It’s always amazing to see a great impressionist, such as Frank Calliendo or Melissa Villaseñor, put on another persona for comedic effect. There is something magical about people who can uncover a person’s mannerisms and essence and replicate them for comedic effect.
It’s one of the oldest forms of comedy, but when done right, it’s still as entertaining as ever.
Massimo Mandato, a 24-year-old Canadian TikTokker, has devised a new way of impersonating people simply by making a face and striking a pose. The incredible thing is that, for some reason, he has the ability to look like different people, regardless of their gender or age. The magnificent thing is he can pull off their look in just a few seconds, and once you see it, you can’t unsee the resemblance.
“It’s the way that I literally look like everyone,” he opens his first video in the series. “Don’t believe me? Buckle up.” What is it about this man’s face that makes it a blank slate that can transform into just about anyone?
Let’s take a look at some of his fabulous work.
In this video, he shows us that he looks like Kendall from “Dance Moms,” Elvis Presley, Sam Smith, Gru (from “Despicable Me”) as a kid, Shane Dawson and YouTuber Dream. How in the world can he look like all those people when they don’t even look like each other?
Commenter Camille Roe asked the same thing: “None of these people look similar, but somehow you look just like every one of them.”
@massmandato tell me who else I look like☠️ #shanedawson #samsmith #dream #gru #elvis #fyp #greenscreen
After the video went viral, the commenters began asking him to do impressions of some more people they think he looks like. That led to a follow-up where he poses his face to look like Elizabeth Moss from “Mad Men,” Emma Chamberlain, Dina from “Superstore,” Ellen DeGeneres, Napoleon Bonaparte and Tobey Maguire.
[Video 2]
@massmandato Wait till the end I was shook☠️ #emmachamberlain #tobeymaguire #ellen
Again, Napoleon looks nothing like Ellen, and Tobey Maguire looks nothing like Peggy, the copywriter from “Mad Men,” so how does he look like all 4? The commenters were blown away by Mandato’s resemblance to the French emperor.
“Why are you literally Napoleon?” Vee asked in the comments. “Napoleon had me dead,” Karolastrona added. “When you zoomed out and Napoleon appeared, my eyes popped out of my head,” Michelle Lee wrote.
In this video, Mandato looks like Katy Perry, Paris Jackson, Lorde, Balloony from “Phineas and Ferb,” JoJo Siwa, British racing driver George Russell, and Lenny from “Shark Tale.”
@massmandato The list just keeps increasing😫#jojosiwa #georgerussell #lorde #greenscreen @JoJo Siwa @
Last, but not least, here’s Mandato as Dolly Parton.
@massmandato Literally how😭 #dollyparton
Even though impressionists have been working throughout human history, technology has opened up a new way for these artists to show off their craft.
Mandato isn’t just great because he poses like the people he’s impersonating. The videos flawlessly morph into a picture of the person, which is why the illusion works so well. Without TikTok, it’d be a little hard for Mandato to pull off his act. It would be interesting to see how he would present his unique talent in a live stage show.