Kate McKinnon loves impersonating Hillary Clinton on “SNL” for this specific reason
Kate McKinnon is the comedian of our dreams. She never fails to make us laugh, but also succeeds at making us think. Vanity Fair recently interviewed Kate McKinnon for their cover story, and the whole thing is chock full of great insights into one of our favorite actresses.
One of our favorite things in McKinnon’s seemingly endless repertoire of SNL characters is definitely her Hillary Clinton impression. It’s one for the ages — and the actress knows it. Naturally, the impression came up in depth during the interview. The verdict?
McKinnon loves impersonating Clinton almost as much as we love watching it.
“I love doing impressions of politicians because the task is always to imagine the private lives of these people whose job it is to project an image of staunch, unflinching leadership and grace, and that’s just not how human beings, in their heart of hearts, work,” McKinnon said. “In doing that for Hillary Clinton, who I admire so much, I started to feel very close to her, just trying to imagine her inner life.”
We love that the impression comes from a place of love rather than mockery. In fact, there’s a Lorne Michaels quote on McKinnon in the interview that sums about why she’s so lovable and why her impressions have such an impact.
“Kate can embody a character and bring it to life and make it funny. But there’s also always something empathetic about her characters,” Michaels said. “And although the writing might not be kind, she is. That’s her genius. You can’t make the audience fall in love with a character you don’t like.”
McKinnon’s admiration of Clinton is especially touching in the post-election political landscape. We also love Kate’s desire to get inside the head of these political figures. In addition to Clinton, McKinnon also regularly impersonates German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Oh, and don’t forget Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
McKinnon also had major props for Clinton’s comedic chops.
“Hillary has great timing.”
We wouldn’t expect anything less.
