Saturday Night Live is still one of the top the incubators for celebrity impressions, most notably political figures. From former writer and current occasional guest Larry David's Bernie Sanders, to multiple Tumps courtesy of Darrell Hammond (his is kind of horrifyingly good), Taran Killam (whose Donald is more animated), and Cecily Strong's gold digging Melania. But which current SNL impressions (celebrities and politicians alike!) are the best?
Is it Taran Killam's show-stopping John Boehner or Kate McKinnon’s lonely and desperate Angela Merkel? What about the many great non-political celebrity impressions that are always crowd pleasers? Kate McKinnon’s Justin Bieber is awesome, complete with non-stop posing. Kenan Thompson’s Steve Harvey is just as entertaining as the man himself. Nasim Pedrad’s Kim Kardashian isn’t exactly a mirror image so much as a complete IQ smackdown. And Jay Pharoah’s Kanye is moody and eccentric, rife with self-enforced catchphrases, full of strange vocal trademarks, and runaway narcissism.
Which of the celebrity impressions on Saturday Night Live today are your favorite? Vote up the best of the best and see your favorites rise to the top.
http://www.ranker.com/list/current-snl-impressions/lisa-waugh,
Darrell Hammond
Hammond has been refining his Trump for over a decade and he’s got the latest incarnation of the Donald down. Haters were not amused when the real Trump hosted in 2015, though he was joined in his monologue by both Hammond and Taran Killam, both doing their impressions.
Kenan Thompson
Who knew someone could nail the very essence of Steve Harvey. Thompson brings out the no-inner dialogue persona of the Harvey we all know and love. The sketches with him as host of Family Feud are priceless.
Larry David
Larry David and Bernie Sanders could be twins. When David appeared on the show as Sanders in 2015, as the presidential election was heating up, he brought the house down. David nails Sanders’s Brooklyn accent, his hand gestures, and his entire persona.
Tina Fey
Tina Fey OWNS the Sarah Palin impression. She’s got the accent, the look, and the word vomit down to perfection. Her impression evolves with each wacko appearance by the former politician and reality star.
Kate McKinnon
McKinnon rolled out her Angela Merkel impression in 2014 on "Weekend Update" and it was an instant hit. Her crushing on Obama, possible secret cat lady German chancellor is endearing.
Bobby Moynihan
Moynihan doesn’t do this impression enough, but he popped up in the Star Wars: The Force Awakens auditions sketch, gleefully mocking the much-maligned franchise creator who believes the force will get him a Coke Zero.
Nasim Pedrad
Pedrad pulls no punches with her many Kim K impressions, relying on the vapid, unaware state the reality star wanders around in. Alongside Jay Pharoah’s Kanye, it’s pretty spot on.
Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber
When McKinnon first debuted her Bieber impression in a 2014 cold open, it killed. She revived the celebrity impression in 2015 to spoof Bieber’s Calvin Klein underwear campaign shoot and the outtakes from the shoot with Cecily Strong simply must be watched.
Because her Biebs is so spot on, McKinnon’s version of the Canadian pop star still pops up much to the delight of viewers. In one case, the impression saved the monologue of MMA fighter Rhonda Rousey.
Jay Pharoah as Barack Obama
Before Pharoah joined the cast, the SNL Obama impression belonged to Fred Armisen. Pharoah’s impression of the Obama brought the voice as well as the cool side of the Commander in Chief.
Kate McKinnon as Hillary Rodham Clinton
McKinnon captures the attitude and possible insanity of Clinton with her wild-eyed woman on the edge impression. McKinnon’s Clinton gives us a glimpse of just how nuts Clinton will go if she doesn’t become president. Clinton herself appeared on the show as bartender Val to McKinnon’s Clinton.