'SNL': How Tom Hanks' Character David S. Pumpkins Was Created | THR News - video Dailymotion

'SNL' cast member Mikey Day discusses the origins of Tom Hanks' viral character David S. Pumpkins.

Transcript

00:00On October 28th, David S. Pumpkins will be asking us if we have

00:07any questions in his own Lorne Michaels-produced animated special on NBC.

00:12Saturday Night Live cast member and Pumpkins co-creator Mikey Day tells

00:16The Hollywood Reporter how the viral sketch was created, calling it

00:19a dumb idea with the perfect host Tom Hanks, the man who can unite us all.

00:24Yeah, and David Pumpkins is his own thing!

00:27The haunted elevator sketch introducing Pumpkins, played by Hanks, originally aired

00:31on October 22nd, 2016 on SNL and was an instant hit. Within days, costume stores

00:37across the country sold out of Hanks' orange and black ensemble, which Day had

00:41originally found by going into Google and typing, pumpkin suit. The sketch has

00:45since been viewed more than nine million times on YouTube. Not bad at all for a

00:50pumpkin-suited weirdo who hangs out in a Tower of Terror-style theme park attraction

00:54and whose entire act involves waving a pair of finger guns and asking,

00:58any questions?

00:59For added laughs, he is backed by breakdancing skeletons, played by Day and Bobby Moynihan.

01:04Day attributes Pumpkins' popularity to a combination of things. It was Halloween,

01:09it was a week or two before the election, and people just wanted something silly to

01:13laugh at, the comedian says. The comedy of it is pretty accessible to all demographics.

01:18David S. Pumpkins could be Halloween's Santa. The trio who wrote the sketch, Day

01:22Moynihan and SNL writer Streeter Seidel, had a hard time deciding just how much

01:27of the pumpkin's mystery to unravel in the upcoming special.

01:30The appeal is you never get much information about him, says Day. So there's some

01:34allusions to the aspect of David S. Pumpkins' life, but it's not a complete

01:38origin story. Not at the debate? His middle name. What does the S stand for?

01:43Brace yourselves, guys. Major news dropping in three, two, one.

01:46The S stands for Simon, says Day. Some people think it's for scary, but that's wrong.

01:52Set in a small suburban town on All Hallows' Eve, the special centers on Pumpkins

01:56and his skeleton sidekicks as they show a young boy and his sister the true meaning

02:00of Halloween, answering none of their questions along the way.

02:03Any questions?

02:05The David S. Pumpkins Halloween special is set to air Saturday, October 28th at 11.30pm

02:10on NBC.

02:11To read more about the David S. Pumpkins Halloween special and how the wacky character

02:15came to be, head to THR.com. And tell us, will you be watching the special as part of

02:20your Halloween celebrations? And are you excited for more of David Simon Pumpkins?

02:25Let us know in the comments section. For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Lyndsey Rodriguez.