A different face will be playing president-elect Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live. According to CNN, actor Jim Carrey (Kidding, The Mask) announced he would no longer be playing the role on the weekend comedy variety show. In a tweet posted Saturday, Dec., 19, Carrey stated he “was thrilled to be elected as SNL President…comedy’s highest call of duty.” Carrey held the role for six episodes with his tenure only set to last up until the election in November. Viewers won’t have to wait long to see a new Biden. Current SNL cast member Alex Moffat (Holidate, Uncle John) debuted as the former Vice President in an episode Saturday evening.
According to CNN, Carrey chose to step away from the role. Sources closer to the story also took into account the difficulty Carrey endured traveling to New York City for taping as he lives in Los Angeles. Initially, Carrey seemed like a surprising choice for the role given Biden had been played by others including actor Woody Harrelson (White Men Can’t Jump, Zombieland) and former SNL cast member, Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso, Horrible Bosses). Carrey also was a guest star and not a current member of the SNL cast.
While Carrey’s presence garnered much fervor on the show – playing opposite Alec Baldwin (30 Rock, Beetlejuice) as President Donald Trump and Maya Rudolph (Forever, Bridemaids) as Democrat running mate Kamala Harris – mixed reviews suggested he didn’t quite fit the Uncle Joe persona, according to CNN. In November, The L.A. Times stated “despite the aviator glasses, silver hair and ‘here’s the deal’ phraseology, the gregarious Carrey has had hard time exploiting Biden’s demeanor on the national stage this year — deliberate, controlled and understated.” And another critique from Variety magazine surmised “Maybe he’s too physical a performer, or too needy a showman, to capture the flapjack earnestness of the former vice president.