How comedian Matt Friend went from Austin Powers impersonations as a kid to sharing his impressive imitations of Hollywood of stars

Nailing an belief of a Hollywood personage successful beforehand of nan A-lister themselves whitethorn return a batch of nervus - but for Matt Friend, there's thing much thrilling. 

Armed pinch cheeky anecdotes and spot-on impressions, nan comedian seems to beryllium everywhere. 

From reddish carpets of awesome Hollywood grant shows to podcasts pinch Bill Maher - he moreover accepted a impermanent spot astatine nan White House Correspondent's Dinner impersonating Donald Trump - successful beforehand of Joe Biden. 

But it was his speech pinch Paul Giamatti that stood retired to many, pinch nan Billions prima intelligibly taken by Friend's abilities. 

'I've been obsessed pinch him for a agelong time,' he tells DailyMail.com.

Now arsenic Friend finds his spot among nan glamour of glitzy events, he reveals it's nary mishap really he came to beryllium there. 

Friend started retired perfecting his trade among nan Chicago drama circuit - and his passion for entertaining began astatine a very young age.  

'It starts pinch making your parents laugh,' Friend says. 

He was conscionable 4 years aged erstwhile he watched Austin Powers - a movie he says was nan starting constituent of his obsession pinch comedy. 

Mike Myers' galore characters for illustration Gold Member and Dr. Evil acted arsenic a starting spot for Friend to person a spell astatine imitations. 

'I don't cognize why I was truthful drawn to it, but I was,' he says. 

'Then I conscionable started talking for illustration my grandfather, and I was trying to make my parents laugh, and my classmates laugh.' 

While studying astatine NYU, he took immoderate chance he could get to immerse himself successful nan world of comedy, 

'I was very obsessed and focused, it became my extra-curricular activity,' he says. 

It wasn't earlier agelong he recovered his efforts were paying off. 

'I would spell to people and past I'd spell to an unfastened mic, and I was getting a sanction for myself. 

'I was getting paid spots successful nan drama clubs while I was still successful schoolhouse - and, I was emotion nan momentum build and past erstwhile nan pandemic hit, I'm sitting astatine location pinch my parents, and my sister and I was for illustration "what do I do?"' 

One thought he had was to create a mini precocious nighttime talk show he called 'Quarantime'. 

Producing much than 50 episodes of nan sketch show, he wrote a topical speech and conducted interviews which proved to beryllium a awesome imaginative exercise. 

But it was pivoting to societal media that really changed his life and opened doors.

During nan pandemic, Jimmy Kimmel started talking astir his impressions connected nan air, which triggered a activity of media interest, including getting a spot connected Hoda and Jenna. 

'I did a spot pinch them and past each these media appearances started to hap and my pursuing was starting to build,' he says. 

From there, each this 'crazy stuff' started to hap aft he graduated college. 

The snowball intensified erstwhile Friend recovered himself connected nan Golden Globes' reddish carpet earlier this twelvemonth wherever he came face-to-face pinch nan likes of Nicholas Cage, Austin Butler, Mark Ruffalo and nan infamous infinitesimal pinch Giamatti, daringly mimicking their iconic voices pinch uncanny accuracy to nan amazement of his subjects. 

Friend was gutted to person missed Giamatti connected nan carpet - but erstwhile he saw an opening, he took it. 

'I sewage him 2 minutes aft he won his Golden Globe for his domiciled successful The Holdovers, it had conscionable happened, truthful he was very happy,' Friend says. 

While nan impressions do return work, Friend says it's not thing he sits down and rehearse arsenic personification mightiness believe a violin.  

'It conscionable benignant of happens, I watch a batch of nan movies, I publication a batch of nan books, I watch a batch of shows,' he explains. 

'I'm very up to day pinch what's happening successful popular civilization and authorities and arsenic a consequence of that, I conscionable benignant of perceive nan voices of nan characteristic and past I conscionable commencement doing it. I couldn't show you it's a process, I don't beryllium down and practice, it conscionable benignant of happens.' 

When Howard Stern sewage upwind of Friend taking connected his acquainted tones, he liked what he saw truthful overmuch he invited Friend connected his show. 

His opportunities person since included doing voices connected deed animation shows he grew up idolizing for illustration The Simpsons and Family Guy - nan second of which meant getting to meet nan series' creator Seth MacFarlane.

Outside of confidently sparring pinch A-listers to create entertaining clips, passim nan twelvemonth Friend's occurrence has continued - astir precocious sharing his Donald Trump impersonation pinch nan Emmy Awards.  

Amid nan manufacture perks, he continues to build up his hr of stand-up, which he says includes much than nan impressions. 

'There's a batch of stories, I've had a batch of encounters pinch celebrities but really getting known for gathering nan group that I really do an belief of, truthful I person a batch of really funny,' he says. 'I'm conscionable hustling constantly.'

While nan praise has been consistent, Friend says it's a matter of difficult activity paying disconnected and having nan religion successful himself.  

'I deliberation it's not quality to opportunity that you're truthful confident, that you've sewage this, nary 1 really knows anything, each I tin power is nan activity that I put into what I do. 

'I activity difficult and nan things I'm doing is wholly insane but I deliberation luck is created by activity and I'm very humbled and grateful for each nan opportunities that are coming my measurement and things that I'm doing but astatine nan aforesaid time, they're not happening if you're not putting yourself retired there.

'Every time I conscionable effort to do arsenic overmuch arsenic I can. You person to person aforesaid belief to get connected a shape successful beforehand of strangers, you don't cognize if it's going to activity - it's almost a illusion this self-belief, for illustration "is this joke going to work?" but you person to judge successful yourself.'