While growing up, Armisen’s ambition was to be a musician. He fell in love with rock music at an early stage and hoped to end up as a drummer in a rock band. He dropped out of the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan to pursue his dream and was a member of various rock bands in the 1980s and 1990s. One of such bands was Trenchmouth. However, it was his comedic and acting talent that eventually stood out and shot him to stardom.
Armisen joined the cast of Saturday Night Live as a day player in 2002 and was made a regular cast member in 2004, a role he would play up until 2013, making him one of their longest lasting cast members. While on Saturday Night Live, Fred Armisen played several regular characters and did impressions of scores of notable personalities such as Prince, Steve Jobs, Michael Bloomberg, Hosni Mubarak, Elvis Presley, Hugo Chavez. Armisen has also featured in several comedy movies including Easy A (2010), Baby Mama (2008), and Will Ferrel’s Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.
One of Armisen’s most notable works till date is the critically acclaimed and award-winning satirical series Portlandia which he starred in. He created the show together with co-star Carrie Brownstein and director, Jonathan Krispel. It is set in Portland, Oregon and pokes fun at the lives of Portland residents. The show was a hit and received favorable reviews from critics. It also received multiple Emmy and Peabody nominations and won the 2012 Peabody Area of Excellence Award. Armisen also earned nods for not only his acting on the show but also his writing.
Through all this, Armisen has not forgotten his first love which is music. He has worked with many musicians, including Joanna Newsom, in different capacities. He regularly plays musical instruments on his comedy shows and also plays characters that are musicians. At present, Armisen is a member of the in-house band of the comedy show, Late Night with Seth Meyers.
