With his pronounced Brooklyn accent and deliberate intonations, the Vermont senator has rivaled Donald Trump as the chief source of humor in this campaign, giving ample material to comedians like Larry David. Yet it turns out that Sanders is not only a rich source of gags for others, but is himself a comedian of formidable talent. In 1999, Sanders played the role of Rabbi Manny Shevitz in the low-budget comedy My X-Girlfriend’s Wedding Reception.
As Rabbi Shevitz, Sanders displays impeccable timing as a clergyman whose matrimonial benediction goes off track into a digression on the Brooklyn Dodgers. To be sure, playing a Jewish New Yorker hardly gave Sanders an ability to stretch his acting chops, but still he carried the role with panache.
Sanders also had a small role in the 1988 romantic comedy Sweet Heart Dance, starring Susan Sarandon, where he plays a character named Bernie. Robert Greenwald, the director of the film, remembers Sanders as being good at taking directions. (You can watch a very low quality clip from that film here.) If inciting a political revolution in America doesn’t work out, Sanders is well-equipped to pursue a career in Hollywood.