From Deseret News archives:
'Saturday Night Live's' faux Obama hopes real one wins the election
If Barack Obama wins, Armisen will get to continue his impression of him for the next four years, at least — a role that has finally made Armisen a breakout performer on "Saturday Night Live" after being on the show for seven seasons.
"Do I want to see him win?" Armisen asks. "Well, the short answer is 'Yes.' I could give you a roundabout answer, saying 'Whatever happens, happens.'
"But, no, I want him to win. I want to keep on playing this character."
Armisen has the chance to be part of an elite group of comedians in "SNL" history to play the president.
When Armisen was a kid, he used to laugh at how Dana Carvey impersonated the first President Bush.
"I loved how Chevy Chase used to do (Gerald Ford), but he was really just doing himself," Armisen says. "He wasn't really taking on (any qualities) of Ford."
Armisen met the Democrat a year ago when the Illinois senator did "Saturday Night Live."
"You know what's weird? It's meeting him. There's always the public persona and then the private one," he said. "He's cool. But whenever you do (an impression) it's always different than what the person is really like."
To get into the head of Obama, Armisen stares at one particular photo of the senator.
"It's a photo of him when his brow is downward. It's the ultimate serious expression," he says. "He kind of looks mysterious."
Then he gets perfectly still.
"From there, it's a matter of hitting my marks and reading cue cards," he says. "But to do him, it takes a number of little things. Most of all, it means not being as nervous as possible. He seems so cool at times.
"I'm faking being cool."
Armisen assembles his Obama from "different pieces," comparing it to an intricate game.
"To me, it's like trying to figure out a Rubik's Cube or a puzzle," he says. "There are so many pieces to put together.
"There's the littlest amount of fear going into this, but it's fear that I like having."
