New Yorkers, take a look in the mirror today: You might think you know yourself, but it turns out that Fred Armisen knows you even better. In a recent stand-up routine, Armisen imitated accents of different New Yorkers through regions all across the city, and he was eerily skilled at it. He didn't even have to pause to think about it before he turned into a human chameleon and transitioned back and forth.
If you live in the city, be prepared to meet the Fred Armisen version of yourself as he goes through accents from Washington Heights, the Upper West Side, Astoria, Long Island, the Bronx, East Village, the Upper East Side, and Brooklyn. (He did not, however, take on Chinatown, much to the displeasure of the person filming.) There might even be others, but he switches back and forth between them so impressively fast that it is honestly hard to keep track. The Portlandia actor did the bit for charity in a line-up with other performers like David Cross, Regina Spektor, Ira Glass, and Janeane Garofalo at Irving Plaza to benefit Doctors Without Borders, who are currently raising funds to fight Ebola.
Those of us who are not from New York will be undoubtedly a little confused, but I am reassured that it is spot on not only from the laughs he gets from the NYC-based crowd, but also my NYC-bred mother laughing as she watches it a few feet away. Fred Armisen is one of many talented imitators we have heard from recently, including Benedict Cumberbatch's eerily good impressions of other celebrities (including Tom Hiddleston) who graced the internet a few weeks ago. You can watch Armisen play his many New York alter egos by clicking the video below, but just know in the bottom of your heart that if you are from Chinatown that NOBODY CAN HEAR YOU:
