Al Franken plays a US senator in ‘The Residence’ years after scandal and resignation

nypost.com:

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.