Quotes & Sayings About Impersonation

I regret to say that during the first act of this, I fell so soundly asleep that the gentleman who brought me piled up a barricade of overcoat, hat, stick, and gloves between us to establish a separation in the eyes of the world, and went into an impersonation of A Young Man Who Has Come to the Theater Unaccompanied. — Dorothy Parker

In a room full of journalists someone would already be doing an impersonation of the Robot Man. We'd also make fun of the smarmy host, who is a bit like Tom Bergeron, host of Hollywood Squares, America's Funniest Home Videos, and Dancing with the Stars, only cheesier, which is remarkable because Tom Bergeron is already the gold standard of cheesiness, and yet here is this total amateur, this complete unknown, blowing Bergeron away. — Dan Lyons

I reflected how easy it is for a man to reduce women of a certain age to imbecility. All he has to do is give an impersonation of desire, or better still, of secret knowledge, for a woman to feel herself a source of power. — Anita Brookner

That smile on Stive Jobs face ... My impersonation came from being a fan. — Fred Armisen

MAURY: What is a gentleman, anyway? ANTHONY: A man who never has pins under his coat lapel. MAURY: Nonsense! A man's social rank is determined by the amount of bread he eats in a sandwich. DICK: He's a man who prefers the first edition of a book to the last edition of a newspaper. RACHAEL: A man who never gives an impersonation of a dope-fiend. MAURY: An American who can fool an English butler into thinking he's one. MURIEL: A man who comes from a good family and went to Yale or Harvard or Princeton, and has money and dances well, and all that. MAURY: At last - the perfect definition! Cardinal Newman's is now a back number. — F Scott Fitzgerald

Was he, after all, really a bad man doing a brilliant impersonation of an idiot? It was hard to tell. The connections between stupidity and malice were so tangled and so dense. — Edward St. Aubyn

If you try to do a look-alike and an impersonation, then that's just not conducive to good drama. — Julian Jarrold

Acting per se, like all art, is a process of abstracting, of retaining only significant detail. But in impersonation any detail can be significant. — Robert A. Heinlein

I've got to tell you, I've played real characters before and people always bring up this word 'impersonation,' and I'm never entirely sure what it means. — Toby Jones

...Again I say it, therefore walk, and be merry;
walk, and be healthy; walk, and be your own master! walk, to enjoy, to observe, to
improve, as no riders can! walk, and you are the best peripatetic impersonation of
holiday enjoyment that is to be met with on the surface of this work-a-day world! — Wilkie Collins

I pretended I was a Kez colonel pretending to be an Adran colonel," Olem said. "It was disturbingly easy."
"They didn't ask for papers or proof?"
"In this rain?" Olem gestured at the downpour. "You don't understand an enlisted man, sir. Nobody asks for bloody papers in this kind of weather. — Brian McClellan

I'm so sorry, I forget to introduce m'self. Cleo, shat for Cleopaitra, cause m' daddy always said I look like an Egyptian princess. And ya are?"
"Not as happy to meet you," he said. — Elle Klass

Literature isn't a moral beauty contest. Its power arises from the authority and audacity with which the impersonation is pulled off; the belief it inspires is what counts. — Philip Roth

I think impersonation is a great art. It's something that I enjoy doing, in a frivolous and lighthearted way. But I don't flatter myself to think I'm an impersonator. — Andrea Riseborough

You said,' Camille protested, 'that when you wanted to get on terms with Gabrielle you cultivated her mother. It's true, everybody saw you doing it, boasting in Italian and rolling your eyes and doing your tempestuous southerner impersonation. — Hilary Mantel

I love doing impersonations of people. — Benedict Cumberbatch

Ewan McGregor stars as Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, again doing a fine Alec Guinness impersonation but otherwise seeming lost and alone in the galaxy as the one actor attempting to give a real performance in this mess. — Stephanie Zacharek

Hey, how 'bout those Cubs'"-the bad male impersonation was back-" 'let's play some golf, smoke some cigars. Here's my penis, there's yours-yep, they appear to be about the same size-okay, lets's do some deals. — Julie James

Satan
the impersonation of that mixture of the bestial, the malignant, the impious, and the hopeless, which constitute the fiend
the enemy of all that is human and divine. — Anna Brownell Jameson

In every film, whether it's a fictional character or not, you create an idea of the character and for me I always do a bad impersonation to start with. — Joaquin Phoenix

Sanity involves a certain measure of impersonation, not simply for the benefit of husband and servants but for the sake, first and foremost, of one's own convictions. — Michael Cunningham

I wasn't under the impersonation you meant me. — Jane Ace

I think there's a certain objectivity that comes from being Canadian. You're partly British and partly American; you have a good bird's-eye view of both countries. So much of the comedy that comes out of Canada is impersonation - it's less 'look at me' than it is 'look at me playing other people.' — Eric McCormack

Imagine you are a machine.

Yes, I know. But imagine you're a different kind of machine, one built from metal and plastic and designed not by blind, haphazard natural selection but by engineers and astrophysicists with their eyes fixed firmly on specific goals. Imagine that your purpose is not to replicate, or even to survive, but to gather information.

I can imagine that easily. It is in fact a much simpler impersonation than the kind I'm usually called on to perform. — Peter Watts

Mr.Nobley had entered the room before he noticed her. He groaned.
"And here you are. Miss Erstwhile. You are infuriating and irritating, and yet I find myself looking for you. I would be grateful if you would send me away and make me swear to never return."
"You shouldn't have told me that's what you want, Mr. Nobley, because now you're not going to get it."
"Then must I stay?"
"Unless you want to risk me accusing you of ungentlemanlike behavior at dinner, yes, I think you should stay. If I spend too much time alone today, I'm in real danger of doing a convincing impersonation of the madwoman in the attic."
He raised an eyebrow. "And how would that be different from
"
"Sit down, Mr. Nobley," she said. — Shannon Hale

The powers and principalities would hold less sway over our lives if we refused to collaborate with them. But refusal is risky, so we deny our own truth, take up lives of "self-impersonation," and betray our identities.2 — Parker J. Palmer

More and more, it feels like I'm doing a really bad impersonation of myself. — Chuck Palahniuk

One of the adults does his best impersonation of a DJ, and when encouragement doesn't work,he demands that everyone form a circle on the dance floor to do the hokey pokey. However, ten seconds into the dance, he suddenly realises how ill advised it is for ex-tithes to be putting various body parts in and out. — Neal Shusterman

Also found my posts on the Red Sox message boards. I got news for you, pal: I don't post dumb bullshit. Your impersonation attempts aren't going to fly. Everyone who knows me knows that when I post, I post gold. They also know that I don't give a damn about mystery cults, Sinai, or the Amalekites, fun as all that sounds. — Joshua Ferris

It's really weird seeing someone impersonating you. But at the same time, Vic Reeves' impersonation of me is one of the highlights of my life. — Rick Astley

I've been a Danish prince, a Texas slave-dealer, an Arab sheik, a Cheyenne Dog Soldier, and a Yankee navy lieutenant in my time, among other things, and none of 'em was as hard to sustain as my lifetime's impersonation of a British officer and gentleman. — George MacDonald Fraser

Why try to be someone you're not? Life is hard enough without adding impersonation to the skills required. — Robert Breault

So far Kat has been through all the Wa's she could think of, but Hale hadn't admitted to being Walter or Ward or Washington. He'd firmly denied both Warren and Waverly. Watson had prompted him to do a very bad Sherlock Holmes impersonation throughout a good portion of a train ride to Edinburgh, Scotland. And Wayne seemed so wrong she hadn't even tried.
Hale was Hale. And not knowing what the W's stood for had become a constant reminder to Kat that, in life, there are some things that can be given but never stolen.
Of course, that didn't stop her from trying. — Ally Carter

There is no surer mark of a low and unregenerate nature than this tendency of power to loudness and wantonness instead of quietness and reverence. To souls baptized in Christian nobleness the largest sphere of command is but a wider empire of obedience, calling them, not to escape from holy rule, but to its full impersonation. — James Martineau

Sex was absolutely not allowed to be scheduled, at least not by explicit discussion, but I had become familiar with the sequence of events likely to precipitate it: a blueberry muffin from Blue Sky Bakery, a triple shot of espresso from Otha's, removal of my shirt, and my impersonation of Gregory Peck in the role of Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird. — Graeme Simsion

As far as I could discover, the notion that a play could succeed without any further help from the actor than a simple impersonation of his part never occurred to Tree. — Herbert Beerbohm Tree

One of the first times I ever performed in front of a big group of people was at my kindergarten graduation. I did, like, a Michael Jackson impersonation as, like, a five year old. I had the suit and blazer, the glove and the fedora, and I just performed a whole Michael Jackson song. I'm sure it was 'Smooth Criminal.' — Chance The Rapper

Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz did their best Donald Trump impersonation. All three unleashing an unprecedented string of insults and attacks fit more for a barroom than a presidential debate stage. — Chris Hayes

(Writing is) the transformation, through an elaborate impersonation, of a personal emergency into a public act (in both senses of that word). — Philip Roth

Are you afraid I'm going to kick your ass? Because you seem to be holding back," I said. Ethan's lip curled. "That's not an answer," I said, "but it is a pretty good Elvis impersonation." I gestured him forward with a crooked finger. — Chloe Neill

Characterization requires self-knowledge, insight into human nature ... it is more than impersonation. — Leon Surmelian

Usually, impersonations come out of something you dig, because you're listening to it over and over. And you kind of start developing ... You're really trying to emulate them, then you realize, 'I sound ridiculous doing this. Oh, hey, maybe this is a funny impersonation.' — Alex Borstein

Inari screamed and swung her stake, but her Buffy impersonation wasn't any better than mine. — Jim Butcher

Channing does a very good impersonation of men at female strip joints. — Channing Tatum

The spontaneous tendency to invoke a Final Cause in explanation of every difficulty is characteristic of metaphysical philosophy. It arises from a general tendency towards the impersonation of abstractions which is visible throughout History. — George Henry Lewes

I turned at this new voice, a female voice with a deep country twang. My mouth dropped open at what I saw. Dolly Parton, or a fair impersonation of her, was standing in the doorway. Big blonde hair, tiny body, enormous knockers, wearing a pink negligee set, complete with marabou feathers, even on the high-heeled slippers she wore. I realized she wasn't Dolly because she had to be my age, or maybe a year or two older. — Kristen Ashley

Dan was doing his best Ian Kabra impersonation, looking around the store as though inspecting it for cockroaches. Amy tried to turn her snort of laughter into a cough.
"Espresso?" The saleswoman materialized seemingly out of nowhere. Amy realized that the full-length mirror on the wall was actually a door.
If she were Amy Cahill, she would blush and shake her head no, just because she didn't want to cause any bother. She imagined what Natalie Kabra would do.
"Tea. Darjeeling," she said in a curt tone.
"Oh, not Darjeeling, sis," Dan said. "That's just so middle class."
"Lapsang souchong?" the saleswoman asked.
"I just adored his last collection," Dan said.
The woman's tight smile dimmed. "That's a tea. — Jude Watson

It is an article of faith with the Democrats that they must fool Americans by simulating agreement with normal people. The winner of the Democratic primary is always the candidate who does the best impersonation of an American. — Ann Coulter

So I'm to duel with a snake-hope I can manage to be a good enough impersonation of a mongoose. — Nick Bantock

The thing is', (Rufus) Stone said, 'that if you don't believe that you are an old man, or a woman, or a tramp, then how can you expect anyone else to believe you? Looking the part is just the surface; being the part is the true disguise. — Andy Lane

In front of her the cat Greebo, glad to be home again, lay on his back with all four paws in the air, doing his celebrated something-found-in-the-gutter impersonation. — Terry Pratchett

Mr. Nobley: "Then I must stay?"
Miss Erstwhile: "Unless you want to risk me accusing you of ungentleman-like behavior at dinner, yes, I think you should stay. If I spend too much time alone today, I'm in real danger of doing a convincing impersonation of the madwoman in the attic."
Mr. Nobley: He raised an eyebrow. "And how would that be different from-"
Miss Esrtwhile: "Sit down Mr. Nobely", she said. — Hale Shannon

Impersonators, with time give up hope, but great leaders imitate with discretion. — S. E. Entsua-Mensah

You end up going to school plays quite a bit as a parent, there are a lot of kids who are doing the job as well as they can, but there's always one or two who seem much more at home in the world of impersonation. — Tom Stoppard

It was scary to be in that world of politics. I felt uncomfortable to be in that discussion. The weird thing is, when Darrell Hammond or Will Ferrell or Dana Carvey did an impersonation of a president, no one assumed it was personal, but because Sarah Palin and I are both women and people think women are meaner to each other, everyone assumed it was personal. — Tina Fey