James Austin Johnson (born July 19, 1989), occasionally known by his initials, JAJ, is an American comedian and actor. He is a cast member on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sketch comedy television 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 ...

'', which he joined as a featured player for the show's 47th season in 2021. On ''SNL'', he has impersonated both

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

and

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

. Johnson was promoted to a repertory player in

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Early life

Johnson was born on July 19, 1989, in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. As a child, he appeared in various productions by Lifeway Christian Resources. He began performing stand-up comedy as a teenager. He attended Davidson Academy and graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University in 2011. Johnson regularly performed at open mics in Nashville before moving to Los Angeles in 2013.

Career

Johnson began his acting career starring in independent Christian films. He has appeared in television series such as '' Adam Ruins Everything'', ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American legal crime drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould for AMC. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'' (2008–201 ...

'', and '' All Rise''. In 2016, he appeared in a

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

television ad alongside

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

veteran

Peyton Manning Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the In ...

. In August 2020, Johnson's impression of President Donald Trump went viral in a video uploaded to Twitter, amassing over one million views. In 2021, Johnson was cast as a featured player on ''

'', alongside Aristotle Athari and Sarah Sherman, for its forty-seventh season. During the season premiere cold open, he portrayed President Joe Biden and later portrayed President Trump beginning in the season's fifth episode. Johnson was promoted to repertory status in

. In March 2024, Deadline announced Johnson had been cast in the

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

biopic film '' A Complete Unknown''. Johnson voiced the character Pouchy in the 2024

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

animated film ''

Inside Out 2 ''Inside Out 2'' is a 2024 American animated coming-of-age film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The sequel to '' Inside Out'' (2015), it was directed by Kelsey Mann and was produced by Mark Nielsen, from a screen ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, James Austin Living people 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American male actors American impressionists (entertainers) American male comedians American male film actors American male television actors American male voice actors American sketch comedians American stand-up comedians 1989 births Comedians from Nashville, Tennessee