Fred Armisen Biography

Fred Armisen is an American actor, comedian, writer and musician best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, Portlandia and Wednesday. He was born Fereydun Robert Armisen in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and raised in Valley Stream, New York. His mother was born in Venezuela, while his father was born in Germany and had German and Korean ancestry.

Before finding success in comedy, Fred pursued a career in music. He left New York's School of Visual Arts and moved to Chicago, where he played drums for the punk band Trenchmouth throughout the late 1980s and 1990s. He also performed with Blue Man Group. His comedy career began after he started creating unusual characters and filming comedic interviews with musicians.

Fred joined Saturday Night Live in 2002 and remained with the sketch comedy series until 2013. During his 11 seasons, he became known for his impressions of public figures such as Barack Obama, Prince and Steve Jobs, as well as a variety of eccentric original characters. He later reunited with musician and comedian Carrie Brownstein to create Portlandia, a satirical sketch series that ran for eight seasons and earned the pair widespread acclaim.

He went on to co-create and star in Documentary Now!, Los Espookys and Moonbase 8. Fred has also appeared in movies including Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Easy A, The Dictator and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. In 2022, he joined Netflix’s hit TV series Wednesday as Uncle Fester, bringing his distinctive offbeat humor to the beloved Addams Family character.

Fred has continued working in music alongside his acting career and served as the bandleader for Late Night with Seth Meyers. He married third wife, actress and comedian Riki Lindhome, in 2022. They have one child together.

Biography:

Nimrods: A Green Day Comedy (2026)
Fixed (2025)
Unfrosted (2024)
Thelma the Unicorn (2024)
Resynator (2024)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)
Unstable (2023)
The Bubble (2022)
Spin Me Round (2022)
The Kids in the Hall (2022)
How It Ends (2021)
The Sparks Brothers (2021)
Schmigadoon! (2021)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (2020)
Mapleworth Murders (2020)
All Together Now (2020)
Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero (2019)
The LEGO NINJAGO Movie (2017)
The Little Hours (2017)
Ordinary World (2016)
Addicted to Fresno (2015)
Phantom Boy (2015)
The Smurfs (2011)
Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010)
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
Post Grad (2009)
The Promotion (2008)
EuroTrip (2004)