“When I got to SNL, I basically hit fast forward on my life,” Johnson says of these milestones. “I would describe it as going to the hospital thinking your wife is about to deliver one baby and it turns out to be twins.”
Johnson, who hails from Nashville, joined the cast of SNL as a featured player in fall 2021. He made a splash from his very first sketch with his impression of President Joe Biden, later going on to be the cast’s go-to Donald Trump as well. Taking his dream job involved moving to New York with his wife, who was six months pregnant at the time. Their son, Homer, was born the following January.
Johnson says that while these major changes required major adjustments, he’s made it work by compartmentalizing work and home life.
“It’s that other place where Daddy goes and it all happens in a different part of my brain,” he says. “When it’s SNL time, it’s SNL time. When it’s family time, it’s family time.”
But Johnson's family has come to visit him at the famed 30 Rock studio.
“They got to come with Daddy to work when I did The Tonight Show," he says. "Homer got to meet Adam Sandler and Jimmy Fallon.”
The comedian is quick to clarify just who the lucky ones were in that meeting.
“He’s a real cute baby and I’m not just saying that," he says. "I got to bless everybody with my little guy.”
Johnson has not, however, brought his son to his office at SNL, which he says is not the best environment for a toddler.
“The office I share with Andrew Dismukes is just covered in Nintendo controller equipment,” he says.
Dismukes, who was born in Houston, is joining him for several stops on this tour, none of them being Texas dates. This irony isn’t lost on Johnson.
“Yeah, we’re the Southern boys,” he says with a laugh. “Nobody knows how long the writers' strike is going on so maybe we’ll add more ‘JAJmukes’ dates.”
Johnson also expressed hope to do a show at a “big-ass theater” in Texas with Dismukes and fellow SNL performer and Austin native Devon Walker.
While Johnson now incorporates his Southern upbringing into his comedy, he grew up fantasizing about life outside of Tennessee, down to the mundane details.
“As a little kid in a hardcore conservative Christian environment, I just dreamed of being an NPR-tote-bag upper-middle-class liberal," he says. "I would buy a New Yorker and go to Panera just to pretend to be 35 and a professor of contemporary lit at Bard. That was my dream.”
After spending a decade as an actor in Los Angeles and now having his dream job at SNL, Johnson and his family now split their time between New York and Nashville.
“My parents are getting older, my wife’s family is there and we need help with baby," he says. "I’m remembering what I love about where I’m from.”
Like most comics, Johnson hits on many personal topics with his standup.
“Sometimes it is about becoming a fan of somebody in your own way. Even if you don’t like them. Even if you don’t want them to be president again.” – James Austin Johnson
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“This hour that I’m doing is very much my unique perspective as a Southerner who has grown up, gone to different places and reexamined my life,” he says before a pause followed by a laugh. “That’s a very pretentious way of describing what is a lot of peepee, poopoo, farts and silly voices.”
Johnson recently returned from the European leg of his tour, where he found that performing his comedy — which he describes as “very Americana” — landed differently with an international audience.
“Being silly is universal, but when you’re describing realities of school shootings … they just don’t deal with that," he says. "They got over that stuff so long ago. They made practical choices to get rid of it and their lives are better.”
He often cites megachurches and evangelical conservative culture, which he grew up surrounded by, as not being relatable to European audiences.
“I guess when I go back, I’m going to have to give a little seminar before the show,” he says jokingly. “I’ll just do a run-through of conservative American history and then maybe they’ll be able to relate to my childhood.”
But Johnson emphasizes that he doesn’t consider himself an expert on political topics and that his comedy comes from a decidedly personal angle.
“I find our democratically elected leaders funny because I just look at them as guys,” he says. “I don’t think Joe Biden is hilarious because he’s one political thing or another. I think he’s interesting because he’s a grandfather.
“Don’t let my comedy bits fool you,” he continues. “I’m a huge fan of all these people I’m talking about.”
And, yes, this includes his acclaimed Trump impression.
“Sometimes it is about becoming a fan of somebody in your own way,” he says of his unlikely muse. “Even if you don’t like them. Even if you don’t want them to be president again. Let’s find what I like about the guy. Let’s find what’s silly and highlight that.”
Johnson believes that this approach is what makes his version of Trump resonate with audiences.
“In a weird way, I was really bad at Donald Trump when I hated him,” he says.
It wasn’t until the tail end of Trump’s term, when the shock of the election had worn off, that Johnson was able to find the humor in the situation. He started posting videos on Instagram in character as Trump, weighing in on topics ranging from Pokemon to Gilmore Girls. This non sequitur spin on the polarizing president is disarmingly funny and, as a result, hard to be angry at.
“That brought people together,” he says of the reception to his character. “The side that thought he was this genius leader were like, “Oh, yeah. He does talk funny, doesn’t he?’ But the people who hated him were like ‘You’re taking down the fucking patriarchy!’”
He laughs at that idea. “I don’t think I’m doing that. I’m just being silly,” he says.
Johnson insists that despite his own beliefs, his only job is to make people laugh.
“When it comes to these huge presidential figures, people’s minds are already made up,” he says of his political material. “There’s nothing I can do in my comedy that’s going to change how a person feels about them. And that’s not what I want to do with my comedy. I really just want people to relax and have fun.”
