Devon Walker.Photo: FilmMagic
Put your hands together for one ofSaturday Night Live’s newest cast members!
Introducing Devon Walker, one of the four new cast members on NBC’s comedy sketch series who made his Studio 8H debut when season 48 premiered on Oct. 1.
Walker joins the castalongside newcomersMarcello Hernandez,Molly Kearney,Michael Longfellowin the wake of losing eight, longtimeSNLrepertory players:Aidy Bryant,Pete Davidson,Kate McKinnon,Aidy Bryant,Kyle Mooney, Chris Redd and Melissa Villaseñor as well as featured performer Aristotle Athari.
“This is a year of reinvention,” Michaels toldThe New York Timesin September. “I think all four are fresh… They bring things we don’t have, and they’re complementary to the people we already have.”
And Walker surely does just that with a lot of professional comedic experience under his belt, both on and off the stage. He was also named one ofVulture’s “Comedians You Should Know and Will Know in 2022” and was chosen for Comedy Central’s “Up Next” showcase in 2017.
Between his early comedic background and his journey to the biggest stage in sketch comedy, here’s everything to know about Walker.
He’s a native of Texas
Devon Walker/Instagram
Walker was born and raised in Texas. Prior to moving to New York City in pursuit of his comedy dreams, he honed his craft in his home state where he performed countless sets, shows and eventually headlining acts.
He has performed standup at several comedy festivals
Will Heath/NBC via Getty
Thefirst-ever comedy festivalWalker performed at was 2016’s Moontower in Austin. Other festivals he’s performed at include Clusterfest and the Big Sky Comedy Festival.
He moved to New York City in 2018 to pursue his comedy career
The Texas native relocated to N.Y.C. on Aug. 4, 2018. He posteda sweet tribute on his Instagramin 2021, celebrating the three-year anniversary of his move. He noted that “it’s been easy and [I’ve] never been sad.”
He partnered with Comedy Central in 2020
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in May 2020, Comedy Central reached out to Walker to create funny content as some comedic relief during uncertain times. Specifically, the network pegged him to “make a video abouta man dealing without sports” — since all professional sporting events were put on pause for health and safety purposes. He went on to create several videosrevolving around the lack of sportsat the time.
He served as a writer forEverything’s Trashon Freeform
Devon Walker.FilmMagic
In addition to penning material for himself, he was nabbed towrite forEverything’s Trash, a comedy series on Freeform (and now Hulu) starringPhoebe Robinson. His professional writing credits don’t end there! He also wrote for Netflix’s animated sitcomBig Mouth.
source: people.com
