There’s something to be said when the sketches in an episode of Saturday Night Live seem to work so well with the host in mind. Where it’s clear the writers sat down and really thought about the host and whether or not it makes sense with the subject matter or genre they’re lampooning. The recent “Time to Bleed” short with Chris Hemsworth from the 795th (holy crap) episode was absolutely perfect. 

Overall the sketch is commenting on the hyper-masculine action movies from – well – the entirety of cinema but specifically the likes of Die Hard, Lethal Weapon and any macho cop movie. Hemsworth plays Sgt. Polaski who – as one can guess – doesn’t have time to bleed. After getting shot by a typical movie bad guy, his partner (played by Sasheer Zamata) urges him to seek a doctor, leading Hemsworth to stereotypically quip about not having time to bleed and adds some overt innuendo about sleeping with her. It’s a scene out of every action movie ever and it’s done with the same tone as you’d see in a real film. The joke unfolds with taking the “not having time to bleed” to its extreme conclusion where we see Hemsworth’s character continue on with everyday life like finishing police paperwork, working out and eventually ending up in a romantic situation with his partner.

Hemsworth can clearly bring the action star qualities to anything he does but where he shines is in the escalating nonsense of the sketch as he loses blood and cognitive thought. Out of all the sketches in this episode, seeing him play a serious no-nonsense archetype cop that’s bleeding out from a gunshot wound while insisting it’s no big deal is the type of comedy that only an actor like Hemsworth could pull off.

What did you think of “Time to Bleed”? Let us know in the comments below!

HT: EW
Image: SNL