See Kate McKinnon Talk ‘Cinematic’ Moment Reading Hillary Clinton’s Book
Kate McKinnon recalled the moment she heard Hillary Clinton comment on the Saturday Night Live cold open – in which McKinnon, as Clinton, played Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” on the piano.
“I was listening to the audiobook, walking on the Manhattan streets, and I heard my name and was like, [fake cries],” she told Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday’s Tonight Show. “As I was having this reaction, I was aware that it was a cinematic moment, so I was like, ‘I’m gonna keep it going.’ And I sank to my knees and made a ‘thing’ of it so I would always remember that moment.”
McKinnon revived her trademark Clinton impression during last week’s SNL, hosted by Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, who mesmerized the entire staff with her larger-than-life presence. McKinnon said the Israeli actress hypnotized everyone around with her accent and mannerisms, even while answering mundane questions.
“Everything she said was magic … We started talking about home ownership, and she said, ‘If you mortgage under 1.1, you can deduct the interest. Me and [Aidy Bryant] were just like, ‘Yes, ma’am! Yes, Gal, ma’am! Thank you!'”
Gadot even coaxed the SNL staff to reveal personal secrets during the show’s weekly host dinner. “She said, ‘I want everyone to go around the table and say something they’ve never told anyone,'” McKinnon recalled. “We were like, ‘OK, Gal.’ She was like, ‘No, really. We have to do this.’ We kinda went around and did it, and it got to [SNL boss Lorne Michaels], who looked kinda freaked out the whole time, and he was like, ‘Well, when I was 10…”
McKinnon, star of the upcoming computer-animated comedy Ferdinand, also showcased her voice acting skills – particularly her expertise with assorted exertion sounds.
“In the case of this [film], I was playing a goat, so [the script] said ‘regurgitation noises’ a bunch and ‘goat scream,'” she said. “And then it would be like, ‘Get thrown against a wall, hit your head, slide down slowly, catch on a hook, spin around, fly through the air, bash your head again and then regurgitate a can.”
Fallon challenged McKinnon to improvise noises for random scenarios, including “stepping on a Christmas ornament,” “squeezing into and button a pair of tight pants,” falling down two flights of stairs” and “screaming like a goat.”