Impersonating a celebrity isn’t just about getting the person’s voice right. It requires fully taking on the persona of the individual, from the inflection in their voice to their mannerisms – even their usual pauses, quirks, and vernacular.
Through the decades, Saturday Night Live (SNL) has always had a talented impersonator or two among its cast members. Sometimes, the person only does one or two particular impressions really well. But for others, they can impersonate multiple celebrities from past and present with impressive results.
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James Austin Johnson (2021-Present)
James Austin Johnson, the most recent addition to the SNL cast, joins the ranks of not only many former and current cast members who have impersonated Donald Trump, but also those who have impersonated American presidents.
Considered to be the best Trump impersonator around, Johnson flabbergasted viewers in an early November 2021 debut where he demonstrated how he transformed into the former president. It’s unclear if he can do other impersonations as well, but even with just the one, Johnson will likely be named among the best political impersonators ever in the show’s history.
Tina Fey (2000-2006)
Tina Fey, one of the best female SNL cast members ever, is not necessarily someone who does impersonations: her forte is in the sketches and particularly behind-the-scenes writing. Indeed, she wrote for the show from 1997, before she was ever seen in front of the camera. But the striking resemblance between her and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin was too tempting to pass up.
Thanks to Fey’s acting talent and comedic timing, she was able to also replicate Palin’s mannerisms and voice to perfectly impersonate the woman through her Republican run in 2008. She went on to win an Emmy for the role as guest actress, since she wasn’t technically a cast member anymore at the time.
Jay Pharoah (2010-2016)
Pharoah could flip from one impersonation to another at the drop of a hat, making him one of the best and most versatile celebrity impersonators the show has ever had. There were certain people he could do particularly well, including President Barack Obama, Denzel Washington, Will Smith, John Mulaney, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Jason Statham.
Pharoah is so talented at celebrity impersonations that all he needs is a bit of research and time to pick up new characters. But it was his Obama impersonation in particular that gained him widespread recognition.
Chloe Fineman (2019-Present)
Another current cast member, Fineman joined in 2019 after having been part of The Groundlings improv troupe. Through her time on the show, she has impressed with her spot-on impersonations of celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Carole Baskin, Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and others.
If it’s a young, white woman in Hollywood or music, chances are Fineman has the talent to research and transform herself into that person, resulting in plenty of laughs.
Darrell Hammond (1995-2009)
While Darrell Hammond, one of the longest-running SNL cast members, did tons of celebrity impersonations through his run on Saturday Night Live, his most notable performances were of President Bill Clinton and late actor Sean Connery during the fan-favorite Celebrity Jeopardy recurring sketch. In fact, his impersonation of Clinton still holds the record as the most frequent of all time, with a total of 87 appearances over 14 years, including cameos.
Through his time on the show, Hammond also impersonated everyone from Regis Philbin to Al Gore, Phil McGraw, and John Travolta. He is also yet another former cast member to have done an impersonation of Trump.
Dana Carvey (1986-1993)
While Dana Carvey did a ton of impressions during his time on SNL, along with portraying iconic fictional characters like The Church Lady and Garth from Wayne’s World, it was his impersonation of George H.W. Bush, which he played during the election in 1992, that made heads turn.
In one sketch, Carvey did double duty, impersonating both Bush and Ross Perot. But he is also known for being able to impersonate a wide variety of celebrities, having done so in rapid succession in a number of interviews. Most recently, he has remained in the political sphere, impersonating both President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Eddie Murphy (1980-1984)
Eddie Murphy is widely considered to be one of the cast members who helped breathe new life into the sketch comedy series at a time when it had been experiencing a dip in the ratings. In fact, he remains ranked as SNL‘s best Black cast member. While Murphy is best known for his fictional characters on the show, including Gumby and Buckwheat, he did also do some wonderful impersonations.
Among his best were Bill Cosby, James Brown, Jesse Jackson, Mr. T, Sammy Davis Jr., and Stevie Wonder. Murphy brought both his comedic talent and his knack for imitating the voices and mannerisms to each role.
Phil Hartman (1986-1994)
Lauded as one of the most talented SNL cast members ever, Hartman had a long list of people he impersonated through his tenure on the show during the late ’80s and early ’90s. Among these were Bill Clinton, Burt Reynolds, Elton John, Frank Sinatra, Gary Busey, Kirk Douglas, and Ozzy Osbourne.
His impersonations were easily in the dozens and included both men and women. He was called a chameleon on the show, able to imitate the persona of whoever might be in the news at the time or would make sense for a skit. Fans particularly loved his interpretation of an older Sinatra, an aging singer stuck in his heyday of the ’50s despite time having moved on.
Melissa Villasenor (2016-Present)
While Villasenor hasn’t had as much screen time as others among the new cast, any time she appears, she shows off her wonderful talent for doing impressions of famous people. In fact, her debut sketch on the show was doing an impression of another former SNL cast member and comedian, Sarah Silverman.
Some of Villasenor’s most notable impersonations, which she also performed as a semi-finalist on the sixth season of America’s Got Talent, include Bjork, Owen Wilson, Dolly Parton, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her impersonation of Lady Gaga is one of the best celebrity impersonations in the Family Feud sketches on SNL.
Jimmy Fallon (1998-2004)
Fallon might not have been one of the best former SNL cast members, as he’s known more for breaking character than anything else. But he went on to big things, now serving as host of The Tonight Show.
With that said, Fallon is known for his talent not only as a comedian and host, but also as an impressionist. Some of his best include Robert De Niro and Jerry Seinfeld. On SNL, however, one of his funniest, most exaggerated impersonations was of Barry Gibb from The Bee Gees in a recurring sketch alongside Justin Timberlake. Fallon has even worked celebrity impressions and singing talent into The Tonight Show with a game he sometimes plays with musician guests called Wheel of Musical Impressions.