Keegan Michael-Key Breaks Down His Iconic Obama Impersonation and How He'd Approach Kamala Harris: ‘I’m Looking for Speech Patterns’
PLUS: The actor reflects on 20+ years in comedy and how "every connection" was "worthwhile"
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00:00Now it's the sit down with Keegan Michael Key. Hi Keegan. I'm so excited to talk with you today
00:05I feel like you raised a whole generation of us who have been watching you since mad TV
00:10Your career is so inspiring to me when you look back. What's the first thing you tell young Keegan just starting out one thing?
00:17I would tell him very personally and philosophically is
00:20You are enough. You are a special individual in the world and you are enough
00:25And the other thing I would tell him is whatever you do
00:29Keep on keeping on all the connections that you make in in your career and in and in the industry are
00:37worthwhile every connection you make so be present when you're in those when you're
00:43Interacting with others or working with others or collaborating with others. I would just make sure to let him know just be
00:50Stay there be here now and be present out of all the projects. You've been a part of what set made you laugh the hardest
00:57One sketch in particular would be the Continental breakfast sketch. Do you know that sketch?
01:04Jordan says when Jordan says when he's holding he's holding up that spork and he says
01:12Look at you. Whatever. He says look at you my little friend. Not a fork. Not a spoon
01:18When I've been able to watch people develop a sketch or develop a scene and then see it come to fruition
01:25Especially in front of an audience
01:28Was always a wonderful experience to be able to stand off camera and look at the monitors and and laugh out loud
01:34And and and also have a sense of pride in the work and the process that the other
01:40performers went through
01:42You're partnering with Lysol for their here for healthy schools initiative and you've actually been a teacher yourself
01:47Why is this a meaningful collab for you right now as we're heading back into the school year?
01:53I think it's really important for students to learn especially at a young age healthy habits and learn about journey education
02:00And it's all kind of interconnected if they're learning how to keep the classroom environment clean
02:05It's really important for them to learn how to keep the classroom environment clean
02:09If they're learning how to keep the classroom environment clean, then it allows them to be able to continue to be in that environment
02:17Your guest starring on Abbott Elementary this season was so on-brand free
02:22not free
02:24free
02:25Please tell us they'll be more superintendencies and season four. I don't know we will I have I wish I had an answer for you
02:33I don't know but you know in the entertainment industry anything can happen anything can happen. So we'll see
02:39It was just announced that Maya Rudolph is gonna be back on SNL this fall for her amazing Kamala Harris impersonation
02:50When you tackle a high-profile impersonation, how does that process start, you know for me it's always trying to find
02:59Is there some thing that you can hook into one
03:03idiosyncrasy that the person does that you can hook into so in
03:07Case in point Obama, so Obama does something that's called he does something that's called a glottal fry
03:14And he does that with a lot of fry is this sound
03:22Obama doesn't say um or oh he goes I
03:26was
03:28at the vineyard last week and we
03:32Found some time to relax me and Michelle
03:35So there's this and then like a blast of a blast of energy
03:40So if I was looking at Kamala, I would have to be listening to her and see where are the where are these?
03:47kind of telltale
03:50Benchmark
03:52Sounds that she makes or patterns you're looking for speech patterns
03:56And then what you want to do is you want to exaggerate them just a little bit
03:59We're gonna put ten seconds on the clock promote any one of your projects ready go in September
04:05I want everyone to know that the audiobook version of the history of sketch comedy
04:10Which is a book that I wrote with my partner L key
04:13Is coming out. It's a wonderful book. It's a great fun
04:18Informative journey about the history of comedy and sketch comedy in particular and it's coming out in audiobook September
04:24Please go check it out
04:26Keegan thank you so much for being here today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you