Speaking during a June 2 panel for the Television Academy, James Austin Johnson revealed that his best impression keeps getting rejected because producers think viewers wouldn’t recognize it.
The moment came after former SNL cast member Fred Armisen shared a similar experience. Armisen explained that his impression of This American Life host Ira Glass never made it past dress rehearsal years ago because he was told Glass wasn’t famous enough.
Johnson said he runs into the same problem at SNL’s table reads, where writers and cast members pitch sketches.
“I get that a lot,” Johnson said. “They ask, ‘Why are we doing this?’ And I say, ‘Because I do the voice.’ And they say, ‘Yeah, nobody cares.’”
When fellow cast member Sarah Sherman pushed him to name the impression, Johnson finally revealed it: longtime Rolling Stone editor David Fricke.
Johnson said he has tried to pitch the impression many times, but it’s always rejected.
“I’ve done it so many times,” he said. “Every time it’s a hard no.”
Although his castmates, including Ego Nwodim, Heidi Gardner, Bowen Yang, and Chloe Fineman, said they find the impression funny, Johnson joked that they laugh more at his commitment than the character itself.
Calling it his “best voice,” Johnson admitted that it’s simply not something audiences want to see. He even warned that it’s “the most boring voice you’ve ever heard” before briefly demonstrating it during the panel.
Johnson confirmed that the impression has never made it into a dress rehearsal sketch, let alone a live show.
Saturday Night Live is currently on winter hiatus and is expected to return with new episodes sometime in January.
Tags:
News
