Just a few seasons into his run on “Saturday Night Live,” Marcello Hernández landed on the sort of breakout character cast members spend years trying to craft.
His home-wrecking lothario, Domingo, was an immediate hit. It played so well with fans that the first-ever Gen Z member of “SNL” brought out the character for several more sketches and was given a moment in the overstuffed run of show for the sketch series’ 50th anniversary special. The character even appeared at the beginning of one episode, in a cold open spot typically reserved for political sketches that focus on politics and the news of the week.
Speaking to the New York Times this week, Hernández refused to take credit for the skit.
“I am simply a button on this jacket,” he said.
Still, Hernández was willing to admit that Domingo made him a bit of a household name. The problem? The name isn’t his own.
“It pushed my career further along and got more people to get to know me. A lot of people still call me Domingo on the street,” he said. “I want to make it clear. I do have a name.”
Hernández’s humility about the star turn has been noticed. Showrunner Lorne Michaels shared plenty of praise with the Times. He said that Hernández was “brought up well” with “real values.”
“I don’t want to gush, but he’s gotten better every year,” Michaels said. “Because he played soccer — and I go to baseball games with him — he understands the notion of a team.”
