I support the homies, like Mike Jay and Hannibal Buress. And I listen to Comedy Central Radio in the car.
— Kenan Thompson
I never really try to over-promote myself; I never have.
I want to open an eye or two about what being an actor is really like because it's not all red carpets and photo shoots. It's like trying to get that job and going from job to job.
I guess I was just a young, fun-loving kid! Me and my older brother was always quoting 'Coming to America,' 'Spies Like Us,' '48 Hours,' and all those movies, just having fun amongst ourselves.
I used to go trick-or-treating all the time. When I was young we had the plastic mask with the rubber band that would cut your face, and you couldn't breathe and it was really sweaty! I had the Incredible Hulk and Spider-Man. I used to love the Incredible Hulk, and then one year I had the great idea to be Mr. T, and that was an awesome costume too.
As far as my sketches, I've always loved 'What's Up With That.' It's just a whole lot of fun, and I love 'Black Jeopardy,' too. Any kind of host capacity, I'm usually pretty good at.
I'm very happy here at 'SNL.' I've never been in a hurry to leave because it's such a special place. It's never the same when you leave and come back.
It's just a challenge doing live television every week; you know, it's a challenge to come up with new material every week and stuff like that and try to keep it current, you know what I mean? Like, it's just, you know, it's a kind of a stressful environment.
I'm a fan of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, and all these people. If I could end up like Jonah Hill, winding up in a Brad Pitt movie, that would be awesome.
Never thought I'd be a bobble-head, but little did I know.
I was always pretty funny with my friends.
I want to get into producing and writing more for myself - setting up my own films and seeing what kind of personal touch I can put on movies, as opposed to just being in them.
It's nice to predict your schedule, especially with a child. It's nice to have work and be in a stable place, which isn't always easy for actors.
I just try to deliver the laughs every time I get the opportunity.
There's a lot of theaters in New York. You can always go out and be around a lot of like-minded comedians.
I don't know what to do with babies.
Comedy is here to bring joy to the world, whether you want to hear the curse words or not.
'SNL' has kind of been like my school.
I wish we could just pick up and do 'Kenan & Kel: The Grown-Up Years,' getting everyone back working together. I feel like it would be an awesome moment for everybody.
I'm silly. I can't help it.
I'm a happy person, and I want everybody else to be happy. Nothing wrong with that.
I always just want to do non-typical voices for some reason.
I was a good student in school.
I owe a lot to Nickelodeon.
I don't necessarily have a traditional stand-up set.
I'm very friendly. I get along with people.
When I started acting, doing theater stuff at a young age, I was always the comic relief-type roles, so I knew I had a funny bone and could make groups of people laugh, but I didn't really take it seriously until I started getting paid on a weekly basis; then I was like, 'Oh, well, this could be a lifestyle.'
It's just cool to witness talent.
I never did standup before. It just looked like it was really hard, looked like there was like up days and down days - and I'm too emotionally unstable for that. I need to always be funny and always be loved.
I started working right away as a kid, so I didn't have a chance to go to improv school or anything like that; I was already a working actor.
Leaving Nickelodeon was definitely an adjustment. Because then, it was back to the real world of, 'Now I'm an adult looking for a job,' as opposed to a kid that's getting introduced to all these people like, 'Look how cute this little kid is. Don't you want to put him on your show?'
I've always just tried to continue to be a working actor and let the work speak for itself as opposed to promoting myself as someone who needs to be in everybody's living room.
Kids have awkward moments.
My immediate family is real close-knit.
There's a lot of pressure on kids, period, just to be successful in life.
