Funnyman Jason Sudeikis is most associated these days with his titular role on the critically acclaimed and Peabody-award-winning series Ted Lasso, which recently premiered its second season. He started out performing and loving improv, which he successfully did all over the world, including his home state of Kansas, the iO Theater in Chicago, and Boom Chicago in Amsterdam (where fellow Saturday Night Live castmate Seth Meyers also got his start).
The charming and robust performer made his way to SNL in 2003, where he was initially hired as a writer. In an interview with GQ magazine, he admitted that he initially wasn’t too keen on working for the legendary sketch show, as it felt too “corporate” and that the move to New York City would uproot his life tremendously. But by 2005, he smoothly transitioned to featured player status, and quickly made his mark in both sketches and Weekend Update appearances. His wide variety of characters include an ESPN commentator alongside pal Will Forte, The Devil, a strip club announcer, a judge from Maine, and politicians like Mitt Romney and Joe Biden. Though he left the show in 2013, he continues to pop in and make surprise appearances, like the 2019 cold open where he dusted off his Biden impression for a sensitivity training sketch.
Here’s a look at some of the silliest and most fun SNL moments courtesy of Jason Sudeikis.
Two A-Holes in a Live Nativity Scene
In the sketch titled “Two A-Holes in a Live Nativity Scene,” Jason Sudeikis and Kristen Wiig play that couple. They’re obnoxious, inconsiderate, and oblivious to the fact that they are being a major inconvenience to everyone around them. The episode’s host, the Oscar-nominated actress Annette Bening (American Beauty, 20th Century Women), plays the organizer of what she hopes will be a wholesome live nativity scene photo. She’s sorely mistaken, as the people set to portray Mary and Joseph (Sudeikis and Wiig) arrive fashionably late, loudly snapping their gum and talking on the phone. The two admit that they thought they signed up for a raffle, as Wiig flatly says, “I like to win stuff I don’t need.” Sudeikis ends nearly every line to Wiig with “babe” and doesn’t shy away from the fact that he knows nothing about the Bible story, blurting out, “What the hell is myrrh?” Sudeikis and Wiig played these characters in a number of different sketches during their time at SNL, annoying everyone they interacted with.
Weekend Update: The Devil on Penn State
Sudeikis brings some laughs to the dark side as he puts his own spin on The Devil himself. He’s slid this character over to Seth Meyers at the Weekend Update desk several times, giving his take on tricky subjects like the Catholic Church molestation scandal and terrorist Osama bin Laden. The most fun he seemed to have with this character was in the appearance titled “The Devil on Penn State.” Decked out head-to-toe in red and playfully poking Meyers with his pitchfork, Sudeikis brings his buoyant energy to the Update desk. Though he’s the curator of all things evil, The Devil, too, was speechless about the behavior of all those involved. After Seth explains the disturbing details about the events, and breaks the news that it wasn’t a recruiting scandal, Sudeikis’ Devil is horrified, yelling, “Well of course I'm upset, Seth! I mean, I’m the prince of darkness but I’m not a monster!”
2012 Vice Presidential Debate
During his time at SNL, Sudeikis showed off his imitation skills only a handful of times, but whenever he did, it was a treat. He gave Joe Biden a much edgier and bolder persona and, as some of the best impressions do, exaggerated his image quite a bit. The 2012 Vice Presidential Debate parody served as the cold open to an episode in Season 38, and featured Sudeikis’ Biden up against Taran Killam’s Paul Ryan. Sudeikis’ Biden bursts with bravado as he arches his brows, slouches back in his chair, and bellows interruptions on his side of the stage. After Killam’s Ryan speaks in a by-the-book manner, Sudeikis cannot help but laugh, “This is a bunch of malarkey.” He later describes in great detail his hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania after Killam argues that he and Biden come from similar towns (Paul Ryan’s being Janesville, Wisconsin). “If you went to the lowest circle of hell, you’d still be 45 minutes outside of Scranton.” Flashing a big Biden smile, he continues, “I grew up there! I love it. It’s the single worst place on Earth.”
Potato Chip
Viewers are in for a real treat with this ultra-specific SNL sketch simply titled, “Potato Chip.” The premise for this masterpiece is as follows: A southern man (Jason Sudeikis) is being interviewed by a wacky, high-pitched NASA employer (Will Forte) with the hopes of becoming an astronaut. When Forte’s character steps out for a minute to grab his “space test” for Sudeikis to complete, he warns him to keep his hands away from the large bowl of potato chips on his desk. Sudeikis assures him that, “Your potato chips are safe in my presence,” leading Forte to creep out of the room with a false sense of security. Of course, Sudeikis cannot help but steal one chip, and Forte notices. What ensues is a screaming match between Forte, Sudeikis, and host Blake Lively (who plays a trusty employee of Forte that also considers stealing someone’s potato chip to be a horrific crime). Tears are shed, trust is lost, and food is regurgitated. For anyone else interested in the journey this sketch took to arrive on the air, check out Mike Ryan’s oral history, which features in-depth interviews with Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and fellow writers Seth Meyers and Josh Solomon.
Strip Club
In the recurring “Strip Club” sketch, Sudeikis plays the sleazy DJ Tom. His slicked-back hair, orange-tinted aviators, and gravelly voice come together to create a perfectly gross announcer at the Bongos Strip Club Clown Room. In addition to bringing up the performers, he uses his platform to work out some stuff in his personal life, whether it’s trouble with the IRS, his rocky relationship with his son, or the status of his sobriety. Between the awkward pauses and anecdotes, he takes great pleasure in giving some fun facts on some of the performers. In this particular sketch, he provides a peek into host Helen Mirren’s character, Tanya. “She broke off an engagement to Jack Ruby. She wrote the movie Cocoon!”
Weekend Update: Jon Bovi
Whatever you do, do not mistake the members of local Bon Jovi opposite band “Jon Bovi” for being a Bon Jovi cover band. No, these two musicians played by Jason Sudeikis and Will Forte refuse to be associated with the popular rock group, much to Weekend Update anchor Seth Meyers’ confusion. As Meyers points out, the two rockers look like they would be members of Bon Jovi, and also, their name would indicate that they might be fans. Sudeikis and Forte proceed to sing opposite lyrics to popular Bon Jovi songs, changing the words to “dyin’ on a prayer” and “alive and dead,” and blame their total lack of gigs on the economy. They reprised their roles in a popular Late Night with Seth Meyers segment called Second Chance Theatre, where rejected or lost SNL sketches get to see the light of day by those that created them.
ESPN Classic: Ladies’ Darts
Sudeikis plays commentator Pete Twinkle alongside Forte’s clueless Greg Stink in several ESPN Classics parodies. In this particular sketch, the two cover the 1988 Summer’s Eve Lady Stars of Darts Championship. Pete steers the ship and tries to chat about the sport at hand with Greg, but despite being a sports commentator, Greg has no clue how any sport seems to work. But the true laughs come from Pete’s constant reference to the female-oriented sponsors of the evening, which he highlights using troubling rhymes in between covering the game. “Quick shout out to our sponsor this evening. Summer’s Eve feminine hygiene products. When something’s gone wrong and it’s the smell of your thong, Summer’s Eve douche.”
Maine Justice With Jamie Foxx
This courtroom sketch stars Sudeikis as judge and star of the reality show “Maine Justice.” The running gag here is that, despite taking place in Maine, the rambunctious judge and bailiff (Jamie Foxx) speak in thick, nearly unintelligible southern accents, adding to the confusion of the defendant. Sudeikis ups the absurdity level with every line, as he threatens those who question his sentences with alligators. Though Foxx commits hard to his character, he cannot help but crack a smile at Sudeikis’s lunacy. If this wacky character seems familiar, that’s because it’s also the potato chip-loving man from earlier, as Sudeikis explains in the aforementioned conversation with Mike Ryan.
Scared Straight: Lorenzo and Lindsay Lohan
Though he isn’t the main attraction in the recurring “Scared Straight” sketch, he adds plenty of Sudeikis charm to the dorky and out-of-touch police officer that is tired of wrangling the same three misbehaving teenagers, played by Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Bobby Moynihan. He routinely requests help from Lorenzo (Kenan Thompson), a member of the Scared Straight program, who always brings along another hardened friend to help him out (this time, it’s Lindsay Lohan as herself). What makes this particular sketch great is when Sudeikis plops on the desk behind him. Each time he plays this character, he seems to go out of his way to make his co-stars laugh, and this time he succeeds. He sits so hard on the desk that something accidentally falls over and rattles, making him, Samberg, Moynihan, and Hader break character.
Need more Sudeikis? Check out past seasons of Saturday Night Live, which are available to stream on Hulu, and Ted Lasso on AppleTV+.