- 5/18/2025
From pitch-perfect voices to spot-on mannerisms, Saturday Night Live has given us some incredible takes on our favorite sitcom personalities. Join us as we celebrate the most memorable cast impressions that had us doing double takes! Which SNL cast member captured their target's essence perfectly?
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00:00Now it's the part of the show where I pretend I'm falling off of something!
00:06Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the times the SNL cast,
00:11or hosts, showed that they could match wits with our favorite sitcom stars.
00:1510. Heidi Gardner as Kristen Schaal
00:26You've heard Schaal's unmistakable voice in Bob's Burgers, Flight of the Conchords, 30 Rock, and countless guest spots.
00:33It's true, Hazel, tonight's gonna be our last live show, but don't worry, it won't affect you.
00:38Unless my plan all along was to run on stage during a sketch and get discovered by Hollywood.
00:43But did you know she was almost cast as Timon in the 2019 Lion King remake?
00:48Okay, not really, but Heidi Gardner's impression is so good, we can totally see it!
00:54I thought of changing my name.
00:56Okay.
00:57What's in a name?
00:58I got downhearted.
01:00No!
01:01And every time that I farted.
01:03You farted?
01:04Oh my god!
01:05She doesn't need to say much, but everything about the voice is so spot on, and her physicality is so uncanny,
01:12we have to double check that it's not the real Schaal.
01:15And she wasn't the only sitcom star impression in this sketch that was eerily good.
01:19Nick Offerman?
01:20Is that you?
01:21Fasa, Mufasa, Mufasa.
01:24And then I laugh.
01:279.
01:28David Spade as Michael J. Fox
01:30These days, when you think of Fox, Back to the Future probably comes to mind.
01:35But back then, he was also playing Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties, giving Spade plenty of material to study.
01:42And he did.
01:43Hey Dennis, uh, I'm doing casualties of war, two, three, and four, back to back.
01:49He captures Fox's vocal cadence complete with that signature voice crack in his speech patterns.
01:55The subtle physical mannerisms make it even better and add to the joy of it all.
01:59What's gonna happen in this one?
02:01Oh, hey Dennis, this one's even better.
02:04You know, I play 14 different characters, including a, uh, a dog in a chair.
02:09Spade didn't keep this impression exclusively on SNL, either.
02:12He also did it at the Emmys in front of the actor.
02:15Fox seemed to enjoy it.
02:17But we'd love to know what he thought of Spade's take in this sketch, too.
02:21Hey Sarge, um…
02:23What are we doing here exactly, uh?
02:28You know, you gotta give me a minute on this, Sarge.
02:33Mallory?
02:35Number 8.
02:37Cecily Strong as Sofia Vergara
02:39If you've seen Modern Family, you know Vergara's distinct Colombian accent, big personality, and enthusiastic delivery.
02:47You're just tiny little men to me right now, and you need to leave this house and come back with more respect and a pizza.
02:56Strong leans into that, but her impression feels like someone turned the volume up to the max and then the dial snapped off.
03:02Hurry, the ship's leaving.
03:03Yes!
03:04We need to go to Spain!
03:06Could we see Vergara joining the Star Wars universe?
03:09Perhaps not.
03:10But if this impression is anything to go by, it would certainly bring a whole new tone to the movies.
03:16Maybe if the Despicable Me franchise keeps expanding, there's a role for her in one of those instead.
03:21Honestly, they could cast Strong and tell us it's Vergara, and we wouldn't even think to question it.
03:27Is this for the little minions?
03:29What?
03:30I love minions!
03:31The little yellow guy!
03:32They are so funny, you can't understand nothing they say!
03:35Number 7.
03:36Sofia Vergara as Fran Drescher
03:39Vergara hasn't just been the mimicky, but also the mimicker.
03:43Your voice is really loud!
03:45Yeah!
03:46I know!
03:47The guys on the nanny used to call me the bullhorn!
03:51It was like a bad name, but set with anger!
03:54Everything about her delivery makes her the perfect choice to play, as Drescher puts it,
03:59a funny brunette with a unique accent.
04:01We called Strong's Vergara impression a broken dial stuck on max volume.
04:06Well, this one is like someone tried fixing it and found out it somehow gets even louder.
04:11You have to have a signature sound!
04:14Raaaaaah!
04:16Aw, I never thought of that!
04:19Raaaaaah!
04:21I know!
04:22But quiet!
04:23It's a V-gram!
04:25She nails Drescher's delivery, signature nasal tones, and that laugh you could hear from miles
04:31away.
04:32She's not the only one to have impersonated Drescher, but Vergara's is the one we didn't
04:36know we needed, and one we'll never get tired of watching.
04:40I made a macaroni handbag, and inside is a tiny pom-pom dog!
04:486.
04:49Martin Short as Larry David
04:51David was a writer on SNL when Short joined for the one-year All-Star season in the 80s,
04:57so needless to say, he had plenty of time to do his homework.
05:00I don't know, this whole Christmas thing, it's a whole to-do, you know, with the parties
05:04and the presents and the decorating.
05:06Ech, it's not for me!
05:08David feels like the perfect fit for a grumpier, curmudgeonly version of You're A Good Man
05:13Charlie Brown.
05:14You know, for those who are so over holiday cheer.
05:17In this skit, Short plays David as Linus, and honestly, it's easy to imagine this is
05:23what the David household might be like during the holidays.
05:26So I'm just supposed to accept what you say?
05:28You know what?
05:29You don't know what the hell you're talking about.
05:31He got the inflections down perfectly, but it's the mannerisms that truly sell it.
05:36To borrow from Short, or should we say David, this impression is pretty, pretty, pretty good.
05:42It's, uh, pretty, pretty, pretty good.
05:47Number 5. Jay Pharoah as Will Smith
05:50If you ask us, Pharoah was criminally underused on SNL.
05:54How do you get an impressionist this good and not build more sketches around him?
05:59Hey look, on the downside, y'all got the trailer clogging things up.
06:03But on the upside, Will Smith is in your neighborhood.
06:07I mean, your property values just tripled. Woo!
06:10Apparently, he debuted his Will Smith impression in his audition, playing the actor as a New York tour guide.
06:17Seriously, how did that not go on to become an actual sketch?
06:21Luckily, SNL still found ways to showcase his talent, from weekend update appearances to a Fresh Prince Lost episode sketch.
06:29So Jaden, Jaden, Will and Willow, anyone else?
06:31Yeah, well, you know, I got this dog who's incredible, you know.
06:35You know, his name is, uh, Will, I am a dog.
06:38Pharoah has perfected Smith's enunciation and youthful energy.
06:43Plus, that sometimes over-the-top playfulness.
06:46If we closed our eyes, we're not even sure we could tell them apart.
06:49Uh! Welcome to Earth! Uh-huh!
06:55Yeah, you know, that line didn't make sense in that scene so much.
06:59But we used it later in the movie Independence Day, and that made 800 million dollars.
07:04Number 4. Abby Elliott as Zooey Deschanel
07:07The Bein' Quirky sketches gave us multiple unforgettable impressions, like Taryn Killam's take on Michael Cera and Deschanel herself as Mary-Kate Olsen.
07:17But honestly, Elliott's impression of Deschanel really steals the show.
07:21Hey, y'all! I'm Zooey Deschanel, and my soul was born in 1901.
07:27Welcome to Bein' Quirky, the show that celebrates the quirky lifestyle of vintage clothes and...
07:34The new girl actress is known for being sweet, down-to-earth, and a bit quirky, and SNL definitely had fun with that.
07:43Elliott totally captures her unique way of speaking, making her delivery sound almost musical.
07:49I like to flip-flop human and pet names. That's why my gerbil's name is Steve, and my son's name will be Fluffy. The gerbil!
07:57Plus, she adds those perfect little touches that just scream Deschanel.
08:02Watching her perform it right in front of the actress is the icing on the cake, and it feels like it pushed her to really go all out.
08:09I mean, that's our show. A special thanks to my BFF, Mary-Kate Olsen. I'm a billionaire.
08:18Number 3. Jimmy Fallon as Jerry Seinfeld
08:22Fallon might not be best remembered for his impressions on SNL, but believe it or not, his Jerry Seinfeld is pretty epic.
08:30It's like going into your closet, except there's a guy in there. Hey, buddy, pocket T? Really? Thanks, Gap. What? You refolded? This place is great!
08:39So epic, in fact, that he did it during his audition. And the rest, as we know, is history.
08:45Want to see how spot-on it is? Just watch this point-counterpoint segment with Jerry Seinfeld and Jerry Seinfeld.
08:52Yeah, it's just this sullen line of teenage automatons barking out orders.
08:56We're gonna dress you up in a vest! We're gonna dress you up in a vest! We're gonna dress you up in a vest!
09:02You can tell Fallon's a fan, perfectly mimicking the comedian's precise timing and dry delivery that somehow makes even the most ridiculous thing sound almost reasonable.
09:12Years later, Seinfeld gave Fallon feedback on his impression.
09:16I think it's time for your impression to evolve to the next, uh, iteration of who I am.
09:26Now we're curious what the real French steward thinks about Fallon's take on him.
09:30The sound a dog makes!
09:32Um, who is John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band? Thank you very much. I'll take Animal Sounds for a minute.
09:40Number 2. Dana Carvey as Robin Williams
09:44Dana Carvey is another alum whose classic impression goes back to his audition.
09:49Having someone like Williams on SNL must have been a dream come true for everyone.
09:54Oh, don't be afraid! Nail! Nail! Nail!
09:57Urgh! Urgh! Oh, look, telephone! Oh, Helen Keller! Wait, I'll try to get him! Urgh!
10:01His energy is unmatched, and his willingness to go the extra mile for a laugh is legendary.
10:07In this sketch, Williams plays an older version of himself, visited by his son,
10:12basically channeling Mork from Mork and Mindy.
10:14Don't be afraid! Oh, father, right now there's two guys in Memphis going, going, going to the bathroom,
10:19going for a drive, going, going...
10:21Well, I know Elvis is alive. I've seen him eating a log roll at Stockies. Well, thank you very much.
10:25And Carvey goes for it.
10:27He unleashes all that boundless energy, captures the tone perfectly,
10:31and even pulls out Williams' knack for voices.
10:34It almost feels like Carvey is absorbing the comedians' essence just from being in the same room.
10:39I don't want to give no money to nobody.
10:41Brr, brr, brr, brr, brr, brr, brr.
10:44Who was that? Who were you just doing?
10:46Well, I was trying to do Dennis Miller, father. I never could have your...
10:48That's all right, though.
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11:041. Vanessa Bayer as Jennifer Aniston
11:09As one of the biggest sitcoms of the 90s and 2000s, Friends was a prime target for SNL to lampoon.
11:16Yet these impressions weren't just limited to the Friends universe.
11:20Well, there's a T-Rex. And must, must move faster. Must move faster! Oh, no. Oh, no. Must move faster!
11:29Vanessa Bayer's take on Jennifer Aniston, specifically as Rachel Green, stands out.
11:34Oh, yeah. You know, the 90s are great. You know, you go to work. You go on dates. And you go to cafes with your friends. And you all sit facing camera. Yeah!
11:43Yeah!
11:44Bayer nails Aniston's register and inflections. And it's pure brilliance.
11:49You know who else thought it was spot on? Jennifer Aniston.
11:52I thought, because I do this great bit as Rachel, so...
12:00Is it a great bit, though?
12:02In this update bit, she pretends not to be a fan of Bayer's impression.
12:06But the mere fact that she is even there tells a whole other story.
12:10They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. And if that's true, Bayer might just be Aniston's biggest fan.
12:27Which sitcom star impression do you think deserves more love? Let us know in the comments!
12:32You're funny! So are you! So are you!
12:36Do you agree with our picks? Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
12:40And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.
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