Al Franken is headed back to the White House — well, sort of.
The former politician, 73, appears in the new murder mystery series, “The Residence,” and portrays fictional senator Aaron Filkins.
The Netflix show hit the streaming platform on Thursday, and follows Detective Cordelia Cupp (Uzo Aduba), who spearheads an investigation after a dead body is found at The White House.
“I did not audition. It just came to me,” he told People at the film’s premiere. “They asked me to do it and I went, ‘I haven’t done this in a while. I hope I can do it!’”
The comedian read the script and knew just how “great” it was, although he admitted: “I wasn’t sure that I would be great in it, but I wanted to do it.”
During rehearsals, it was easy for the actor to channel his former self — a United States senator from Minnesota. A role Franken held from 2009 until he stepped down in 2018 after being accused of sexual misconduct.
At the end of the day, the writer did want to differentiate his real life career from his on-screen part.
“I got a different pair of glasses,” Franken said, “and I [parted] my hair on a different side and I was a whole new different person.”
However, the star was able to give his co-stars advice about his time in the government to help them nail their characters.
“There’s a big difference. I had to tell everyone around me how to act,” Franken said of real-life politicians. “You’re thinking of a different kind of performance art when you’re in the Senate than when you’re actually acting.”
After he landed the role, Franken’s character was described to him as “avuncular,” which reminded him of former colleagues.
“Chuck Grassley is avuncular. Lindsey Graham can be avuncular,” he confessed. “Lamar Alexander from Tennessee was avuncular.”
Franken — who has been married to Franni Bryson since 1975 — was first elected to the Senate as a Democrat in 2008 and served for nine years until he resigned due to sexual misconduct allegations by multiple women.
The “Saturday Night Live” alum has since said his inappropriate behavior was unintentional but “crossed a line.” He has apologized numerous times.
At the time, a former Democratic congressional aide claimed that Franken tried to kiss her against her will after a taping of his radio show in 2006.
KABC radio anchor, Leeann Tweeden, also alleged that Franken groped her and forcibly kissed her during a USO tour in 2006. The news personality said she accepted his apology and didn’t think he needed to step down.
Many Democratic senators called for him to resign, including Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Patty Murray of Washington, and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania.
Franken gave an emotional resignation speech from the Senate floor at the time.
“Some of the allegations against me are simply not true. Others I remember very differently,” he said. “This decision is not about me. It’s about the people of Minnesota. It’s become clear that I can’t both pursue the Ethics Committee process and at the same time remain an effective senator for them. Let me be clear: I may be resigning my seat but I am not giving up my voice.”
Franken isn’t closing the door on his political ambitions just yet, as he revealed he is keeping his options “open” about running for office again.
“It was a very weird, tough situation at that moment,” Franken said in 2021, per the Hill. “I love the Senate. I love the work that I did.”
