Saturday Night Live Season 50 has been quite the milestone chapter for the long-running sketch comedy series, from the three-hour anniversary special and Homecoming Concert, to unplanned moments like Morgan Wallen walking off stage during the closing credits and audience members screaming an obscenity during a Weekend Update segment. For cast member Bowen Yang, Season 50’s run on the 2025 TV schedule has been notable for him because he was selected to play Vice President JD Vance in the politically-themed cold opens. However, the Wicked star is now more than happy to pass that role along to someone else now.
While speaking with host Desi Lydic on The Daily Show, Yang recalled that when SNL creator Lorne Michaels asked him to play then-VP candidate JD Vance for the first time in the Season 50 premiere, Yang responded, “Please, please, please don't make me do this.” He’s since played the role a handful of other times, but he described bringing Vance to life as “challenging,” adding:
First of all — God's honest truth, I really do my best with him, but every time I have to play him, I go to Lorne and I say, 'You can do a buyback.’ You don’t have to stick with me. Please reach out to Zach Galifianakis. Please reach out to Taran Killam.' But no, that's my charge.
In Bowen Yang’s defense, it probably wouldn’t be hard to find another actor to take over playing JD Vance, whether it’s Galifianakis, Killam (another SNL vet) or someone else. After all, the first few months of the season saw Dana Carvey, Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan respectively playing Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, and Mike Myers even continues to play Elon Musk here and there. Surely there’s some big name out there who’d be willing to give playing Vance a shot.
But no, Lorne Michaels has insisted that Yang continue to play Vance, so like any good actor, he’s been putting in the work to make his portrayal of Donald Trump’s running mate feel authentic. The SNL cast member continued:
I worked with — you guys are going to roll your fucking eyes. I worked with an accent coach. We had to find the middle between Appalachian, but Ohio. Like, we really had to find the right [voice]. And I was like, 'I don't want to screw this up.'
I personally have gotten a kick out of Bowen Yang playing JD Vance because he doesn’t look anything like him. That just makes his portrayal all the more amusing to me, but Yang was aware going into this that others would not approve of the casting. As he put it:
I have such an uphill battle here. Everyone in America is going to be like, 'This Asian guy is playing that guy?' I was like, 'I really got to nail this down.' And I'm just telling you guys, I'm doing my best, okay?
Maybe there will come a day when Lorne Michaels decides to switch it up with JD Vance and either tap another cast member for the role or bring in a special guest. But for now, Bowen Yang is making the best of the situation, so we’ll continue to see him poke fun at the vice president opposite James Austin Johnson’s Donald Trump and others. And hey, if Yang decides to leave SNL sometime in the next four years, then Michaels will have no choice but to find someone to fill those shoes.
Take in the entirety of Bowen Yang’s Saturday Night Live run by streaming the series with a Peacock subscription. That’s also how you can watch him play Pfannee in Wicked, and he’ll reprise the role later this November in Wicked: For Good.
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