“The guy had a sense of humor!” Hammond tells EW, recalling a time Cheney asked him to play Bill Clinton for a group of Republicans.

Darrell Hammond reacts to Dick Cheney’s death after playing him on SNL: ‘He was the best laugher’* *(exclusive)

"The guy had a sense of humor!" Hammond tells EW, recalling a time Cheney asked him to play Bill Clinton for a group of Republicans.

Joey Nolfi is a senior writer at *. *Since 2016, his work at EW includes *RuPaul's Drag Race* video interviews, Oscars predictions, and more.

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on November 12, 2025 8:41 p.m. ET

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Darrell Hammond on 'Saturday Night Live' as Dick Cheney. Credit:

Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty; Tom Benitez - Pool/Getty

- Darrell Hammond exclusively reacts to Dick Cheney's death in an EW interview.

- The comedy actor previously portrayed the former VP on *Saturday Night Live*.

- "He was the best laugher, he was generous with his time with me," Hammond tells EW.

After the death of one of the most powerful vice presidents in American history, *Saturday Night Live* star Darrell Hammond still savors the sturdy grip he had on Dick Cheney's sense of humor.

In an exclusive interview with ** following Cheney's death at age 84, the *SNL* alum — who famously portrayed the politician on the sketch comedy show — recalls the time he spent preparing to play Cheney on the show, and also the time he got to know a lesser-seen side of the Republican official.**

"I was fortunate enough to be invited to the vice president's mansion a couple of times and meet the family. I think I had six occasions that I spent a few minutes with him," Hammond tells EW, highlighting a particular moment he shared with the VP in West Virginia in 2002. "On one occasion, I went to the Greenbrier hotel in the basement. He had all of his Republican colleagues there, and I dressed up as Bill Clinton and insulted them all. That was his idea!"

Darrell Hammond as Dick Cheney on 'Saturday Night Live'.

Dana Edelson/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

Hammond recalls being "in full Clinton drag" at Cheney's request, and remembers taking a photo with the politician in the getup, which he says no longer exists on the internet.

In the image, "I'm attempting to shake Cheney's hand," the actor says. "He's shrinking in revulsion. Like I said, the guy had a sense of humor!"

Hammond goes on to call Cheney "the best laugher," and praises the politician — who served for two terms alongside President George W. Bush, from 2001-2009 — for being "generous with his time" in meeting him on several occasions.

"He has a lovely wife, the kids were lovely, I still remember his hand pounding on the table when I said this joke as Bill Clinton. I haven't done Clinton in a while, but the joke was, 'Boy, that Dick Cheney, with his heart condition and that electronic pacemaker? Every time he sneezes, the garage door opens,'" says Hammond. "I remember him pounding on the table, and I thought, *Wow, he's generous with his time*."

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Hammond calls Cheney a "momentous figure" both during his political career and as someone to try to impersonate as an actor. Though Cheney divided many Americans for his legacy-making, instrumental role in the Iraq War, Hammond says he wasn't focused on Cheney's policies, but simply embodying his characteristics for a wider TV audience to consume, no matter their politics.****The 70-year-old remembers playing Cheney as an "*italicized* impression, stretched out of shape and exaggerated" beyond who the real-life man was.

"I wanted to find a way to make him funny to both sides of the aisle," Hammond explains of his work as Cheney on *SNL*, which began in January 2001. He adds that he nicknamed his take on Cheney "Steely Perspective," to embody the energy he needed to channel on screen.

"When I wanted to key into him before I walked onto the floor, that said it all to me and activated everything. I wanted to find a way to make Democrats and Republicans laugh at the same time, so I wanted to find neutral ground that everyone could agree on, and that was 'tough guys,'" Hammond recalls. "So, we decided a wise-cracking tough guy was the way to play him to reach audiences."

Former VP Dick Cheney in the West Wing office.

Charles Ommanney/Getty

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While Hammond embodied other political figures on *SNL*, including fellow VP Al Gore, Cheney was one of the most memorable for him as a performer, as Cheney had a reputation as "a man not to trifle with — not even by accident," the star stresses.****"He was a tough man in a tough role, dealing with the Iraq War and 9/11 and the terror attacks," Hammond finishes. "He was a tough guy, and a lot of people responded to that."

Since leaving *SNL* as a cast member in 2009 (also the final year he played Cheney), Hammond has since returned to the show in a full-time capacity. Following the death of longtime announcer Don Pardo in 2014, Hammond was brought in as the voiceover star's replacement in a post he's held ever since.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW TV”