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Fred Armisen on failed Elisabeth Moss marriage: 'I was a terrible husband'

"Portlandia" and "Saturday Night Live" star Fred Armisen was nothing if not frank during his Jan. 3 interview with (equally frank) Howard Stern. The two covered quite a bit of ground during the radio interview and among the topics was Armisen's brief marriage to "Mad Men" star Elisabeth Moss. The two knew each other for a year before marrying, and of their union, which lasted less than a year, Arm
Fred Armisen.
Fred Armisen.Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images file / Today

"Portlandia" and "Saturday Night Live" star Fred Armisen was nothing if not frank during his Jan. 3 interview with (equally frank) Howard Stern. The two covered quite a bit of ground during the radio interview and among the topics was Armisen's brief marriage to "Mad Men" star Elisabeth Moss. The two knew each other for a year before marrying, and of their union, which lasted less than a year, Armisen told Stern, "I was a terrible husband."

"I want it all -- fast ... I want to be married," Armisen said. "The amount of girls I’ve lived with -- right away -- and then somewhere around a year, two years, I get freaked out. Freaked out emotionally ... and I actually feel like, 'oh my god, who is this stranger in my house?'"

Armisen's comments come months after his ex wife broke the ice about the demise of their marriage. In an interview with Page Six magazine in March 2012, Moss said, "It's so hard to talk about ... One of the greatest things I heard someone say about him (Armisen) is, 'He's so great at doing impersonations. But the greatest impersonation he does is that of a normal person.' To me, that sums it up ... And I think that's ... that's it. I've never told anyone that. And I don't want to waste any more of my life talking about it."

Speaking of impersonations, another change that came for Armisen in 2012 as that he was no longer impersonating President Barack Obama on "Saturday Night Live" -- a role he played since the 2008 presidential campaign. "It's not like breaking news, it's a discussion with ("SNL" executive producer) Lorne Michaels," Armisen explained.

And when it was decided that Jay Pharoah would take over the Obama role, Armisen was completely cool with it. "I get to do so much on that show. They let me do the craziest most experimental things," Armisen said. "I trust what the show is. So it feels nice to hand it over and say, 'yeah, great, whatever works best for the show' ... I loved doing it and it was fun, and for some reason it's fun not doing it. It's great to see it change over. "

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