Home / Arts and Entertainment / SNL Veteran Darrell Hammond Speaks Out on Losing Trump Role to Alec Baldwin
SNL Veteran Darrell Hammond Speaks Out on Losing Trump Role to Alec Baldwin
14 Nov
Summary
- Darrell Hammond played Trump on SNL from 1999 to 2011, before Alec Baldwin took over the role in 2016
- Hammond wasn't fond of the change, but accepted it as a "creative business decision" by SNL creator Lorne Michaels
- Hammond remains a fixture on SNL as the show's announcer, but has not been asked to play an on-camera role recently
In 2016, Alec Baldwin was elected to replace Darrell Hammond as the actor portraying Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. However, according to a recent interview, Hammond was not particularly fond of this shakeup.
Hammond, who had played Trump on SNL from 1999 to 2011, explains that he accepted creator and longtime executive producer Lorne Michaels's "creative business decision" to end his run as the character. At the time, Hammond says, "social media was emerging, YouTube was happening, there was a need to go viral every week. He made that creative decision, and it paid off."
Still, Hammond maintains, "No, I didn't like it, but it's the NFL, man. Saturday Night Live, for all its frivolity and hilarity, it's not the March of Dimes, it's a business." He adds that efforts were made to explain the decision to him, and it was not done "haphazardly or cruelly."
Despite his exit as a full-time cast member in 2009, Hammond remains a fixture on the program, serving as the show's announcer since 2014. However, he says he has not been asked to play an on-camera role in the near future, despite speaking briefly with show personnel about the possibility.
