Christopher Walken makes surprise Halloween appearance on ‘SNL’

29 October, 2023

Christopher Walken

Actor Christopher Walken has made a surprise appearance on this year’s Saturday Night Live Halloween special.

The 80-year-old actor appeared on the sketch show last night (October 28), his first time on the show since 2008. This week’s episode was hosted by Nate Bargatze with the Foo Fighters as musical guests.

Walken’s character appeared to explain “the true meaning of Halloween” to Mikey Day’s President Joe Biden, who had decorated the Oval Office in time for Halloween weekend.

“I’m the spirit of Halloween, the ghost of All Hallow’s past,” Walken said in the sketch. “In South America, they call me Papa Pumpkin.”

You can watch the moment here:

Walken also recited a poem during the sketch. “Trick or treat, smell my feet, gimme something good to eat,” he said. Day’s Biden tried to speak but Walken interrupted him, adding, “I’m not done.” Walken then continued the poem, “If you don’t, I don’t care, I’ll pull down your underwear.”

The actor later introduced the first musical performance by the Foo Fighters. The pair previously appeared together in an infamous SNL episode in 2003, where Walken became known for his unique pronunciation of the band’s name. Frontman Dave Grohl revealed he pranked him by suggesting the accent was on the second word, leading to Walken’s mispronunciation:

Elsewhere on the show, Saturday Night Live paid tribute to Friends star Matthew Perry after reports emerged yesterday (October 28) that the actor died, aged 54.

Perry was reportedly found unresponsive due to suspected drowning on Saturday (October 28), per reports from TMZ and the LA Times. While Perry is believed to have drowned, a confirmed cause of death has yet to be announced.

Perry was best known for playing the role of Chandler Bing in the beloved ’90s sitcom, Friends, alongside Courtney Cox, Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Matt LeBlanc and Lisa Kudrow.

The show last night paid tribute to Perry by displaying his name alongside a black and white portrait of him. You can read more of the tributes to Perry here.

The post Christopher Walken makes surprise Halloween appearance on ‘SNL’ appeared first on NME.