# Matt Foley
**Matt Foley** is a recurring character from the NBC sketch comedy show *Saturday Night Live*, played by [Chris Farley](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-farley): an unhinged motivational speaker who warns his audiences that they will end up "living in a van down by the river"[1](https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2133586/former-army-chaplain-who-inspired-famed-snl-character-role-continues-service-pr/). The character was written by [Bob Odenkirk](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-odenkirk) during his time as an *SNL* writer and was based on a real person of the same name, a childhood friend of Farley's who grew up to be a Catholic priest[2](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/robert-smigel?chapter=8&clip=121546) • [3](https://magazine.catapult.co/culture/stories/abigail-weil-chris-farley-comedy-saturday-night-live). Quartz's ranking of the best *Saturday Night Live* sketches of all time placed "Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker" at number 8 and called it the best recurring character of the 1990s[4](https://qz.com/best-saturday-night-live-sketches).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Performer | Chris Farley, *Saturday Night Live* cast member in the early 1990s[5](https://snl.jt.org/char.php-i%3D365.html) |
| Writer | Bob Odenkirk, then a writer on *SNL*[2](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/robert-smigel?chapter=8&clip=121546) |
| Signature line | "Living in a van down by the river"[1](https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2133586/former-army-chaplain-who-inspired-famed-snl-character-role-continues-service-pr/) |
| Namesake | The real Matt Foley, Farley's childhood friend, later a Catholic priest and Army chaplain[3](https://magazine.catapult.co/culture/stories/abigail-weil-chris-farley-comedy-saturday-night-live) • [1](https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2133586/former-army-chaplain-who-inspired-famed-snl-character-role-continues-service-pr/) |
| Physical comedy | Foley gives wildly exaggerated gestures and falls or jumps onto furniture, destroying it or injuring himself[6](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Foley) |
| Critical standing | Ranked #8 in Quartz's top 10 SNL sketches of all time; called the best recurring character of the 1990s[4](https://qz.com/best-saturday-night-live-sketches) |
## Origin
The "Matt Foley: Motivational Speaker" sketch was written by Bob Odenkirk for Chris Farley during Odenkirk's tenure on the *SNL* writing staff. Writer and performer [Robert Smigel](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-smigel), an *SNL* writer since 1985 who worked alongside Odenkirk, discusses Odenkirk's "Matt Foley" sketch for Farley in his Television Academy interview[2](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/robert-smigel?chapter=8&clip=121546).
The name came from a real Matt Foley. He was a childhood friend of Farley's who grew up to be a priest, and Farley, a devout and sincere Catholic his whole life, borrowed the name for the character[3](https://magazine.catapult.co/culture/stories/abigail-weil-chris-farley-comedy-saturday-night-live). The real Foley later served as an Army chaplain; on February 9, 2020, he delivered a Catholic mass chaplain service to Soldiers of the 85th U.S. Army Reserve support command in [Arlington Heights, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/arlington-heights-illinois), where fellow Soldiers recognized him as the man behind the name[1](https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2133586/former-army-chaplain-who-inspired-famed-snl-character-role-continues-service-pr/).
## The sketches
In each appearance, Foley is brought in as a motivational speaker addressing young people or families, and the comedy comes from the gap between his message of self-improvement and his own disheveled, shouting, thrashing delivery. These sketches frequently feature Foley making wildly over-the-top gestures, then falling or leaping onto a piece of furniture and wrecking it or hurting himself in the process.[6](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Foley) That practice began in the character's first appearance on *SNL*, when, at writer Robert Smigel's suggestion, Farley landed on a break-away table and demolished it[6](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Foley).
The character reached beyond the studio. Farley portrayed Matt Foley at the 1994 Rose Bowl, delivering a comedic "motivational speech" to the [Wisconsin Badgers football](https://www.edgepedia.org/wisconsin-badgers-football) team[6](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Foley). Farley and [David Spade](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-spade), his frequent scene partner, made plans to make a movie based on the character, which was never produced[6](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Foley). Farley returned to *Studio 8H* as host of the October 25, 1997 episode, on which Matt Foley also appeared[7](https://snl.jt.org/ep.php-i%3D199710250.html).
## Legacy
Matt Foley became one of the characters most closely identified with Farley, who died in 1997. Bob Odenkirk reflects in his 2022 memoir *Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama* on the sketch's deleterious effect on Farley, whose all-out physical performance style defined the character[3](https://magazine.catapult.co/culture/stories/abigail-weil-chris-farley-comedy-saturday-night-live). Decades after the sketches aired, the character remains a fixture of *SNL* retrospectives: the Guardian lists Matt Foley among the show's signature creations alongside [Roseanne Roseannadanna](https://www.edgepedia.org/roseanne-roseannadanna) and [Stefon](https://www.edgepedia.org/stefon)[8](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/06/the-long-life-of-digital-shorts-an-ode-to-saturday-night-lives-viral-highs), and the phrase "in a van down by the river" has entered general circulation as shorthand for failure[1](https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2133586/former-army-chaplain-who-inspired-famed-snl-character-role-continues-service-pr/).
## References
1. [Former Army chaplain who inspired famed SNL character role continues service, U.S. Army Reserve](https://www.usar.army.mil/News/News-Display/Article/2133586/former-army-chaplain-who-inspired-famed-snl-character-role-continues-service-pr/)
2. [Robert Smigel interview, Television Academy Interviews](https://interviews.televisionacademy.com/interviews/robert-smigel?chapter=8&clip=121546)
3. [Chris Farley Taught Me to Laugh and to Grieve, Catapult Magazine](https://magazine.catapult.co/culture/stories/abigail-weil-chris-farley-comedy-saturday-night-live)
4. [SNL's top 10: Best Saturday Night Live sketches of all time, Quartz](https://qz.com/best-saturday-night-live-sketches)
5. [SNL Archives, Characters: Matt Foley](https://snl.jt.org/char.php-i%3D365.html)
6. [Matt Foley, Saturday Night Live Wiki](https://snl.fandom.com/wiki/Matt_Foley)
7. [SNL Archives, Episode: October 25, 1997 (host Chris Farley)](https://snl.jt.org/ep.php-i%3D199710250.html)
8. [The long life of digital shorts: an ode to Saturday Night Live's viral highs, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/feb/06/the-long-life-of-digital-shorts-an-ode-to-saturday-night-lives-viral-highs)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Sitcom and comedy series › Sketch comedy series*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license