Pete Davidson Reveals Origins of ‘SNL’ Character Chad

Pete Davidson Reveals Origins of ‘SNL’ Character Chad

Pete Davidson recently revealed the origins of his memorable Chad character from his time on Saturday Night Live.

Characterized by his “OK” catchphrase, Davidson’s Chad first appeared in a 2016 “Pool Boy” sketch with host and SNL alum Julia Louis-Dreyfus and appeared in sketches with Jennifer Lopez, Adele, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Mulaney and RuPaul. And Chad returned, alongside fellow SNL alum Laraine Newman, in the SNL50 anniversary special, which has been nominated for 12 Emmys.

Appearing on Late Night With Seth Meyers Wednesday night, Davidson explained how the recurring character came to be.

“I don’t know if you know the origin of Chad, but it was a joke on me,” Davidson said. “‘Cause that’s how, if anybody ever gave me notes on set, I’d be like, ‘OK, cool!’”

“[Mikey Day and writer Streeter Seidell] brought it to the table, and I was like, ‘I don’t get this. Like, what the hell? What is this?’ And I said the first ‘OK,’ and everyone was dying,” Davidson added. “And I was like, ‘I guess I really talk like that.’” 

Still, Davidson lamented that he felt like Chad was his only recurring character.

“It’s my one character that I got to do,” he said. “In eight years of SNL, I had one character, but it’s not a very flattering character!”

He expressed a similar sentiment about Chad being his “one character” on The Hollywood Reporter‘s 2021 comedy actors roundtable.

“I have one character that I’ve done in my seven years on the show, which shows how fuckin’ great I am,” Davidson said. “His name is Chad and he’s very dumb and every response is just, ‘OK.’ And I see a lot of myself in Chad.”

He added, though, that Chad is “a good guy” who “means well.”

Day and Seidell previously spoke about the idea behind Chad in a 2021 Vanity Fair interview.

“You basically can look at any movie style where there’s intensity or drama and just say, ‘What if Chad was there?’” Day said.

Seidell added: “What if there was a person who wasn’t wrapped in the drama?”

Davidson, who appeared on SNL from 2014-2022 is excitedly expecting his first child and currently starring alongside Eddie Murphy and Keke Palmer in The Pickup, which is streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.