Brad Pitt plays Dr. Anthony Fauci on SNL, just as the doctor requested
Not live, possibly not from New York, but Saturday Night Live is still at it.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
What 79-year-old wouldn't dream of being played by movie star hunk Brad Pitt? That dream came true for Dr. Anthony Fauci on Saturday, when Pitt played Fauci in a sketch from the latest filmed-at-home version of Saturday Night Live.
Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has become a household name thanks to his regular appearance at President Donald Trump's coronavirus briefings. There's even Fauci merchandise, and an online petition urging that he be named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive -- a title Pitt has already held. And Fauci himself joked in a recent CNN interview that "of course" he'd love to be portrayed by the actor.
The skit showed Pitt, 56, wearing a Fauci-esque wig and glasses, sitting at a desk and attempting to explain recent remarks by the president about the coronavirus outbreak.
After showing a clip where the president promises coronavirus will disappear "like a miracle," Pitt-as-Fauci said, "A miracle would be great. Who doesn't love miracles? But miracles shouldn't be Plan A. Even Sully tried to land at the airport first."
The sketch also included a clip where Trump says a vaccine could be created "relatively soon."
"Relatively soon is an interesting phrase," Pitt's Fauci muses. "Relative to the entire history of Earth? Sure, the vaccine's going to come real fast."
Pitt ended the sketch by removing his wig, thanking the real Fauci and health care workers, and saying, "Live, kinda, from all across America, it's Saturday night."
This was the second Saturday Night Live episode filmed using cast members in videos shot at their various homes. The first aired April 11, and featured an opening monologue from actor Tom Hanks, who has recovered from the virus.
