32 celebrities who are good at impressions
Celebrities impress us: Not only are some of the most famous singers and actors incredibly talented in their own right, but many of them are also adept at making impressions. These skills may have been honed in the course of playing a role, or they may have been acquired while working with other famous actors. Some of these celebrities have built their careers on their exceptional vocal mimicry. (Not surprisingly, this list includes several Saturday Night Live alumni.) Some celebrities are outstanding at some impressive imitations, while others can do basically any voice. This list will showcase both. Let's take a look at 32 celebs who are great at impersonations.
Not a big deal, but in a 2020 ELLE interview and Camila Mendes' Instagram video, KJ Apa revealed that she can sing like John Mayer. He also does a great Luke Perry, according to a 2018 Access Hollywood interview (which makes sense considering he played a younger version of the character).
Aside from being a member of the Black Eyed Peas, will.i.am has done some great impersonations.
Nicole Scherzinger is a television personality and a talented vocalist in her own right, but she excels at copying the voices of other singers. She has done Britney Spears, Alanis Morissette, Shakira, Judy Garland, Journey, and even Led Zeppelin.
James Austin Johnson, in addition to impersonating former presidents on Saturday Night Live, Jeffrey Tambor, Bobby Flay, Batman reading “Where's Waldo.” and Adam “Star Wars” acting in “Girls” You can also do impressions of Driver. The last two were on SNL.
Benedict Cumberbatch is perhaps best known for his impersonation of Alan Rickman (very, very good, if you're wondering). But he also plays Tom Holland, Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo, Owen Wilson, Chris Pratt, David Tennant, Hugh Grant, and many others.
Darrell Hammond is perhaps most admired for his exceptional impersonations of politicians, including the accurate President Bill Clinton and Al Gore. However, his impersonations of Sean Connery, Elmer Fudd, and Al Sharpton are also worth seeing.
Andy Samberg, from Saturday Night Live, can do a variety of impressions. He has done actors like Nicolas Cage and Mark Wahlberg, as well as Doug Emhoff (Kamala Harris' husband), who has admitted to doing the monologue; in 2014, he performed a wide range of very bad impersonations in a 60-second period during an SNL monologue.
Anne Hathaway has performed Britney Spears' song “. . baby one more time” and did an amazing version of it. She can also do Katie Holmes, Claire Danes, and even imitate Matthew McConaughey.
Thanks to her appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” we got to see some great impersonations of Will Ferrell. He also does Dr. Phil, James Lipton, Harrison Ford, and George Bush.
That Seth MacFarlane excels at voice work and impersonation should surprise no one, given his years of work on Family Guy. But thanks to his various late-night interviews, we also know that he does Kermit the Frog, Liam Neeson, Bobcat Goldthwait, and Ray Romano with aplomb.
When Jimmy Fallon challenged Saturday Night Live cast member Chloe Fineman to do as many impressions as possible in one minute, she Meryl Streep, Drew Barrymore, Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon Timothée Chalamet, Julianne Moore, Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, JoJo Siwa, Shia LaBeouf, Kim Cattrell, and Jennifer Coolidge impressions. Oh my god.
Keke Palmer's impression of Angela Bassett (she did two versions.) However, according to Jimmy Fallon, she can also do impersonations of Cher and Shakira.
For those who may not know, the late Phil Hartman was a cast member of Saturday Night Live and the voice of The Simpsons. He was the voice of Frank Sinatra, Jack Nicholson, John Wayne, Peter Graves, and many more (and in multiple languages.)
Actor Chris Pine, who appeared on The Late Late Show With James Corden, revealed that he can do a pretty decent Christopher Walken (including accurate mannerisms and tone) as well as special versions of Jeff Bridges and William Shatner . Who would have known.
You might not have expected it, but Sarah Paulson also does outstanding impressions of other celebrities. While playing “Circle of Impressions” with Jimmy Fallon (which led to her getting to know many of the celebrities on this list), she revealed that she could do Kathleen Turner, Holly Hunter, and Drew Barrymore.
Bradley Cooper, obviously, is an extraordinary actor, but he can do some truly great impressions. His genius includes Owen Wilson, Christopher Walker, Robert De Niro, Bill Clinton, and Clint Eastwood, which is quite an impressive range.
Like many impressionists, actor Titus Welliver can do a great Christopher Walken impression. But his real talent is his voice work on Al Pacino: Welliver can play Pacino in all four eras of his career, from his early soft-voiced days to his “hooah” late period.
Kamala Harris is not the only one she imitates. The New York Times literally called her a “master impersonator,” and the sheer scale of the impersonations she is able to perform bears this out, including Beyoncé, Charo, ABBA, Halle Berry, Christina Aguilera, Whitney Houston, Oprah, and Maya Angelou.
If you happen to watch The Kroll Show, you know that Nick Kroll's special talent is voice work (and he can create characters with a wild voice as well as impressions of real people). My favorite is Pitbull, but Jason Statham and Seth Rogan are also great.
Given that Jamie Foxx started life as a comedian, it makes sense that he can do a lot of impersonations. Among the most famous are Dave Chappelle, Denzel Washington, President Barack Obama, Snoop Dogg, Robert Downey Jr., Jay-Z, Kanye West, and LeBron James.
Simon Pegg can't do every impression under the sun, but the impressions he can do (and why) are incredible: he can do all four of the Beatles in mere seconds, and can explain exactly where the “in-mouth” accents are located to do so effectively (mind you people, John is back, Paul is up, Ringo is in front, and George is to the side).
Like several other singers on this list, Christina Aguilera's phenomenal vocal control means that she is secretly good at imitating other singers. In particular, she does Cher, Britney Spears, and Shakira with aplomb, but she also does Samantha from “Sex and the City.”
Tom Hiddleston doing Robert De Niro in front of Robert De Niro is the most meta thing you'll ever see, but Hiddleston is actually a broad impressionist. Christopher Walken, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson, and (happily) Cookie Monster, to name a few.
Jay Pharoah, who plays Shaquille O'Neal, is perhaps his best impression among many great impressions, including Chris Rock, President Barack Obama, Kanye West, Jay-Z, Denzel Washington, Kevin Hart, Gilbert Gottfried
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As a Saturday Night Live alumna, her most recognizable (and memorable) impression will probably go down in history: that of Sarah Palin. But she can also do Amy Poehler and Jack Nicholson. She can also do awful impressions (including Robert De Niro) that would stun Jimmy Fallon.
Dana Carvey does impersonations as an integral part of his acting. George W. Bush, Bernie Sanders (on the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride), Michael Caine as a toddler, Paul McCartney, and Keith Richards are just a few of his best-known works.
If I had to pick a favorite Kate McKinnon impression (whether she was on “Saturday Night Live” or not), it would probably be Justin Bieber doing a Calvin Klein commercial. But Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, RBG, Ellen DeGeneres, and the list goes on.
Fun fact: Bill Hader used to work with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a PA. But he also handles John Malkovich, former colleagues Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig, old boss Lorne Michaels, and Alan Alda.
The late Robin Williams played John Nicholson, Elmer Fudd (Bruce Springsteen. In an incredible scene in The Birdcage, he proved he could also do dance impressions of Bob Fosse, Martha Graham, Twyla Tharp, Michael Kidd, and Madonna.
Not surprisingly, given his comic sensibilities (and his stint on “Saturday Night Live”), he also excels at impersonating other actors, TV personalities, and comedians. Tracy Morgan, Mr. T, Mike Tyson, President Obama, Richard Pryor, etc.
Of Ariana Grande's many talents, impression work is perhaps the most underrated. She can do Jennifer Coolidge, Christina Aguilera, Elizabeth Gillies, Celine Dion (singing and speaking), Jennifer Lawrence, Eugene Levy, Britney Spears, etc.
It may be unfair to include Hank Azaria on this list. He is talented in both live action and voice acting (including countless characters on The Simpsons), and it is truly impressive that he can play celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Woody Allen, Sean Connery, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Al Pacino.
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