Chloe Fineman is known as “Saturday Night Live’s” current queen of impressions. That’s taken some getting used to for the comedian.
“Since being on the show, my relationship with impressions has dramatically changed,” Fineman said on “SNL’s” digital series “The Rundown” on Wednesday. “When I started, I didn’t know any of these people. I would never cross paths with them. I was just kind of shots fired. Now, anything I do, I get feedback. They either love it or hate it.”
“The Rundown” is a digital series that sees “SNL” cast members and alumni select their favorite sketches from the show’s history to create a cohesive show order. Previous episodes have seen Colin Jost select a cold open, Dana Carvey pick a live sketch and Bowen Yang choose a Weekend Update feature. Fineman was, of course, tasked with selecting an impression-based sketch.
Fineman opened the video with her impression of Drew Barrymore, saying, “I’m so totally gagged to talk about impressions and ‘Saturday Night Live.’” Barrymore, Fineman pointed out, was the first impression she ever did for a pre-taped sketch on “SNL.”
“I don’t know if I had known her at the time. My love for Drew Barrymore knows no bounds. We were really careful not to be mean, but make fun in a loving way,” Fineman said. “Her reaction to that was perfect.” You can watch the full episode of “The Rundown” below.
Fineman went on throughout the video to talk about the art of the impression. She pointed out that the accuracy of a celebrity impersonation is often secondary to whether or not the performer can locate something funny or laugh-worthy in the character. Fineman shouted out Fred Armisen as Prince and Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber as top-tier examples of impressions on “SNL.”
“She was one of the first people to really like, be a boy,” Fineman said of McKinnon. “Kate just rewrote the rulebook: I’m gonna be so sexy and so funny and not offensive at all.”
Ultimately, Fineman picked Kristen Wiig’s iconic, outrageous sketch “Liza Minnelli Tries to Turn Off a Lamp” as her delegate for “SNL’s” impression-based comedy.
“It’s taken me like seven years to realize that ‘SNL’ is a variety show, and we have a lot of variety,” Fineman concluded. “I think I contribute to ‘SNL’ and feel very at home in the variety of impressions and commenting on pop culture and what’s going on today. Doing the impression with love is the name of the game on this show.”
