Fred Armisen Reveals Which “Saturday Night Live” Cast Member Influenced Him Most Before Joining the Show Virginia ChamleeSun, April 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC 0 Fred ArmisenCredit: Roy Rochlin/Getty Fred Armisen said he felt a deep connection to Saturday Night Live early on, especially through its musical guests and specific brand of humor In a new interview, he recalled feeling a kindred spirit in one cast member in particular, saying their comedic sensibilities felt like “speaking the same language” Armisen pointed to the "Sprockets" sketch as an example of the quirky comedy style that resonat...
Fred Armisen Reveals Which “Saturday Night Live” Cast Member Influenced Him Most Before Joining the Show
Virginia ChamleeSun, April 12, 2026 at 11:00 AM UTC
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Fred ArmisenCredit: Roy Rochlin/Getty -
Fred Armisen said he felt a deep connection to Saturday Night Live early on, especially through its musical guests and specific brand of humor
In a new interview, he recalled feeling a kindred spirit in one cast member in particular, saying their comedic sensibilities felt like “speaking the same language”
Armisen pointed to the "Sprockets" sketch as an example of the quirky comedy style that resonated with him while he watched the show before joining its cast
Fred Armisen is opening up about the early influences that shaped his connection to Saturday Night Live — and the one cast member who made him feel like he belonged long before he ever joined the show.
Speaking to Amy Poehler on an episode of her Good Hang podcast, Armisen, 59, said of the show's impact on his life: "The relationship I had to SNL was I watched it all the time. But I really connected to The B-52s and Devo and Talking Heads."
"And I'm not saying it in a way that's like, 'Hey, I just only like the bands.' I'm saying that like, Lorne [Michaels, the show's creator and producer] was communicating with me," he added.
For Armisen, the show’s musical guests played nearly as significant a role as its comedy, noting that seeing alternative and new wave acts on a mainstream platform made him feel understood in a way few other shows did at the time.
Mike MyersCredit: Alan Singer/NBC/Getty
"These bands that he had on, I did feel like there's something I understood about the show," Armisen said. "And then, like, Mr. Bill and the sketches, but also, like, the bands on there. I was like, 'That must be fun.' "
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As he continued watching, however, it wasn’t just the music that stood out to him, but a specific cast member whose comedy style resonated with Armisen.
"And then as the years went on, when Mike Myers was on, it was more of a like — I felt like that was a direct message ... I felt like we were speaking the same language," Armisen explained.
Myers, who joined Saturday Night Live in the late 1980s, became known for his offbeat characters and distinctly stylized sketches, something with which Armisen immediately connected.
"Like that sketch, 'Sprockets,' was a favorite sketch of mine before I'd even seen it. Someone described it, and I was like, 'What is going on over there?'" he added, referring to Myers’ popular recurring sketch that saw him as Dieter, the host of a fictional West German television talk show.
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While Myers left the sketch show in 1995, Armisen would eventually join Saturday Night Live himself in 2002, staying on the show for an 11-season run.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: April 12, 2026 at 07:45AM on Source: PRIME TIME
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