Saturday Night Live brings Dave Grohl’s Christopher Walken impression full circle
By Matt Moore
Saturday Night Live is known for making a callback when something hits with audiences. But typically, its an SNL reference. That wasn’t the case last night on Saturday Night Live, as Dave Grohl’s famous Christopher Walken got a nod.
Legendary actor Christopher Walken made a surprise cameo during Saturday Night Live season 49‘s Halloween episode. Walken appeared in the cold open, visiting Mikey Day’s President Joe Biden.
Walken received a nice ovation when he appeared as the spirit of Halloween. Of course, the actor is no stranger to SNL. He’s hosted seven times since 1990.
But it was Walken’s 2003 episode that caught the internet’s attention years later thanks to Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. During a 2017 interview with Radio X, Grohl did a flawless Christopher Walken impression. Grohl recalled how Walken asked if the band’s name was pronounced FOO Fighters or Foo FIGHTers, since they were the musical guest for Walken’s episode.
Christopher Walken gets another chance to introduce the Foo Fighters
A YouTube clip shows that Walken really hit the FIGHTers hard during a Saturday Night Live promo. Clearly, the actor’s homework was important to him as he delivered the line exactly as Grohl told him.
So 20 years later, Christopher Walken got another chance at introducing Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters. However, this time Walken had a different pronunciation as he welcomed the band back to Saturday Night Live.
Walken really emphasized “Foo” when he announced the band ahead of its performance of “Rescued.” It wasn’t exactly what Walken went with in 2003. Maybe he was in on the joke or had another conversation with Dave Grohl.
Regardless, the internet definitely appreciated the callback. The comment section of the video is filled with references to Grohl’s impression and excitement that Christopher Walken continues to play a minor, minor part in Foo Fighter history.