Who is James Austin Johnson, Trump impersonator and new SNL Featured Player?

COMEDIAN and actor James Austin Johnson, 29, joins Saturday Night Live after going viral for his master Trump impersonation.

Johnson has appeared in the Coen Brothers' feature Hail, Caesar!, Hulu's Future Man and Amazon's The Last Tycoon.

1

Who is James Austin Johnson?

James Austin Johnson is an actor and comedian.

His theatrical training started when he learned acting at age 10.

He proceeded to study the Sanford Meisner technique in college, an approach that helps actors to get out of their head and act instinctively.

Johnson started his stand up comedian career as a teenager in clubs around Nashville, Tennessee. During , his impression started to take shape in Los Angeles venues.

Johnson's front facing camera videos impersonating Trump were inspired at his day job, where he would "horse around" with his comedian and musician coworkers at a clothing warehouse, he told Vanity Fair.

MORE on SNL

ALL ABOARD?

Scarlett pleas for fans to help husband Colin after ferry fiasco with Pete

GETTING HELP

Pete Davidson checks into rehab after secret romance with TV star

BAGS OF TALENT

Charli XCX poses topless in sexy shoot following SNL appearance

hello?

Charli XCX wows SNL viewers with comedic timing and Adele impersonation

How did James Austin Johnson shape his Trump impression?

James Austin Johnson does not write his material anymore.

He told Vanity Fair that “Trump is not written out, and he’s not rehearsed.”

When starting out his impersonations of Donald Trump at comedy clubs, Johnson said the room would fall silent. Playing with the voice in 2016, Johnson told Vanity Fair he would be more openly racist and homophobic as Trump.

This did not connect with the audience.

He fine-tuned his material by experimenting with abstract takes. He used his Trump impersonation to talk about his actual opinion on pop-culture topics.

When can we expect to see James Austin Johnson on SNL?

The 47th season of  will premiere on October 2nd with Owen Wilson and musical guest . 

We can expect to see James Austin Johnson, along with Sarah Sherman and Aristotle Athari, joining the show and bringing the cast to a whopping 21 people.