# Pacino, DeNiro, Walken: Any young actor impressions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668 "2013-05-18T09:45:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/1 "2013-05-18T09:45:11Z")
I frequently hear people doing impressions of actors on radio and TV, but they all seem to be actors who were young and popular 25 to 35 years ago. Pacino, DeNiro, Walken, Woody Allen are all still done. Are their any younger actors to imitate that are distinctive enough that a lot of people would recognize right off the bat? On an slightly related note: does it freak anyone else out that Taxi Driver and Dog Day Afternoon were released almost **40** years ago? Yikes! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/2 "2013-05-18T09:49:39Z")
I’m constantly freaked out by how long ago things I remember happened. ---
**Author:** ![Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Stark\_Raven\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stark_Raven_Mad)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/3 "2013-05-18T09:59:24Z")
People (used to) do Keanu Reeves impressions pretty often. Speaking of whom - The Matrix came out in 1999 - 14 years ago. If it was a child, it’d be in 9th grade now. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![picker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/picker/32/13969_2.png) [@picker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picker)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/4 "2013-05-18T10:50:15Z")
Whoa. ---
**Author:** ![polar\_bear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ec9cab/32.png) [@polar\_bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/polar_bear)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/5 "2013-05-18T11:02:04Z")
Whoa… I remember watching The Matrix very well; very soon it will be the same age as I was when I watched it… this is all kinds of screwed up!😉 ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/6 "2013-05-18T11:02:16Z")
> [@Mesquite-oh](#): > > I frequently hear people doing impressions of actors on radio and TV, but they all seem to be actors who were young and popular 25 to 35 years ago. Pacino, DeNiro, Walken, Woody Allen are all still done. Are their any younger actors to imitate that are distinctive enough that a lot of people would recognize right off the bat? > > On an slightly related note: does it freak anyone else out that Taxi Driver and Dog Day Afternoon were released almost **40** years ago? Yikes! It’s harder now as many modern actors, including most of the great ones, do far more to change their voice and accent than in the past. To do an impression of Daniel Day-Lewis, Heath Ledger, or Leonardo DiCaprio, for example, one would have to do an impression of a particular character they were playing. ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/7 "2013-05-18T11:58:45Z")
This is insanely good [but NSfFW] [spoiler] [Aries Spears - Arnold Schwarzenegger Impression (+ Pacino vs. DeNiro in "Heat") - YouTube](http://youtu.be/_nK6SYDOTnE%5B/spoiler%5D) De Niro, Pacino, Stallone and Schwarzenegger in one bit. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/8 "2013-05-18T11:58:46Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > It’s harder now as many modern actors, including most of the great ones, do far more to change their voice and accent than in the past. To do an impression of Daniel Day-Lewis, Heath Ledger, or Leonardo DiCaprio, for example, one would have to do an impression of a particular character they were playing. So for impersonations, you want people that play pretty much the same role in everything, like Vin Diesel, Charlie Sheen, Zooey Deschanel, or Kat Dennings. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/9 "2013-05-18T12:59:46Z")
I figured there’d be a Tom Cruise impression out there, and there was: [Superhero Movie spoofing Tom Cruise Scientology clip! - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjGmZJu8OnY) ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/10 "2013-05-18T14:24:50Z")
A few impressionists attempt Jason Statham. They are all awful at it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/11 "2013-05-18T14:29:46Z")
> [@Dave\_Hartwick](#): > > I figured there’d be a Tom Cruise impression out there, and there was: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjGmZJu8OnY](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjGmZJu8OnY) Who is that? He does capture a lot of idiosyncrasies. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/12 "2013-05-18T15:13:02Z")
Howard on Big Bang Theory did a great Nicolas Cage impression. Plus some old-timers like Pacino and Walken. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/13 "2013-05-18T15:39:24Z")
Stevie Ryan of StevieTV does impersonations all the time - I’ve seen her do spot-on impersonations of Zooey Deschanel, the Jersey Shore people, Kardashians, other Reality TV people I don’t recognize, etc. I’m out of touch with who many of the people are that she impersonates, but my teens seem to know who they are. ---
**Author:** ![sco3tt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@sco3tt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sco3tt)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/14 "2013-05-18T17:25:33Z")
There’s a guy named Tris on youtube who does several impressions that Britcom fans may appreciate: here’s his take on [Richard Ayoade’s Moss character](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaakyggLUw8) from the IT Crowd, and another where he mimics [both leads from Peep Show](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfObK_cslBM) pretty well. (His rendition of Sean Nelson’s vocals at the end of the latter clip needs work though.) ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/15 "2013-05-18T17:28:58Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Howard on Big Bang Theory did a great Nicolas Cage impression. Plus some old-timers like Pacino and Walken. Andy Samberg does a recurring Nicolas Cage impression on SNL’s Weekend Update. ---
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/16 "2013-05-18T17:40:58Z")
Jay Mohr gets a lot of mileage out of Tracy Morgan. There’s someone out there that does a spot-on Paul Giamatti, but I can’t remember who, dammit. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/17 "2013-05-18T17:44:43Z")
I’ve seen Justin Timberlake and a couple of not well known (at least to me) comedians do Ashton Kutcher imitations: spastic fratboy, basically. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/18 "2013-05-18T20:04:59Z")
The cast of SNL do impressions of young actors all the time, Keanu Reeves and Tom Cruise have already been mentioned (their “appearances” on Celebrity Jeopardy with Will Ferrel are close to classic), more recently Kristin Stewart (the chick from Twilight) comes to mind. I think “everyone” has a Pacino, DeNiro, or Walken impersonation because these actors have a large body of work that has withstood the test of time, and at the same time have cultivated and maintained a unique style and presence that is easily recognized and hard to ignore. New actors, however, often change their style and mannerisms (even accents) for each role, aren’t as well known, and also aren’t as established, so poking fun at them isn’t as enjoyable. The SNL sketch I mentioned above that lampooned Kristin Stewart was spot-on and hilarious to me, but to anyone who hasn’t been forced to watch Twilight or isn’t a teenage girl it would have been meaningless. Basically, if someone says “‘You talkin’ to me? You talkin’ to me?” they’re impersonating DeNiro. If someone says “WHY…SO…SERIOUS?” they’re impersonating the Joker. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/19 "2013-05-18T20:31:57Z")
Vanessa Bayer on SNL does a reoccurring Miley Cyrus impression (and it’s totally cool). Miley was actually a guest on Vanessa’s fake Miley Cyrus show, as Justin Beiber. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668/20 "2013-05-18T20:33:48Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > If someone says “WHY…SO…SERIOUS?” they’re impersonating the Joker. Which is different from an impression of Jack Nicholson…how?😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pacino-deniro-walken-any-young-actor-impressions/658668.md?page=2)