Kenan Thompson holds the record as the longest running tenured cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” with an eye-popping 21 seasons under his belt – but, he nearly quit the show shortly after starting.
In his new memoir “When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown,” the comedian, 45, confessed that his “SNL” beginnings were “marred by a ton of rookie mistakes.”
When Thompson started on “SNL” in 2003, his confidence “sunk to an all-time low” when he “tanked” a sketch written by T. Sean Shannon called “Randy the Bellhop,” according to his book.
It was a sketch featuring fellow cast member Rachel Dratch, and guest host Alec Baldwin. Thompson would play Randy, an incompetent bellhop.
“I was excited for the first opportunity to showcase my chops on the big stage,” he said in his book. “Thing was, I couldn’t make it through dress rehearsal. I stuttered over this one line and couldn’t ad-lib my way out of it.”
According to Thompson, he “spiraled into a full-on panic” and he heard an “involuntary ‘Oh no!’” slip from “someone’s mouth.”
“If a slip up like that happened at Nickelodeon or in the movies I’d done, we could just do another take,” he said, referring to his Nickelodeon show “Kenan & Kel,” which ran from 1996 to 2001.
“At ‘SNL,’ there was a lot riding on the live performance, obviously.”
Because of his flubs, the sketch didn’t make it to air, he confessed.
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After that, the sketch writers “and every other writer avoided me like COVID,” the comedian wrote, and Thompson thought he had lost hope to “get a character of my own.”
He felt like he wasn’t doing a good job, and when his first season on the show finished, “I didn’t even think I’d be asked back,” he said. “I knew I needed to get better at writing my own characters, and prayed I’d get another season to take a stab at it.”
He said he often got “donut’ed” — industry jargon that meant “having zero airtime during a show” — and “almost quit.”
“I was like, ‘What the hell am I doing here?’ I was famous enough that people were trying to follow me off the subway, but I couldn’t get on the show,” he said, which led to “depressive feelings.”
His “turning point” came when he approached Maya Rudolph, and asked why he had been chosen.
“‘It was a no-brainer,’ she said. ‘We could tell you were ready and you’re adorable. We all said, ‘Obviously, it’s Kenan,” Rudolph said, according to Thompson.
“I fully freaked out hearing that. I literally had a seat next to one of the most talented performers I had ever seen. Her pedigree was legendary,” he said. “To be complimented by someone you admire was humbling and enlightening. I wasn’t just a kid laughing at his own jokes in front of the mirror. I’d been validated.”
Thompson has since been nominated for five Emmys for his time on “SNL,” won in 2018, hosted the ceremony in 2022, and has played countless memorable characters, including Darnell Hayes (host of the recurring “Black Jeopardy” sketch), Diondre Cole (host of the recurring “What’s Up With That?” sketch), and his impressions of celebs such as Steve Harvey and Bill Cosby.
“When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice From a Professional Clown” is now available.
