Michael J. Fox Reveals Why One SNL Impression Left Him Speechless
Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox revisits his 1991 SNL host night, confessing his own sketch felt milquetoast and generic — and revealing why Dana Carvey’s impression of him was the shock he still remembers.
Michael J. Fox just told a great old SNL story, and it’s one of those perfectly weird showbiz memories: he hosted in 1991, Dana Carvey did a dead-on impression of him, and Fox loved it so much that he still lights up talking about it. Bonus: he also shrugs that his own work that night was, in his words, pretty bland. A very SNL combo.
Why he’s revisiting it now
Fox is doing the rounds for Back to the Future’s 40th anniversary, and in a recent Entertainment Weekly chat he got into the night he hosted Saturday Night Live. The headline for him wasn’t his monologue or a killer punchline; it was Dana Carvey watching him move and then mirroring it with almost spooky precision.
"He got so into the physical thing. I used to put my hands in my pockets, do a 360, and leap up on the counter. I never imagined that he’d do it, but he totally nailed it. I love Dave a lot, but I really loved Dana’s impression."
What actually happened during the show
The moment Fox is talking about was baked into his monologue. He tried a gag about his then-new movie, The Hard Way. It landed with a thud — like, no reaction. Then the bit kicked in: David Spade and Kevin Nealon walked out in costume, Spade as Marty McFly and Nealon as Doc Brown, to warn Fox that the show from 90 minutes in the future was bombing. The solution? Time travel back even further to stop a past version of Michael J. Fox — played by Dana Carvey — from agreeing to host in the first place.
That’s where Carvey went full Fox: hands jammed in pockets, quick 360 spin, little spring-loaded hop onto a counter. It’s a super specific physical tic Fox used to do, and he genuinely didn’t expect anyone to clock it, let alone whip it out live on air. He was impressed then, and clearly still is.
How Fox feels about his own performance
He’s pretty self-deprecating about it. Fox says his work that night was "milquetoast and generic." But he also looks back on the whole thing as a really good experience — the kind that’s funnier and sweeter in hindsight. And for the record, when he says "I love Dave," he means David Spade; he just gives Carvey the edge for absolutely nailing the vibe.