Pharoah gets famous after ‘SNL’
BARACK Obama leaves the White House, Jay Pharoah leaves “Saturday Night Live.” Coincidence or consequence? Pharoah, whose Obama impersonation was a highlight of his six seasons on the show, insists that the 2016 departures are unrelated.
“Obama’s exit was his exit,” the 30-year-old tells The Post. “It had nothing to do with my work [at ‘SNL’] ... I learned a lot and it prepped me for my next job.”
That would be his starring role on Showtime’s new comedy, “White Famous,” which airs Sunday nights at 10. Here’s what else the Virginia native told us about the show, his upcoming love scenes and why he loves channeling “creepy” Ben Carson. What’s with that title? “White famous” is a term used to describe someone who crossed over, who’s globally known and loved by millions of people. It’s loosely based off of Jamie Foxx’s experiences, but you could name anybody: Chris Rock, Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan. I’m the guy, Floyd Mooney. Why is Foxx wearing a skirt in the trailer?
Just to prove a point: Is Floyd Mooney gonna do the ol’ “put on the dress” thing, or is he gonna rise above it? Do you sell your soul or do you not sell your soul? It’s on cable, so are there any explicit love scenes?
I got a lot of love scenes, oh yeah. I got love scenes with Cleo Coleman, Meagan Good and Natalie Zea . . . You’re gonna see somebody’s butt cheeks in it. I’m not gonna name who
they are. You’ll just have to tune in to find out about that. Did you really start off by imitating Iago in “Aladdin”?
Yes, ma’am! I thought Robin Williams was phenomenal — everyone was obsessed with the Genie — but I felt [Gilbert Gottfried’s] Iago was such a fun voice. I was 6 years old when I did him, and my girlfriend at the time told me it was dope, so I just kept going. You had a girlfriend at 6?
Yeah, I never believed in cooties, girls don’t have them. [Laughs] I was in community theater and theater in school. When I was 15 or 16, I started doing standup and continued from there. Have you gotten any flak from those you take on — say, Ben Carson? Ben Carson was wishy-washy with the impression. [First] he said, “If we can’t make fun of ourselves, we’re in bad shape.” Then, when his [primary poll] numbers started going down, he said, “I don’t think it’s good at all!” I’m basically tuning into the most creepy thing I can think of when I do Ben Carson. I don’t even know if the impression is spot on, but it’s just a joy to do. Ever impersonate any white guys?
I do — I have a bushel of white folks I do, including President Donald Trump, Nicolas Cage and Robert Downey Jr. [My favorite is] probably Leonardo DiCaprio. He usually screams in every movie, but in “The Revenant,” he couldn’t talk and he got the Oscar. Normally, he screams and they’re like, “No, next year!”