Steve Martin turns down offer to play Tim Walz on ‘Saturday Night Live’: ‘I’m not an impressionist’

You won’t see Steve Martin impersonate vice presidential candidate Tim Walz when “Saturday Night Live” returns in the fall.

The 78-year-old actor and comedian said producer Lorne Michaels called and offered him the job, but Martin turned it down.

“I wanted to say no, and by the way, he wanted me to say no,” Martin said. Los Angeles Times. “I said, ‘Lorne, I’m not an impressionist. You need someone who can really hit the guy.’ I was chosen because I have gray hair and glasses.”

After Vice President Kamala Harris announced the 60-year-old Minnesota governor as her running mate, social media users called Martin the perfect choice.

“This season of SNL is going to be wild,” wrote one user on X. “They should definitely hire Steve Martin [to] play Tim Walz.”

“I would like to officially launch my campaign for Steve Martin to play against @GovTimWalz on SNL. Because 1- he is perfect for this and 2- we all need the Maya/Steve team to make us happy! I made a collage to strengthen my platform,” posted another.

One social media user said Martin would be the “perfect host” for the show’s 50th season premiere and it would be a good opportunity for the actor to promote the upcoming season of Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building.”

“I imagine a sketch of Tim Walz’s Father of the Bride with costar[Martin’Short@nbcsnl”wroteuser[Martin’Short@nbcsnl”theuserwrote[Martin’Short@nbcsnl”escreveuousuário[Martin’Short@nbcsnl”theuserwrote

Martin told The Times that he believed if he took the role he would be “struggling.”

“It’s ongoing,” he said. “It’s not like you do it once, get applause, and never do it again. Again, they need a real impressionist to do it. They’re going to find someone really, really good.”

Maya Rudolph is set to reprise her role as Harris when the NBC late-night comedy show premieres its new season on September 28. Deadline reported.