Mumford & Sons take a break from their archetypical rustic, folk style to laugh at themselves in their newest video for the hit “Hopeless Wanderer.”
Starring contemporary comic legends Jason Bateman, Ed Helms, Will forte, and Jason Sudeikis—all impersonating a specific band member—the satirical video looks like an SNL skit poking fun at the banjo-strumming English group.
The video has swept the internet this week.
Director Sam Jones originally met Mumford & Sons at a Rolling Stone cover shoot earlier this year. When the band’s label began soliciting ideas for a new music video soon after, Jones submitted his concept for having well-known comedians acting as the band, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Mr Jones lined up the stars for the video by calling Sudeikis, whom he had met at an earlier photo shoot. Sudeikis in turn enlisted Bateman. Forte and Helms joined soon after for the one-day shoot at a ranch in California.
The “Hopeless Wanderer” video, from the “Babel” album, shows the actors rocking out (lip-syncing) in hilariously dramatic fashion: They laugh, they cry (and in turn lick each other tears), they kiss, they hump guitars, and they smash banjos.
When Mr Jones showed Mumford & Sons the finished product, it was a hit. “The band loved it – they didn’t want to change a thing,” he said. “I’m obviously so excited that everybody is watching it. It was one of those rare experiences where the record company and the band really let me do what I wanted to do.”
Image from Getty