Jay Pharoah

Jay Pharoah, born Jared Antonio Farrow, joined the cast of "Saturday Night Live" (NBC 1975- ) as a featured player in 2010, ascending to the main cast in 2012. The lanky 6'2" actor assumed the mantle of playing President Barack Obama from the departing Fred Armisen that same year. A gifted mimic, Farrow also impersonated celebrities including Kanye West (in a recurring sketch opposite Nasim Pedrad as West's girlfriend Kim Kardashian as the hosts of the morning talk show "Waking Up with Kimye"), Ice-T, Will Smith, Tracy Morgan, Samuel L. Jackson and Dennis Rodman. His highest-profile original character was Principal Frye, the twitchy headmaster of a violent public high school whose announcements at school functions become increasingly agitated.

The Virginia native's first movie appearances came with small roles in the comedies "The Cookout 2" (2011) and "Lola Versus" (2012), followed by more substantial roles in the Ice Cube/Kevin Hart buddy comedy "Ride Along" (2014) and Chris Rock's romantic comedy "Top Five" (2015). He also appeared in a voice role in the animated comedy "Sing" (2016). Throughout his career, Pharoah also worked frequently as a stand-up comedian. In August 2016, it was announced that Pharoah would not be returning to "Saturday Night Live" for a seventh season.