--- description: Bobby Moynihan explains the backstory to the viral Saturday Night Live skit that birthed cult Halloween character David S. Pumpkins. title: How David S. Pumpkins Became the Unanimous Hero of Halloween image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte512e71c9a8a1276/6988abf4656a3fb971bcda22/david-pumpkins.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here's the Story of How David S. Pumpkins Became Your Halloween Hero  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 21, 2017 6:22 PM CUT  The safest costume: David S. Pumpkins. The safest costume: David S. Pumpkins.NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 21, 2017 6:22 PM CUT [David S. Pumpkins](http://time.com/4552158/tom-hanks-david-s-pumpkins-halloween/ "undefined") is one of the great unsung heroes of our time. Besides becoming a notorious Halloween icon after being brought to life by Tom Hanks on an episode of _Saturday Night Live,_ David S. Pumpkins also became a popular [Halloween costume](http://ew.com/article/2016/10/24/david-pumpkins-halloween-costume/ "undefined") and a hypeman in a memorable [_SNL_](http://time.com/4542944/saturday-night-live-tom-hanks-cut-for-time-sketch/ "undefined") rap video starring Kenan Thompson. However, it turns out that Hanks’ beloved turn as the spooky character almost didn’t happen. According to a story told by _SNL_ alum Bobby Moynihan on _Late Night With Seth Meyers,_ who wrote the sketch with Mikey Day, Hanks wasn’t sure if the sketch was going to work and even went so far as to suggest that they give it to Chris Hemsworth, who would be hosting the next week’s show. **Read more**: [How to Transform Wooden Pumpkins Into Awesome Halloween Decor](https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/halloween/wooden-pumpkin-designs "undefined") Thankfully for us and them, Hanks decided to stick with the skit and [hinted just recently](http://ew.com/tv/2017/09/21/tom-hanks-chris-hemsworth-david-s-pumpkins-snl/ "undefined") that he might be reprising his role in the near future. Until then, you can watch Moynihan talk about David S. Pumpkins in the full clip above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4951773/david-pumpkins-origin-story/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4951773/david-pumpkins-origin-story/"},"headline":"Here's the Story of How David S. Pumpkins Became Your Halloween Hero","datePublished":"2017-09-21T18:22:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:47:27.303Z","description":"Apparently, Tom Hanks wanted Chris Hemsworth to play the character","url":"https://time.com/4951773/david-pumpkins-origin-story/","keywords":["Newsfeed","SNL","Saturday Night Live","Tom Hanks","Late Night Television","Chris Hemsworth"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte512e71c9a8a1276/6988abf4656a3fb971bcda22/david-pumpkins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte512e71c9a8a1276/6988abf4656a3fb971bcda22/david-pumpkins.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Saturday Night Live - Season 42","caption":"Saturday Night Live - Season 42","creditText":"NBC—NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4951773/david-pumpkins-origin-story/","name":"Here's the Story of How David S. Pumpkins Became Your Halloween Hero"}}]}] ```