Even if he made a fool of a hapless dad, the “Saturday Night Live” version of Jake from State Farm did succeed in amusing the Chicago actor who plays the real Jake, as well as the insurance company that hired him.
Host Michael B. Jordan portrayed Jake in the fake ad, which found the khaki-clad insurance rep helping a family with a claim and then hanging around to lure the woman of the house away from her husband. Before long he’s taking the mom and her children to church, giving piano lessons to the couple’s daughter and outfitting their son in State Farm’s trademark red polo.
“He is NOT a good neighbor,” the jilted husband (Mikey Day) yells at his wife (Heidi Gardner).
Bloomington, Illinois-based State Farm responded by tweeting the full video and good-naturedly added, “Like a good neighbor, we know when to leave. You had us howling, Michael B. Jake from State Farm and @nbcsnl.” Kevin Miles, the former South Sider who portrays Jake, posted a laugh-till-you-cry emoji as he retweeted a friend’s photo of the bit.
No doubt Miles was flattered by being played by Jordan, the “Creed” and “Black Panther” star who was People magazine’s sexiest man alive of 2020. But being compared to a famous hunk was nothing new for the Chicago Academy of the Arts grad, who appeared on a Super Bowl commercial alongside Drake, cast as his lookalike stand-in.
