Willem Dafoe, a four-time Oscar nominee, began his hosting debut on “Saturday Night Live” with a joke that he could still speak Wisconsin.
“When I was a child in Appleton Wisconsin, winters he began. But he was interrupted and interrupted again by Mikey Day and Aidy Bryant, who were playing members of the audience who claimed they were also from Appleton.
Bryant and Day used Hollywood’s Wisconsin accent (drawling with many flat vowels) to say they loved Dafoe movies, particularly “Spider-Man”, “Spider-Man 2,” and “Spider-Man: The New One”. They then incorrectly rattled off Dafoe’s credits. However, they get one his worst (“Speed 2: Cruise Control”) right, much to Dafoe’s dismay.
Bryant stated, “Well Appleton is just as proud of you.” “I mean, you are out there making movies alongside big Hollywood stars like Timothee Chalamet or Shrek.”
Day lamented that Day wished he still had his Wisconsin accent.
Dafoe maintained that he did.
He said “Well, Wisconsin,” and then got into character. “Hey guys, let’s go to Krambo’s and get some bubbler.”
(Krambo’s, a grocery store chain based in Appleton, had more than two dozen locations, including one in Milwaukee. Kroger acquired it in 1955. )
Seven more sketches feature Dafoe
Dafoe appeared in the majority of the sketches after the monologue. Many of them played off his screen image, which was, well, kinda, disturbing. These sketches included:
- Tenant Meeting, A New York housing coop meeting with Dafoe being one of the building’s old-school tenants. Dafoe longs for New York’s more sleazier days. “What’s the matter with this city?” “Where’s the danger?
Dafoe was born in Appleton and trained in acting in Milwaukee. He studied theater at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1973 to 1973. He joined Theatre X in Milwaukee, the city’s experimental theatre troupe. He left there to join the New York theater scene at 21.
- Nugenix: Dafoe and retired athletes Frank Thomas (Thompson), Doug Flutie (“Mikey Day”) appear in a fake commercial for a testosterone booster to convince a member of a fitness club about the product’s benefits.
- “Dog Show”: Dafoe hosts the Badminster Dog Show. This canine competition features some of the most annoying or worst dogs in the world.
- “Good Morning Columbus” Dafoe portrays a visiting author who has just published “Knowing Yourself.” However, when Bowen Yang misinterprets the title to refer to sex acts, Dafoe’s appearance kind of goes off-the-rails.
Office Song” Dafoe portrays a retired man who returns to work and attempts to blend in with the music of his new colleagues on his first day.
