Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, musician, and writer. With his comedy partner
Carrie Brownstein, he co-created and co-starred in the
IFC sketch comedy series ''
Portlandia''. He also co-created and starred in the
mockumentary
A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...
IFC series ''
Documentary Now!'' and the
Showtime comedy series ''
Moonbase 8''.
Armisen was the bandleader and frequent drummer for the ''
Late Night with Seth Meyers'' house band,
the 8G Band from 2014 to 2024. He is known as a cast member on the late-night
sketch comedy
Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...
and variety series ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' from 2002 to 2013. He also voiced
Speedy Gonzales on ''
The Looney Tunes Show''.
Armisen has acted in comedy films, including ''
EuroTrip'', ''
Melvin Goes to Dinner'', ''
The Ex'', and ''
The Dictator''. He is also notable for his guest-star appearances in television shows such as ''
30 Rock
''30 Rock'' is an American satire, satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live' ...
'', ''
Parks and Recreation'', ''
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
''Brooklyn Nine-Nine'' is an American police procedural sitcom television series that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox, and later on NBC, from September 17, 2013, to September 16, 2021, for eight seasons and 153 episodes. Created by Dan G ...
'', ''
New Girl'', ''
Broad City
''Broad City'' is an American television sitcom created by and starring Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson. It was developed from their independent web series of the same name, which was produced between 2009 and 2011. The sitcom, like the web serie ...
'', ''
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'', ''
Difficult People'', ''
The Last Man on Earth'', ''
Toast of Tinseltown'', ''
Our Flag Means Death'', ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm'', ''
Modern Family'', and ''
Barry''.
Armisen received a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination for
Best Comedy Album for ''Standup for Drummers'' in 2019. He has also won two
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
s, one in 2008 as part of the ''Saturday Night Live'' political satire cast and one in 2011 for ''Portlandia''. From 2019 to 2022, he co-starred and served as writer and executive producer on the Spanish-language series ''
Los Espookys'', which he co-created.
Early life
Armisen was born in
Hattiesburg, Mississippi, on December 4, 1966, the son of schoolteacher Hildegardt Mirabal Level and
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
employee Fereydun Herbert Armisen.
He moved with his family to New York as a baby,
and briefly lived in Brazil in his youth. He was raised in
Valley Stream, New York,
[ where he was a classmate of fellow '' SNL'' alumnus Jim Breuer.] He attended the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
before dropping out to begin a career as a rock drummer.[ He said that he was inspired to perform after seeing ]the Clash
The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
and Devo perform on television, and wanted to be a performer since he was a child.
Armisen's mother was Venezuelan, born in San Fernando de Apure, while his father was born in Soltau, Germany, to a German mother and Korean father. For much of his life, Armisen thought his paternal grandfather Ehara Masami was Japanese. However, Masami (better known by his professional name Masami Kuni or birth name Park Yeong-in) was actually Korean and came from Ulsan; he adopted a Japanese name and persona after the massacre of Koreans in 1923 when he was a high school student. Park studied aesthetics at Tokyo Imperial University and became a professional dancer before moving to Germany. After the war, he returned to Japan, and formed a premier modern dance company. He eventually immigrated to the US, where he taught dance at what is now Cal State Fullerton from 1964 to 1975.[ Park Yeong-in's family were members of the Korean aristocracy, and Armisen's Korean lineage can be verifiably traced back to the 1600s.]
Career
Music
In 1984, Armisen played drums in a local band along with his high school friends in Valley Stream, New York, but the group soon ended. In 1988, he moved to Chicago to play drums for the punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
band Trenchmouth, and in the 1990s he played background drums with Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in New York City in 1987. It is known for its stage productions that incorporate many kinds of music and art, both popular and obscure. Its performers, known as Blue Men, have their ...
.
Armisen played drums on three tracks for Les Savy Fav's 2007 album '' Let's Stay Friends'', as well as tracks for Matthew Sweet's 2011 album ''Modern Art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...
'' and Wandering Lucy's 1996 album ''Leap Year''.
Armisen is the music director and frequent drummer of the 8G Band, the house band for '' Late Night with Seth Meyers'', since February 24, 2014. However, the band was laid off at the end of the 2023–2024 season due to budget cuts from NBC. They will still pre-record music for the show, but will not perform live.
In 2018, Armisen played drums as part of Devo at John Waters' ''Burger Boogaloo'' festival in Oakland, California.
In July 2021, he performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island.
Television and film
While not playing with the band Trenchmouth, Armisen's interests switched to acting. In a January 2006 interview, he said, "I wanted to be on TV somehow. For some reason, I always thought it would be an indirect route; I didn't know that it would be comedy and ''Saturday Night Live''. I just wanted to do something with performing that would lead me there."[Armisen interview](_blank)
, '' The A.V. Club'', January 2006.
Armisen's subsequent television work, such as some "memorable Andy Kaufman–esque appearances" on '' Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', as well as work for '' Crank Yankers'' and ''Adult Swim
Adult Swim (stylized as dult swimand s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
'', led to a role in 2002 as a featured player in the cast of ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''.[Lavery, Lisa. Interview: ''Cult Cargo'', November 16, 2006.] In the 2004 season, he was promoted to repertory cast member.
Armisen has landed several minor yet memorable roles that were defined by an interviewer as "feral foreigners" in comedy films such as '' Eurotrip'', '' Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo'', '' Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy'', '' Deck the Halls'', '' The Ex'', '' The Promotion'', '' The Rocker'', '' Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny'', and '' Confessions of a Shopaholic''.
Further television work included an appearance on '' Parks and Recreation'' in the 2009 episode "Sister City
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inte ...
". For the Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
series '' The Looney Tunes Show'' (2011–2014), Armisen voices Speedy Gonzales. He and fellow ''Saturday Night Live'' alums Bill Hader and Seth Meyers write, produce, and star in the IFC mockumentary
A mockumentary (a portmanteau of ''mock'' and ''documentary'') is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events, but presented as a Documentary film, documentary. Mockumentaries are often used to analyze or comment on current event ...
series '' Documentary Now!'' which premiered in 2015.
Armisen starred in the IFC sketch series '' Portlandia'' alongside Carrie Brownstein (of Sleater-Kinney); the first season debuted on January 21, 2011.[''Portlandia'']
at IFC.com, 2010. With Brownstein, he appeared on the 2012 '' Simpsons'' episode " The Day the Earth Stood Cool", in which they play the Simpsons' new neighbors, who encourage everyone to be cool like them.
Since 2014, Armisen has been music director and sometimes bandleader and drummer on ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'', for which he received positive reviews for his deadpan
Deadpan, dry humour, or dry-wit humour is the deliberate display of emotional neutrality or no emotion, commonly as a form of Comedy, comedic delivery to contrast with the ridiculousness or absurdity of the subject matter. The delivery is meant t ...
comedy and especially for his interplay with the host.
For his work on ''Portlandia'', Armisen was nominated for an Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series in 2012, 2013, and 2014 and for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014.
In 2021, Armisen was executive producer on the documentary ''Charm Circle'', directed by Nira Burstein.
In 2022, he appeared in ''Wednesday
Wednesday is the day of the week between Tuesday and Thursday. According to international standard ISO 8601, it is the third day of the week.
In English, the name is derived from Old English and Middle English , 'day of Woden', reflecting ...
'' as Uncle Fester.
In the same year, Armisen appeared in the first season of Our Flag Means Death as Geraldo, a barkeep in the Republic of Pirates and one of Spanish Jackie's husbands. Spanish Jackie was played by Leslie Jones.
In 2024 he appeared as FDA representative Mike Puntz in Jerry Seinfeld’s Unfrosted.
''Saturday Night Live''
Armisen joined the cast of ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' in 2002. He was promoted to a repertory player in 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
. After 11 years as a cast member, he decided to leave the show. At the time of his 2013
2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years).
2013 was designated as:
*International Year of Water Cooperation
*International Year of Quinoa
Events
January
* January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
departure from the show, Armisen was the third-longest-tenured cast member (behind Seth Meyers and Darrell Hammond), and he appeared in the second-highest number of sketches (856) of any cast member. Since then, Armisen has come back for multiple cameo appearances on the show, including when he hosted the season 41 finale on May 21, 2016, with musical guest Courtney Barnett.
The following is a partial list of notable roles Armisen has played in ''Saturday Night Live'' sketches.
Recurring characters
* Billy Smith – a Native American stand-up comedian who tells Native-American-themed jokes that no one understands.
* Fericito – a Venezuelan nightclub comedian who has his own TV show, '' Show Biz Grande Explosion'' with sidekick Manuel ( Horatio Sanz).
* Gunther Kelly – a student at George Washington University
The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
who performs songs on '' Weekend Update'' with his brother Patrick (played by Will Forte).
* Leonard – the strange European host of the foreign music show ''Club Traxx''.
* Mackey – a senile drummer who often does rimshots at inappropriate moments and appears in the " Rialto Grande" sketches.
* Nooni Schoener – a quirky, foreign art dealer who appears with his wife Nuni Schoener (played by Maya Rudolph) in " the Schoeners" sketches.
* Frondi – a mentally challenged character who criticizes Ben Affleck's movie '' Gigli'' to Ben himself.
* Manuel Ortiz – host of ''The Manuel Ortiz'' show on Television Dominicana where he "helps with whatever it is" his audience members are going through.
* Nicholas Fehn – a political commentator whose mind wanders so much that he is incapable of finishing a sentence without starting a new one.
* Roger A. Trevanti – a greedy studio head and AMPTP member who rails against the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. The character's only ''SNL'' appearance was on the last episode of season 33, before the show went on hiatus for the WGA strike, but he appeared in several Internet videos around the same time.
* Rodger Brush – a producer of multiple " Dr. Phil"-type talk shows, each focused on a different topic (teen, marital, sexual, and pregnancy issues), who fills in when the hosts are sick. He repeatedly tells guests relating their problems to speak up, and, unable to relate to their problems, offers them either useless advice based on his experience or no help at all.
* Garth – part of Garth & Kat (with Kristen Wiig), a musical duo who appear on ''Weekend Update'' unprepared and make up songs on the spot.
* Giuseppe – the saxophone player for ''What's Up With That?''
* Stuart – homeowner from '' The Californians'', a soap opera parody featuring Armisen, Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig and others as wealthy blondes with Valley girl accents.
* One of the "Dictator's Two Best Friends from Growing Up" (with Vanessa Bayer) who come to ''Weekend Update'' to secretly trash-talk the various dictators (such as Muammar al-Gaddafi and Kim Jong-un) with whom they grew up.
* Regine – a pretentious and condescending woman who exhibits blatant euphoric and erotic facial expressions when touched on certain parts of her body.
* Ian Rubbish – A late-1970s/early-80s British punk rocker, a parody of Sex Pistols' John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...
, who caught heat from his bandmates Derek Gash (played by Bill Hader) and Keith Grimshaw (played by Taran Killam) and fans for writing and performing songs supporting Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013), was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of th ...
.
Celebrity impressions
Armisen's list of notable impressions has included:
* Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
– recurring in Season 33 and Season 34 episodes as the Democratic presidential candidate (Season 33), the Democratic nominee, President-elect, and President (Season 34), beginning on February 23, 2008. As of season 38, Jay Pharoah replaced Armisen as Obama.
* Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
– parody of the musician as the host of a talk show called '' The Prince Show'', with Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most culturally significant figu ...
(played by Maya Rudolph) as his co-host. Armisen, a fan of Prince since childhood, created the sketch as a way of improving his chances of meeting the musician.
* Steve Jobs – Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
CEO who appears on '' Weekend Update'' to show off strange new technology. Armisen has stated that Steve Jobs is the celebrity he most enjoys portraying.
* Ira Glass – After seeing an unused ''SNL'' sketch, Glass invited Armisen to co-host a '' This American Life'' episode about doppelgängers.
* David Paterson – Governor of New York.
*Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
– There were four sketches between the years 2010 and 2012 where he played the Queen of the United Kingdom.
* Michael Bloomberg – numerous sketches between 2011 and present, including recurrent segments during the 2020 Democratic Primaries.
Other work
In 1998, he posed as a music journalist for the short film ''Fred Armisen's Guide to Music and South by Southwest''. It was filmed by then-girlfriend Sally Timms and featured Armisen's "pranking musicians and industry types" during the South by Southwest
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
festival in Austin, Texas
Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...
.[Smooching Deadlines](_blank)
, ''The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogra ...
'', November 5, 1998. In various segments he asked self-described "stupid" questions, pretended to be German, and also acted blind. A year later, Armisen starred with alternative rock legend Steve Albini
Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...
in Chevelle's ''Point No. 1 EPK''.
Armisen is part of ThunderAnt, a comedy duo with Sleater-Kinney guitarist Carrie Brownstein. The duo specializes in creating comedic short skits often about independent vocations such as one-man shows, feminist bookstores, and bicycle rights activists. Armisen founded ThunderAnt.com, a website that features the comedy sketches created with Brownstein.
Armisen has directed music videos for bands such as the Helio Sequence. Armisen also had a role in the Wilco
Wilco is an American Rock music, rock band based in Chicago. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo after singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently during its fir ...
documentary '' I Am Trying to Break Your Heart'', which featured footage from his stint opening for front man Jeff Tweedy's 2001 solo tour. He also appeared in video segments on Blue Man Group
Blue Man Group is an American performance art company formed in New York City in 1987. It is known for its stage productions that incorporate many kinds of music and art, both popular and obscure. Its performers, known as Blue Men, have their ...
's How to be a Megastar Tour 2.0. Armisen occasionally writes for Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
and interviewed Cat Power for that company. He appeared as Jens Hannemann on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on October 19, 2007, promoting a 28-minute DVD called ''Fred Armisen presents Jens Hannemann: "COMPLICATED DRUMMING TECHNIQUE"''. In 2010, Armisen briefly joined Joanna Newsom's tour for her album '' Have One on Me'' as his character Jens Hannemann. On ''SNL'', Armisen often plays musical instruments in sketches, has two recurring characters who are musicians (Mackey the drummer from the Rialto Grande and Ferecito from ''Showbiz Grande Explosion''), or impersonates famous figures in the music world such as Liberace, Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (December 26, 1939 – January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter who is best known for pioneering recording practices in the 1960s, followed by his trials and conviction for murder in the 2000s. S ...
, Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...
, and Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
.
Armisen appeared in the official music video for Man Man's song "Rabbit Habits", playing a man who charms his blind date ( Charlyne Yi) but runs away after she turns into a werewolf
In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...
.
In 2013, Armisen appeared in the official music video for Portland, Oregon-based band Red Fang's song "Blood Like Cream". In 2021, he appeared as the protagonist in the official music video for the 2020 mix of George Harrison's song " My Sweet Lord".
Along with Bill Hader and Jason Sudeikis, Armisen voiced radio characters in the video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV
''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's ''Grand Theft Auto: San And ...
''. Armisen would also continue to appear in other titles from Rockstar Games, such as a pharmacist in Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto V
''Grand Theft Auto V'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the seventh main entry in the Grand Theft Auto, ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2008's ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', and ...
as a judge on an in-game reality TV show, strongly parodying Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...
, and Red Dead Redemption 2 as a host at an in-game theatre you can attend.
Armisen performed as a singer/drummer/comedic actor in the Blue Man Group's "How to be a Megastar Live!". He played the part of a salesman on TV who advertises for the Megastar Rock Manual. He also drummed in the performance and was a backup singer.
In late 2014, Armisen was featured on the popular comedy web series '' Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee'' with host Jerry Seinfeld.
Armisen is a longtime fan of punk rock music and can be seen in the documentaries '' Salad Days'' and '' The Damned: Don't You Wish That We Were Dead''.
In 2015, Armisen was the recipient of '' Smithsonian'' magazine's American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts.
In 2018, Armisen provided the foreword to ''The Yacht Rock Book'' by author Greg Prato.
Armisen appears as Michael on the sixth episode of the revival of '' The Kids in the Hall'', released on May 13, 2022.
In 2024, Armisen made a cameo as DJ Carl in '' Fallout'', living in a shack surrounded by bespoke traps and playing colonial-era violin music, a reference to the oft-hated Classical Radio station from '' Fallout 4''.
Personal life
Armisen was married to musician Sally Timms from 1998 to 2004, and American actress Elisabeth Moss from 2009 to 2011. In 2014, Moss described their time together as "extremely traumatic, awful and horrible". "One of the greatest things I heard someone say about him is, 'He's so great at doing impersonations. But the greatest impersonation he does is that of a normal person,'" Moss added. During a later interview with Howard Stern, Armisen said, "I think I was a terrible husband. I think I'm a terrible boyfriend. ..I feel bad for everyone I've gone out with."[
Since working together on ThunderAnt, Armisen and Carrie Brownstein developed what Brownstein has called "one of the most intimate, functional, romantic, but nonsexual relationships hey haveever had". According to Armisen, their relationship is "all of the things that I've ever wanted, you know, aside from like the physical stuff, but the intimacy that I have with her is like no other".
Armisen started dating actress Natasha Lyonne in 2014. Lyonne confirmed that they had ended their relationship in April 2022: "We love each other just about as much as two people can love each other and we're still talking all the time." Armisen began dating and married comedian Riki Lindhome later that year, and they purchased a home together in Los Feliz.
Armisen is a fan of the '' Red Dead'' video game franchise, and voiced characters in '' Red Dead Redemption'' and '' Red Dead Redemption 2''. He is also a fan of ]black metal
Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with tr ...
and death metal
Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...
and has mentioned bands such as Immortal, Beherit, Liturgy
Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
, Myrkur, Absu, Xasthur, Sumac, Deafheaven and Abysmal Dawn to be some of his personal favorites.
Armisen has stated that he is an atheist.
Discography
As a member of Trenchmouth:
* ''Snakebite'' (EP, 1989)
* ''Kick Your Mind And Make It Move'' (EP, 1991)
* ''Construction of New Action'' (1991)
* ''Trenchmouth'' / ''Circus Lupus'' (split, 1992)
* ''Inside the Future'' (1993)
* ''The Position of the Right Hand: Trenchmouth'' / ''Bliss'' (split, 1993)
* ''Achtung Chicago! Zwei'' (compilation, 1993)
* '' Trenchmouth vs. The Light of the Sun'' (1994)
* '' The Broadcasting System'' (1995)
* ''Volumes, Amplifiers, Equalizers'' (1995)
* ''More Motion: A Collection'' (2003)
As a member of Crisis of Conformity:
* "Fist Fight!" (single, 2010)
As a member of the Blue Jean Committee:
* ''Catalina Breeze'' (EP, 2015)
As a comedian:
* ''Standup for Drummers'' (standup comedy album, 2018)
Singles & EPs
* ''Portlandia'' with Carrie Brownstein (2011)
* "KFC Nashville Hot Record" (2016)
Filmography
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
Fred Armisen Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2020)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Armisen, Fred
1966 births
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American drummers
20th-century American male actors
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
21st-century American comedians
21st-century American drummers
21st-century American male actors
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American screenwriters
The 8G Band members
American atheists
American people of German descent
American comedians of Korean descent
American comedy musicians
American comedy writers
American expatriates in Brazil
American impressionists (entertainers)
American male actors of Korean descent
American male comedians
American male drummers
American male film actors
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American male television writers
American male video game actors
American male voice actors
American music video directors
American people of Venezuelan descent
American punk rock drummers
American sketch comedians
American stand-up comedians
American television writers
California State University, Fullerton faculty
Comedians from Mississippi
Comedians from New York (state)
Dead Men Walking members
Drummers from Mississippi
Drummers from New York (state)
Hispanic and Latino American male actors
Hispanic and Latino American male comedians
Hispanic and Latino American stand-up comedians
Living people
Male actors from New York (state)
People from Valley Stream, New York
School of Visual Arts alumni
Screenwriters from Mississippi
Screenwriters from New York (state)
Television producers from New York (state)
Valley Stream Central High School alumni
Writers Guild of America Award winners