Trump actor and improviser Anthony Atamanuik at JFL42

Shortly after Donald Trump decided to run for President, improviser and actor Anthony Atamanuik -- a veteran of UCB Theatre in New York who had worked on 30 Rock for years and wrote for and appeared in a number of other comedy television shows and specials -- was asked to do a one-off show as Trump after playing an exaggerated version of then-candidate Trump in an improv scene. That original live show led to more shows, an eventual "Trump vs. Bernie" debate tour alongside James Adomian as Bernie Sanders, appearances on @midnight and FuseTV as the character, and then after the seemingly unlikely election of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States, starring in a Trump-themed talk show on Comedy Central called The President Show. In advance of a pair of apperances as Donald Trump for this year's JFL42 in Toronto, Paul Little spoke with Atamanuik over the phone about his career before taking on the Trump character, getting into the mind of someone like Trump, his overall take on the state of politics in the United States these days, and a very early teaser about a new President Show special coming up soon.