Why Did Garrett Morris Have a Cameo In "Ant-Man?" It's a Funny Story...

[CBR News]

The "Saturday Night Live" veteran spoke with CBR News about his longstanding relationship with the insect-sized superhero.


Full article here.

[Sturgeon's Law]

I remember that sketch well, just as I fondly remember that entire stellar class of Not Ready For Primetime Players. I really miss SNL, and wish it was still on the air.

What? What's that you say? SNL IS still on the air? Has anybody bothered to tell them that?

[used39]

Hah - Yeah, when he showed up on screen, my brother and I (mid-late 30s) laughed, and I turned to him and whispered "Nobody younger than us is even going to get that."

[Edshugeo The GodMoor]

That cameo was a very nice surprise. I re-watched that sketch once I learned they were going ahead and making this movie. It echoed my own feelings about the character and my lack of enthusiasm for a film version. Turns out they made a great effing movie, though, and I couldn't be happier with it.

[bezero3]

(Smacks forehead) must admit I didn't get the cameo when I saw it. Wasn't sure I was gonna like it but I enjoyed it pretty much. Not to sure about Faketastic Four though. They better have some daylight scenes.

[Tom Foolery]

I recognized Morris in the film, but totally forgot about the SNL sketch.
Well played.

[kalorama]

I saw that sketch as a kid when it first aired, but I have to admit it didn't come to mind when I saw Morris on the screen. I definitely thought to myself "what's Garrett Morris doing here?" Props to Reed for remembering and giving Morris a nod.

Great interview, as well.

[Tighelander]

I saw the skit live, and I knew who he was when he appeared in the movie, but it wasn't until hours later that I made the connection with the SNL skit. Bravo, Mr. Reed!

[Ozymandas]

I haven't seen the movie yet but remember the skit fondly. Ever since it was announced that there would BE an Ant-Man movie, I wondered if there'd be a cameo or any acknowledgement of the skit. For me, whenever I think of the character Ant-Man, the first thing that pops into my head has always been the skit and Morris' line (I don't need to refer to the video link for this). When the other superheroes ask him who he is and what can he do, he replies in a slightly high-pitched voice, warbled by the helmet, "I'm Ant-Man! I can shrink down to the size of an ant!". The other superheroes laugh. lol.

[Immortal Weapon]

I recognized Morris when I saw him but I didn't think there was any significance to his cameo.I learned about the SNL skit afterwards.

[Cyke]

I feel like history's been very unkind to Garrett Morris, and so I'm surprised whenever he cameos for *anything.*

[DebkoX]

I was pleased to see him!

[Squashua]

And now, the article, rewritten by the headmaster of the New York School for the Hard of Hearing:

CALL IT THE MARVEL STUDIOS TWIST ON THE OLD ACTOR'S ADAGE: THERE ARE NO SMALL ROLES, ONLY INCREDIBLY SUPER-FAST EASTER EGG CAMEOS. AND GIVEN GARRETT MORRIS' LONG HISTORY WITH THE NEWLY-CINEMATIC ANT-MAN, HE WAS WILLING TO JOIN THE TINY HERO ON SCREEN FOR AS MANY FLEETING SECONDS AS HE COULD GET.

"YOU PROBABLY WENT TO THE MEN'S ROOM AND MISSED IT, BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT," MORRIS TOLD CBR NEWS WITH A LAUGH ABOUT HIS BLINK-AND-YOU'LL-MISS-IT BIG-SCREEN MOMENT IN "ANT-MAN." "IF YOU WERE IN THE MOVIE, AND YOU CLOSED YOUR EYES, YOU DIDN'T SEE ME. I CLOSED MY EYES, AND I DIDN'T SEE ME."

BUT GIVEN ANT-MAN'S PENCHANT FOR ALL THINGS SMALL, MORRIS ADMITS HIS BIT FITS THE THEME. "WE CAN EXCUSE IT ON THAT, YES."

IF YOU DID BLINK AND MISS IT, MORRIS WAS THE STARTLED DRIVER OF THE TAXICAB THAT PAUL RUDD'S SOON-TO-BE-SUPERHEROIC SCOTT LANG FELL ON TOP OF AT FULL SIZE AFTER HIS FIRST TERRIFYING STINT IN HANK PYM'S STOLEN ANT-MAN GEAR.

FOR AN ACTOR/COMEDIAN/MUSICIAN OF THE 78-YEAR-OLD STAR'S LONGSTANDING STATURE, IT WAS DEFINITELY AN UNUSUALLY TINY MOMENT, BUT THERE WAS A VERY SPECIFIC REASON WHY FILMMAKER PEYTON REED AND THE MARVEL STUDIOS TEAM WANTED HIM IN THERE. IT'S A REASON THAT GOES BACK TO 1979 AND A STILL-FONDLY REMEMBERED "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" SKETCH CALLED "SUPERHERO PARTY," IN WHICH GUEST HOST MARGOT KIDDER REPRISED HER "SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE" ROLE AS LOIS LANE, NOW SETTLED INTO DOMESTIC BLISS WITH HER NOW-HUSBAND SUPERMAN, PLAYED BY BILL MURRAY. THE COUPLE HOSTS A SLIGHTLY AWKWARD COCKTAIL PARTY IN THEIR APARTMENTS, WITH A GUEST LIST THAT INCLUDES LANA LANG (JANE CURTIN), THE FLASH (DAN AYKROYD), THE HULK (JOHN BELUSHI), THE INVISIBLE GIRL, SPIDER-MAN, SPIDER WOMAN, THE THING AND, MAKING HIS LIVE-ACTION DEBUT, ANT-MAN, PLAYED BY MORRIS, TAKING SOME RIBBING FROM THE BIG GUNS FOR HIS LESS-THAN-IMPRESSIVE ABILITIES.

"WAY BACK WHEN THE DINOSAURS WERE ROAMING AROUND, I DID A THING CALLED 'ANT-MAN AT A PARTY,'" SAYS MORRIS. "THAT'S WHAT THEY WERE REFERRING TO. BUT YOU SEE, ONLY IF YOU HAVE A WHEELCHAIR NOW, WOULD YOU EVEN REMEMBER THAT. PEOPLE 25 OR UNDER, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL [MY CAMEO] MEANS. 'WHY IS THAT BLACK MAN IN THERE LOOKING UP? WHAT'S HE DOING THERE?'"

MORRIS CAN'T RECALL WHICH OF THE "SNL" WRITERS OR PERFORMERS CAME UP WITH THE SKETCH, WHICH SMARTLY SENDS UP BOTH VERY RECOGNIZABLE HEROES AND THE MORE OBSCURE ANT-MAN. "YOU GOT A SCRIPT AND THERE IT IS, AND I SAID, 'OH, YEAH. OKAY -- LET ME DO THIS MARVEL COMICS [HERO]." BUT HE WAS PREVIOUSLY FAMILIAR WITH HIS CHARACTER FROM THE COMICS. "I KNEW WHO ANT-MAN WAS," HE SAYS, THOUGH HE JOKES THERE'S A REASON WHY HE ENDED UP IN THE SUIT. "IF YOU'RE BLACK, YOU GET THE SMALLEST MONTH OF THE YEAR TO CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY, FEBRUARY, AND APPARENTLY, IF YOU'RE A SUPERHERO, YOU GET THE SMALLEST SUPERHERO. BECAUSE ANT-MAN, LET'S FACE IT -- WHY COULDN'T THEY MAKE ME GIANT MAN OR ELEPHANT MAN? NO, NOT ELEPHANT MAN -- FORGET THAT!"

THE ANT-MAN COSTUME, SURPRISINGLY ACCURATE GIVEN THE CHARACTER'S PUBLIC AWARENESS AT THE TIME, WAS THE WORK OF "THE PEOPLE IN THE COSTUMING DEPARTMENT AT NBC -- THEY WERE THE ONES WHO LOOKED AT THE MAGAZINE AND THEN MADE THEIR OWN VERSION." THE REST OF HIS MEMORIES OF THE 36-YEAR-OLD SKETCH ARE LESS VIVID, HE CONFESSES. "I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING EXCEPT THE PART ITSELF! AND WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, IF YOU ASK ME, I WOULD BE LYING IF I TELL YOU I REMEMBER ANY OF THAT!"

"ANT-MAN" FILMMAKER PEYTON REED, ON THE OTHER HAND, REMEMBERED THE SKETCH FONDLY, AND REACHED OUT TO MORRIS' REPS TO SLIP A SLY NOD TO IT INTO THE MOVIE. "I WAS SURPRISED, AND I SAID, 'OKAY -- LET'S DO IT.' I DIDN'T REALIZE IT WOULD BE AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT," LAUGHS MORRIS. "IT WAS ABOUT A SECOND, BUT I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE AT LEAST A MINUTE.

AFTER ANOTHER YEAR OF HIGH RATINGS FOR "2 BROKE GIRLS" AND A VALEDICTORY LAP AT "SNL'S" 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION EARLIER THIS YEAR, MORRIS WAS PLEASED AT EVEN A SMALL NOD IN "ANT-MAN." "TO ME, TO BE INVOLVED IN ANY SUCCESSFUL PROJECT IS ALWAYS A GREAT THING," HE SAYS, NOTING THAT HE ALSO OWNS THE SUCCESSFUL LA BLUES & COMEDY IN LOS ANGELES, AND RECENTLY RELEASED A MUSICAL CD, "BLACK CREOLE CHRONICLES. "BUY A CD. HELP ME OUT, BECAUSE MY BABY NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES, AND MY BABY WEARS SIX-INCH-HEELS.

"I'M GLAD TO BE ABLE TO PAY MY RENT AND TAKE A GIRL OUT ONCE IN A WHILE AT MY AGE," MORRIS CONTINUED. "MAYBE BUY SOME MARIJUANA ONCE IN A WHILE AND GET A LITTLE HIGH, AND TO BE ABLE TO DO MY LITTLE BUDDHIST CHANT EVERY DAY. AND EVERY DAY I'M LOOKING DOWN AT DIRT AND NOT UP, IT'S A GREAT DAY. SO FOR ME, JUST GETTING UP EVERY DAY AND SEEING AND BEING ALIVE AND BEING HAPPY AND DOING WHAT I LIKE TO DO IS, TO ME, THAT'S GREAT. THAT'S WHAT IT'S ABOUT."

[Zero Hunter]

I feel like history's been very unkind to Garrett Morris, and so I'm surprised whenever he cameos for *anything.*

Well he is on the Two Broke Girls show so at least he is working even if it is one of the worst shows on TV.

[saul_on_the_road_to_damascus]

I did see him but had no clue there was a reason.