Actor, writer, comedian, and musician Fred Armisen found his calling later than a lot of his peers. In fact, comedy wasn’t even what he wanted. Instead, Armisen had his mind and heart set on making it as a punk rock musician. Beginning in the late 1980s, when most of his eventual Saturday Night Live cast mates like Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler were finding their ways in comedy, Armisen was the drummer of the band Trenchmouth. He told Sam Jones on an episode of the Off Camera with Sam Jones podcast that while his band got a record deal and had some success, it paled in comparison to the stardom that other emerging bands were having. “The hardest part about watching all the bands around us get famous was that I wasn’t able to enjoy music anymore because I was so jealous.” Suddenly, it was the thing he loved more than anything that was bringing him the most angst.
It wasn’t until he started to embrace his funny side that opportunities started opening up. He always did impressions of other musicians to his bandmates on the tour bus, but hadn’t considered trying it out professionally. Wilco singer Jeff Tweedy asked him to open for him on tour with his Venezuelan character Fredicito, which confused the audience tremendously. It did, however, help Armisen showcase his funny side. Though his passion for music didn’t subside, it was placed on hold when he moved to Los Angeles to pursue comedy. He had even more of an unconventional path to Saturday Night Live than most of his colleagues. He wasn’t part of an improv team, or sketch show (though he was part of Next!, a pilot from Bob Odenkirk), and the handful of times he did try to do stand up, he did it as a character. Fortunately, his sketch show pilot was enough to impress producer Marci Klein, who sent it along to Lorne Michaels and invited him in for an audition. Strangely enough, Armisen wasn’t nervous to performer in front of Tina Fey or any of the other SNL greats. “It was just too big to be nervous about.” Either they would like him, or they wouldn't.
It turns out, Armisen’s offbeat style was the perfect fit for Saturday Night Live. For 11 years, he entertained audiences with impersonations of Prince, Lawrence Welk, and Queen Elizabeth, as well as nonsensical characters like Nicholas Fehn, Garth of the songwriter duo Garth and Kat, art dealer Nuni, and a court stenographer who can’t help but misplace things. Following a successful run at SNL, he joined Late Night with Seth Meyers as the Studio 8G bandleader, created and starred in the cult-hit comedy series Portlandia with Carrie Brownstein on IFC, and starred in his own Netflix stand-up special Fred Armisen: Standup For Drummers. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Armisen’s also appeared in Schmigadoon!, Documentary Now!, and Los Espookys.
Let’s take a look at some of Fred Armisen’s best moments from Saturday Night Live!
Prince Christmas Special with Robert De Niro
It’s Prince, y’all. While Armisen is mostly remembered for his over-the-top and specific characters, he did dabble in some impressions. Among these impressions is the mysterious music legend Prince. In another episode of Prince’s eccentric talk show, he and his co-host Beyoncé (Maya Rudolph) welcome Robert De Niro to promote his new movie Meet the Fockers. But, in typical Prince fashion, he wants to do things a little differently. Rather than learn about the movie, he'd like him to sit on his in-studio snowmobile. And who knew Prince could do a solid impression of De Niro in Taxi Driver?
Weekend Update: Fred and Governor Paterson
SNL can be pretty hard on politicians, and former Governor of New York David Paterson knows that all too well. Armisen routinely played him on Weekend Update, often leaning into the fact that he’s legally blind and, like all good impressions, Armisen exaggerated his aloof personality. For this particular segment, Armisen’s performance was interrupted by the real Governor Paterson, who not only proved he could take some insults, but that he could dish them out as well.
Weekend Update: Fred and King Richard III’s Friends
We all have that one friend that is the center of our universe. There's just not enough compliments to convey how great they are. But, um, sometimes, they maybe aren’t, like, the nicest person to be around and they sort of, um, hurt your feelings? King Richard III didn’t exactly have the highest moral bar, but he did have friends. Two of them slid over to Seth Meyers to defend the English king and share the experiences they had with him when they were younger. The more they open up, however, the more their true feelings about the ruler emerge.
The Californians: Thanksgiving
Wait, what are you doing here? “The Californians” sketches are some of the best recurring sketches on SNL. At the helm of this direction-obsessed soap opera parody is Stuart (Fred Armisen), who’s never caught without his white sunglasses. (And he also never ceases to be surprised at whatever old friend or foe is suddenly in his living room.) In this particular sketch, Armisen can’t quite deliver his long-winded lines without cracking a smile. Even though his character is dealing with the shocking revelation that he has an illegitimate son, Fred laughs his way through Stuart’s predicament. Bill Hader (who plays Devin) told Seth Meyers that the series of sketches is based on a running bit they did for years during table reads.
The Art Dealers
It can be a real pain when you have to deal with your neighbors, but it’s hard to imagine that they are as peculiar and confusing as the ones in this sketch. Meet Nuni (Maya Rudolph) and her husband, Nuni (Fred Armisen). They are both art dealers from an unknown country who live very different lives than most of us. (Unless you also wear helmets when you go to the beach…) All Susan (Rachel Dratch) and Greg (Seth Meyers) want to do is find the source of the leak in their ceiling. But, before that, they’re going to have to deal with this artistic couple and their boisterous son, named (you guessed it), Nuni (Will Ferrell).
Weekend Update: Garth and Kat Sing Summer Vacation Songs
Ramen noodles, disco balls, and hammocks. There is nothing that Garth (Fred Armisen) and Kat (Kristen Wiig) won’t sing about to Mr. Meyers. They may always be late to their Weekend Update performances, but they always have a valid reason. (Cut them some slack, they forgot how long their driveway was! Haven’t you done that?) This songwriter duo has a detailed ballad for every season. Buckle up for some soon-to-be classics that Garth and Kat absolutely rehearsed beforehand.
Court Stenographer
The courtroom can be a stressful place. Who will go to jail? Will there be yelling? Is the jury on your side? What if you misplace your crackers? Fred Armisen has a habit of playing women characters. If a few episodes go by without him donning a wig and dress, something is horribly wrong. Here he plays scrunchy-faced court stenographer Elinda Naid, who frustrates the lawyer (Jon Hamm) with her loud typing and laughing. Oh, and she can't, for the life of her, find her crackers. If you need more court stenographer in your life, she’s also dropped her chapstick. Order in the court!
Delinquent Teen Gang
Hey, this teen gang might be a little mischievous, but they just want to dance! No authority figure can stop these so-called delinquents from tapping their toes. They should be a little careful, though, because they are dancing a little close to the street. The leader of the pack, Wanda (Lindsay Lohan) is concerned for her rebellious friend Babette (Fred Armisen) who keeps dancing in the middle of the road. And, yep, okay, she was just hit by a car. And another car. Maybe it’s time for bed.
Brecken Brings Home His Boyfriend
When Andy Samberg returned to Studio 8H to make his hosting debut in 2014, a slew of his former castmates and SNL favorites made surprise appearances. They all united in another addition of the Vogelcheck sketches that feature an extremely affectionate family. When Brecken (Andy Samberg) introduces his boyfriend (Taran Killam) to his welcoming parents (Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig) and brothers (Bill Hader and Paul Rudd), his boyfriend is disturbed at how the family interacts with each other. Somehow Fred stayed in character when kissing all his friends, but when it came to delivering a short speech, he couldn’t keep it together.
Royal Family Doctor
If you’re going to be in the company of the Royal Family, then you have to be aware of their specific rules, greetings, and special etiquette. And if you find that you are going to be in the company of a Royal Family member’s vagina, then, well, there’s even more that you need to know. The sketch is mostly between Buckingham Palace representative Rupert Smythe Pennington (Martin Short) and the new OBGYN (Bill Hader), but Fred has a very memorable cameo as Queen Elizabeth.
I Am Your Mother
Filming a commercial shouldn’t be too tricky, especially if you cast the right actors. Right? A simple Gino’s Pizza Rolls commercial goes awry when Noretta (Fred Armisen) is deeply offended by her fake son’s (Zac Efron) line of dialogue. (Told you Fred plays a lot of female characters.) The pleasant environment is shattered (along with several dishes) when Noretta’s temper proves it cannot be contained. She is your mother!
The Gay Couple From New Jersey
Aye, aye, oh! How's it goin’ over here? The Gay Couple From New Jersey (Bill Hader and Fred Armisen) returned to the Update desk to chat about the legalization of same-sex marriage in Vermont. The happy couple, who seem like they were pulled straight out of an episode of The Sopranos, tell Seth how happy they are about Vermont’s new law. And uh, who knows. Maybe they had somethin’ to do with it. What, you're telling me you've never whacked a guy? Oh!
New Girlfriend
This dinner party is about to get super awkward. Michael (Jason Sudeikis) cannot stop grinning when he’s around his new, sophisticated girlfriend Regine (Fred Armisen) who loves art and talking about Venezuela’s economic crisis. Michael’s awe for Regine, however, is rivaled by his friends’ disgust and confusion. Whenever Michael touches Regine, she loses total control of her body. Armisen’s commitment level to this cringey character is so outrageous, that Vanessa Bayer and Aidy Bryant can’t help but break.
Mike’s Marbleopolis
Want to seem fancy? High class? Mega rich? Need a way to make your friends instantly jealous of you? Then you got to get yourself a marble column! Mike (Fred Armisen) knows what he’s talking about, if you couldn’t already tell by his poorly animated and acted homemade commercial. Do you need a second opinion on a column? Just ask his daughter Lexi (Scarlett Johansson). She’ll tell you if you should get that column. Or this one. Or that one.
Weekend Update: Nicholas Fehn
Everybody has an opinion these days, and political comedian Nicholas Fehn (Fred Armisen) is no exception. He slides over to Seth Meyers with his stack of newspapers eager to spill his thoughts and make some witty comments on controversial topics and big news stories from The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, but has a lot of trouble articulating his thoughts. Or having any thoughts at all, really.
Fred Armisen can be heard voicing several roles in the hit Netflix series Big Mouth. He’s set to star in the upcoming HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death and alongside Aubrey Plaza and Alison Brie in the upcoming film Spin Me Round.