Here's ice cream, big gob. Here's Maya's face.' And I didn't wanna hurt her, but I just — I thought of it, and did it within two seconds. So that's to put to rest all the rumors and all the talk."
The spontaneous dairy attack seemed to surprise Rudolph in the moment, as she immediately began to smirk and seemingly suppressed laughter as soon as the ice cream made contact with her face.
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Elsewhere in the podcast, Carvey reiterated that he doesn't mean to disrespect Biden with his impression, as he views it as a heightened character that amplifies the president's odd qualities to comedic, unrealistic extremes. "The main thing is it's making me laugh, and I'm definitely doing stuff that he doesn't do," he explained. "He doesn't smash ice creams into faces. You know? He doesn't say I can't believe it's not butter. I'm doing what I did to the first Bush."
Related: Dana Carvey discusses his surprise Saturday Night Live Joe Biden impression
Carvey thinks that it's easier for people to digest Biden impressions since the politician dropped out of the presidential race, as audiences no longer feel they need to uphold the president as a strong opponent to Donald Trump. "It was a hot oven because he's the president, and he's running for reelection against Trump," Carvey said. "It was much more of that kind of political energy around it. Now he's passed it, and I think it's playful and fun."
The comedian also invited Biden to poke fun at himself alongside Carvey. "If he ever wanted to come on the show and do a little soft 'Guess what? And by the way,' I I would do it with him," Carvey said.
Carvey was on the SNL cast from 1986-1993, during which he played a number of politicians, most notably President George H.W. Bush. A number of cast members, alums, and guests have played Biden over the years, including Jason Sudeikis, Woody Harrelson, John Mulaney, Jim Carrey, Alex Moffat, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day, in addition to Kevin Nealon playing the then-senator in a 1991 sketch on the Clarence Thomas hearings.
Related: Maya Rudolph makes Saturday Night Live return as Kamala Harris with Dana Carvey as Joe Biden
Saturday Night Live's ongoing 50th season returns with host Ariana Grande and musical guest Stevie Nicks on tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC.
Listen to the full Fly on the Wall episode above.
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