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This Iconic Martin Short Character Was Inspired by an SNL Makeup Artist
The December 21 Saturday Night Live Host was a Season 10 cast member, whose character work left a lasting impression.
Like his frequent collaborator Steve Martin, actor Martin Short's comedy career dates back to the mid-1970s: Even prior to joining Saturday Night Live as a Season 10 cast member, he performed on Canadian sketch show SCTV alongside icons like John Candy and Schitt's Creek stars Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy. Short took one SCTV character with him to Studio 8H — the nerdy Ed Grimley — while creating the sweaty Nathan Thurm after he'd arrived.
But, as Short, who hosts SNL for his fifth time on December 21, revealed to Seth Meyers, Thurm was inspired by a big personality who worked behind the scenes at SNL: A makeup artist that he joked was "the most offensive human being you had ever seen in your life." From the creator of the hysterically insulting Hollywood reporter Jiminy Glick, this can be considered a compliment.
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Billy Crystal suggested Martin Short play Nathan Thurm to sound like SNL's makeup artist
Nathan Thurm was a comically sweaty, jumpy, and angrily defensive lawyer, who often spoke with a lit cigarette in his hand as he defended his role as counsel for the Tobacco Growers of America. Short's Thurm appeared in sketches with cast mate Julia Louis-Dreyfus and was a guest on "Saturday Night News," the show's version of "Weekend Update" at the time.
In a July 2020 Late Night interview, Short told Seth Meyers that Nathan Thurm — and his catchphrase, "I know that! You don't think I know that?!" — were inspired by a woman he said was the "head of makeup that year."
"She'd look at you, sit in the chair, she'd dab: 'You like tired.' 'Thank you.' 'None of your features match, this is tough for me,'" Short told Meyers. When he told her he looked pale, "she'd say, 'I know that. You don't think I know that? I'm a makeup artist. I would know that.' And she always chain-smoked."
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When he and Season 10 cast mates Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer were working on a 60 Minutes parody, Short said he couldn't nail down how to play Nathan Thurm. He told Meyers Billy Crystal suggested he take inspiration from the makeup artist.
"You impersonate her behind her back all the time anyway," he said. "And I said, "No, but I'll get caught." He said, "Ah, you won't get caught."
He did eventually get caught, Short recounted, after her assistant let her in on the impression. After Season 10 wrapped, "she confronted me at the final party. I said, "You know, impersonation is the highest form of compliment!" "And she said, 'I know that. You don't think I know that? I know that!'"
How many times has Martin Short hosted Saturday Night Live?
Five, as of his December 21, 2024 episode with Musical Guest Hozier.
Short first hosted a year after leaving the cast on December 6, 1986, co-hosting with his Three Amigos cast mates Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. He returned a decade later to host solo on December 7, 1996 with Musical Guest No Doubt.
He hosted the December 15, 2012, Christmas show with Musical Guest Paul McCartney, and took another decade break before co-hosting with Only Murders in the Building co-star Steve Martin once more. His most recent solo stint makes five!
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