Thompson, an Atlanta native, says his work as a teen in local theater provided valuable early training. His skills were sharpened further on the kid-centered network Nickelodeon — first as a star on the mid-’90s sketch comedy show All That and then on a little sitcom called Kenan & Kel.
“I was always very professional in the approach to this,” Thompson says. “… It was never about what this could bring me. It was always just about servicing whatever project I was doing.”
In 2003, Thompson joined SNL as the youngest cast member, and the first born after the show’s 1975 debut. Now, at 39, he’s SNL‘s second-oldest cast member.
Thompson’s one spot of controversy in 15 seasons came from a 2013 interview with TV Guide which touched on the lack of black women in the cast. He had decided he wasn’t going to play black women on the show anymore, after realizing roles like Whoopi Goldberg, Star Jones and Carol Moseley Braun were half the parts he was playing. But he says his quote about black women who audition for SNL — “they just never find ones that are ready” — was taken out of context.
“There’s not a lot of black women in improv houses that Saturday Night Live chooses from,” Thompson says, citing performance troupes like Upright Citizens Brigade and The Groundlings as pipelines for performers trained in sketch comedy and improv.
Controversy over the lack of black women, which sparked protests and analysis columns, eventually led the show’s producers to hold specific auditions. They hired Sasheer Zamata and writer LaKendra Tookes, who have both since left the show, and current cast member Leslie Jones.
Thompson also shrugs off criticism that the show tends to feature broader depictions of black people, sometimes verging on stereotypes. He says SNL performers are creating characters based on things they’ve observed, things that feel comfortable to them.
He does worry, though, about how many black artists use the N-word in their work. He’s unconvinced its pejorative meaning can be reclaimed.
“It’s just weird to hear that word come flying out of anybody’s mouth,” Thompson says. “Anybody with any kind of sense of history, it just sends chills down your spine whenever you hear it. It pushed me off of listening to a lot of my serious hip-hop stations because they just let it fly.”
SNL writer Bryan Tucker is surprised Thompson hasn’t found bigger stardom like former castmates Tina Fey, Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig. “Frankly, I often get a little frustrated that he hasn’t broken out past the SNL bubble, because I think he’s always good in whatever he is in,” Tucker says. “And he has this thing where you just like him no matter what he does, and I feel like that could translate to lots of other things.”
But Thompson doesn’t cite the work of huge stars when asked what he’d like to do next. Instead, he evokes uber-producers like Brian Grazer and J.J. Abrams. (His explanation: They make more money than most journeyman actors). A devoted husband and father, he’s less concerned with superstardom than steady, quality work. Perhaps that’s another reason he’s lasted longer than anyone else in one of the toughest jobs in show business.
Article Appeared @http://www.npr.org/2017/10/16/557572303/in-his-15th-season-at-snl-kenan-thompson-still-knows-how-to-play-it-funny