Comedy, Impersonations, and More with Jonathan Kite

Have you ever tried to impersonate your favorite celebrity? Mimic their voice, their mannerisms, their patterns of speech? For the average American, impressions are often a swing and a miss, something to laugh about with your friends, and then forget. For actor Jonathan Kite, however, impersonating other people and adopting different accents is just another part of his career. A Chicago native, Kite has guest starred on TV shows such as Wizards of Waverly Place, Raising Hope and American Dad. Since 2011, however, Kite has found a home playing a cook from Ukraine on CBS’s half-hour comedy 2 Broke Girls, starring Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs.

In addition to acting on the silver screen, Jonathan Kite has a burgeoning career as a stand-up comic. With live performances at the Laugh Factory and a new comedy special in the works, Kite’s career is constantly growing. FINE Magazine spoke with the actor about his humble beginnings, comedic stylings and top tips for making a career out of impersonating others.

How did you prepare for your role as Ukranian chef Vanko Oleg Golishevsky on CBS’s 2 Broke Girls?

I knew the [Ukranian] accent because I grew up with those people. Most of my friends had first generation parents [originally from Ukraine], so we would always do impersonations of them for fun. I spent a lot of time with them growing up, so the role as Vanko sort of came naturally.

You partnered with BuzzFeed to do "9 Celebrity Impressions,"—including an impersonation of President Donald Trump—which now has over 8 million views on Youtube. How do you mimic other people and create such vivid impersonations?

Honestly, it’s different for everybody. I like to think of an angle or hear something I want to talk about. I’ll watch videos to get their mannerisms down. [Prior to the BuzzFeed video], I actually created my Trump voice impression before he even thought of running for President, and it was a last minute addition for the video.

What are your favorite type of acting roles?

Variety is key in any great career. I love living in LA because of the variety it has to offer. I also love doing stand-up because it’s me and it comes naturally, but at the same time, I love voice over [jobs] because it’s learning new terms and challenging myself to portray a character I’m not necessarily "acting" out.

You just filmed your first stand-up comedy special that’s in the process of being produced. What feelings did you have during filming?

I haven’t done stand-up [for] that long, but I wrote it on the road really quickly. Writing stand-up is a lot more [work] than people think. It’s very difficult to switch gears from reading an already written script to actually writing one, and I’m used to doing scripted performances all week long. It was challenging, though I loved the challenge. I tried something new: storytelling.

[With stand-up], you have to ask yourself, "Do you have good enough material to keep people’s attention for an hour?" Aside from writing my material, I also had to produce and be in charge of light and sound. So, to answer your question, I didn’t even have time for feelings!

What can you tell readers about the stand- up special?

It’s my Back-to-School Special shot at my old high school back in July. It’s a combination of different material. My old high school was an important and special place to film in because it was the place where I developed. It was only right to film my special there and get to see all of my old teachers and classmates. I had a blast going back. Sometimes, people feel that you can never go home, but it worked out excellently and [the show] was sold out! I’m excited for the release.

What is one solid piece of advice you can give to anyone trying to break into the comedy or acting world?

Find what you do the best! Find it and work on it until you have it [down] 100 percent. It can be really hard to find what you’re good at, but once you do, you will always have that as your identity.

Also, make a name for yourself and stick with your strengths. People get so lost with ideas they eventually give up on because they’re not putting their focus on one idea at a time. You can do every idea, but what successful people did first helped them [complete] the next idea, and then the idea after that. For me it was comedy; I loved the idea of telling jokes as a kid, in class and in youth groups, and I owned that.

It’s like a tree: the branches and leaves can’t grow without a strong foundation—or root, in the tree’s case. Once you have a solid root, there’s no limit to how big your tree can grow or how far out your branches can stretch.

2 Broke Girls is available to stream on Amazon and iTunes. Follow @jonathankite for more information about the CBS series and his stand-up comedy. 

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