Wanted: Comic Who Can Imitate This Candidate

Saturday Night Live auditions for the part of Barack Obama

By Jonas Oransky, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 20, 2008 6:31 PM CST

(Newser) – The latest indication Barack Obama is one of a kind: Saturday Night Live can’t find an actor to impersonate the Democratic presidential candidate. Show mastermind Lorne Michaels says mimicking any celeb's “mildly irritating” minor tics is crucial to any impersonation. The show, returning Saturday from the writers' strike, could have a new cast member portraying the Illinois senator, the New York Post reports.

The show had previously skirted the issue by nabbing the candidate himself for a Halloween sketch cameo. Keenan Thompson, the only black comedian on SNL, was once considered a shoo-in to portray Obama. But he doesn’t have a lock yet, so if you have the audacity to hope, get on your big ears and buzz cut—and hurry to Rockefeller Center.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Lorne Michaels, executive producer of NBC's "Saturday Night Live", arrives for the Whitney Gala at the Whitney Museum of American Art in this Oct. 22, 2007, file photo in New York. Saturday Night Live... (Associated Press)

Actor Keenan Thompson performs on stage the 2007 mtvU Woodie Awards at Roseland Ballroom November 8, 2007 in New York City. Currently the only black cast member of Saturday Night Live, Thompson was the... (Getty Images)

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., shares a laugh during a community meeting Saturday, Feb. 16, 2008, in Wausau, Wis. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) (Associated Press)

Presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, shares a laugh with Greenwood County, S.C., Council Woman, Edith Childs, right, whom he credited with giving him the idea for his popular "Fire It... (Associated Press)

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Wanted: Comic Who Can Imitate This Candidate