Before “Saturday Night Live” cast member Alex Moffat played Eric Trump, Anderson Cooper or Mark Zuckerberg on late-night TV, he was entertaining United Center crowds during Bulls games.
Moffat, who was a guest Tuesday on NBC’s “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” told Meyers of his days subsidizing his nascent stage career performing as mascot Benny the Bull’s comedic foil as a member of “the acro-dunk team.”
“Everybody here knows what the acro-dunk team is,” Moffat said. “You know how sometimes you go to a game and there’s a bunch of people running down the court and hitting trampolines and flipping and dunking? That’s what it is.”
Moffat said he found out about the gig via Craigslist. The job involved not only on-court acrobatics but also roles in Benny the Bull’s antics.
A favorite of Moffat’s was the time he portrayed an obnoxious Dallas Mavericks fan in the stands.
Decked out in a Dirk Nowitzki jersey and other Mavs gear, Moffat’s job one game was to interfere with a couple of Bulls fans’ anniversary celebration playing out on the giant video boards during a timeout.
“Benny comes up with a cake and then I, as a jerk Mavs fan, am getting in the shot (going): ‘Go, Mavs! Yeah, Dirk, you’re the man!’ ” Moffat said. “Benny’s assistant, Todd, was pushing me out of the way and I’m like, ‘Don’t push me, dude.’ “
Things escalated until Moffat slapped the cake out of Benny’s hands (hooves?) like some sort of pro wrestling heel.
“The audience must have hated you,” Meyers said.
As the game continued, Moffat would periodically be shown again on the arena’s TV screens, prompting boos from the crowd.
Eventually, Benny returned to Moffat’s seat, snatched his Mavericks hat and tied it to some helium-filled balloons. The hat floated to the United Center rafters, prompting Moffat to leave the arena in a huff.
“When I walked out of the stadium, there was the biggest cheer I’ve ever gotten in my life,” Moffat recalled. “People hated me. So that was a fun gig.”
Moffat has been with “SNL” since 2016. Among his roles have been Sen. Chuck Schumer, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, Prince William, Fox News’ Steve Doocy and The Guy Who Just Bought a Boat.
Growing up in the Chicago area, Moffat graduated from North Shore Country Day School and earned an bachelor’s degree from Ohio’s Denison University. He returned to Chicago to develop and hone his comedic chops via Second City, the iO Theater and Annoyance.
