Video: Jay Pharoah's first appearance on SNL as Will Smith

Posted to: Celebrity Chesapeake Entertainment
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The Virginian-Pilot
© September 26, 2010

Chesapeake native Jared “Jay Pharoah” Farrow appeared on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live last night impersonating Will Smith.

The 22-year-old grew up as Farrow in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake, honing his comedic skills in local comedy clubs and as a drama student at Indian River High School.

Pharoah is one of the youngest featured players ever hired for “SNL,” and he has gained a name for being an impressionist, nailing actors and comedians like Chris Tucker and Eddie Murphy.

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Great! Hope the young man go

Submitted by betti on Sun, 09/26/2010 at 9:42 pm.

Great! Hope the young man go on and make a lot of money like the other SNL people did..

pretty good

Submitted by jep23 on Sun, 09/26/2010 at 8:12 pm.

I thought it was a great satire of Will Smith. He's always energetic and just an all-around funny guy. I'm looking forward to seeing Jay's new skits on SNL as other celebs.

Great Start

Submitted by KLM on Sun, 09/26/2010 at 6:21 pm.

I thought Jay did a great job. I'm so excited to have someone from Hampton Roads on SNL, and I can't imagine how nervous Jay must have been last night. He's young, he doesn't have a lot of experience, and the impersonation he did required a lot of camera time for just him -- it wasn't one of those scenes where a bunch of people are acting together. He'll get better and more comfortable the more practice he has at SNL, but I was excited to see that he made it on the first episode.

He might not sound like him,

Submitted by joebarnes on Sun, 09/26/2010 at 2:21 pm.

He might not sound like him, but he did act like him.

Are there two Will Smith's out there.

Submitted by donvabeach on Sun, 09/26/2010 at 1:22 pm.

I thought that Jay's impersonation was harsh, loud, and not in keeping with the thoughtful, intelligent Will Smith that I've seen on various TV talk shows.

One more WHOOOOO! and I would have changed the channel.