SNL: Michael Keaton appears as 'actual James Bond supervillain' Julian Assange in cold open

'I’m one step away from destroying the god damn moon'

Michael Keaton swung by Saturday Night Live last night (14 April), the acclaimed Oscar-nominee playing an eccentric version of Julian Assange.

The Wiki Leaks founder was arrested earlier in the week after spending years inside Ecuador’s London embassy. He remains in UK custody.

The opening sketch of Saturday Night Live began with three men – played by Chris Redd, Kenan Thompson and Kyle Mooney – locked away in a jail cell, boasting about their criminal charges.

Soon enough, Kate McKinnon as Lori Loughlin, the actor accused of paying $500,000 (£382,000) to an American university so her daughter could attend, steps in.

“You think that’s insane? I paid $500 grand to get my daughter into USC,” she says, to which the men say she is “loco”.

She later adds: “You think prison is hard? I’ve done 68 Hallmark movies — I’ve seen hell man. In half those movies, I marry Santa’s son — I lost all sense of reality.”

Pete Davidson then comes in as the attorney Michael Avenatti, saying: “I’m so shady, a pornstar once said she had to distance herself from me!”

Finally, a bearded Keaton then enters as Assange. “I’m wanted in the U.S. and Sweden,” he says. ”I’m from Australia and I live in London in Ecuador — you try figuring that one out.

“I attacked the US military, bitches. I’m an actual James Bond supervillain — and I’m one step away from destroying the god damn moon!” Watch above.

The episode of Saturday Night Live was hosted by Emma Stone, with K-pop band BTS appearing as musical guests.