Crossword Genius

He's not himself (12)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

impersonator

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'he's not himself' is the definition.
The answer is a person as well as being a singular noun. This is suggested by the definition.

'he's' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'he' could be 'son' and 'son' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'imperator' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for impersonator that I've seen before include "ape" , "Impressionist" , "One's often acting" , "One pretending to be another" , "Mimic" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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