Veteran star Tom Hanks, who was diagnosed with coronavirus in March, presented the first-ever experimental “Saturday Night Live At Home” special, in which he addressed why his diagnosis had made him feel like an “American dad” while he was indoors.
Keeping the COVID-19 safety measures in mind, the popular late-night sketch comedy show replaced its usual live format with a series of pre-recorded and remotely performed sets.
As Hanks appeared on the screen for the opening monologue, a round of recorded applause, cheers and whistles played out, for which the actor thanked the show’s engineers. “It’s good to be here, though it is weird to be here hosting ‘SNL’ from home. It is a strange time to be funny. Trying to be funny is ‘SNL”s whole thing, so we thought what the heck? Let’s give it a shot,” the actor said, standing in his kitchen.
The Oscar winner then explained why he was chosen for the hosting duties for the first work-from-home “SNL” episode, which aired on April 11.
“I have been the celebrity canary in the coal mine for the coronavirus. And ever since being diagnosed, I have been like America’s dads like never before — since no one wants to be around me anymore and I make people uncomfortable,” he quipped.
In his monologue, the actor praised the people in Australia for being “fantastic”. “But they take your temperature in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit. They say, ‘You’re 36’, which seemed pretty bad to me. But turns out 36 is fine. But 38 is bad, so basically it’s how Hollywood treats female actors,” Hanks said.
“Stay safe,” Hanks said at the end of his monologue, thanking healthcare workers, delivery workers, grocery workers and the frontline responders. (IANS)
