Kenan Thompson, better known for being a cast member of “Saturday Night Live” and an unfortunate patron at Good Burger, is trying his hand at teaching. Later this fall, Thompson is teaming up with NBCUniversal and Comcast Xfinity to give a special guest lecture at a to-be-determined college.
In typical comedian fashion, Thompson plans to improvise his lecture, though it will likely include elements of what helped him rise to fame.
“I don’t know what I’m going to be talking about yet,” Thompson said in a phone interview with The Daily Free Press. “I’m going to be winging it, kind of. Having a good time, basically. I’m sure we’ll touch on comedy and ‘Saturday Night Live’ at some point.”
The fact that Thompson is deliberately choosing to speak at a college campus is notable, considering the comments that notable comedy figures have made the past few months.
In June, comedian Jerry Seinfeld made headlines for saying that he stays away from college campuses because “they’re so PC [politically correct].” Though he wasn’t commenting on comedy routines, President Barack Obama also briefly criticized politically correct college students earlier this month by saying that they are too “coddled” from opposing viewpoints.
Around the same time as President Obama made his comment, Sarah Silverman supported college students and said, “You have to listen to the college-aged because they lead the revolution. They’re pretty much always on the right side of history.”
Thompson voiced a similar opinion to Silverman, though he looked to technology as a way for the younger generation to learn about opposing views.
“It sounds like they [Seinfeld and President Obama] are not really in touch with young people,” Thompson said. “Young people watch YouTube as much as whoever else is around. So I think they’re aware of dissenting opinions, for sure. Sounds like they [Seinfeld and President Obama] are not in tune with the Internet age. I’ve had no problems, I speak at colleges all the time.”
The fact that he started his career early on in life gives Thompson extra insight into the lives of the young and ambitious. After appearing in two sequels to “The Mighty Ducks,” Thompson starred simultaneously on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series “All That” and on the spin-off “Kenan & Kel” with fellow cast-member Kel Mitchell. He said that his initial realization that comedy was the right path for him occurred around this time as well.
“It’s just been a consistent path, you know?” he said. “I guess [I realized that] around the Nickelodeon days. I had fun doing ‘The Mighty Ducks’ and stuff, but those were more like teenybopper movies as opposed to comedy-driven stuff. ‘All That’ was just very straight-up comedy.”
And this path took Thompson to an entirely new level, where he was able to achieve the ultimate goal of many comedians: “Saturday Night Live.” The upcoming season of the show, which premieres Oct. 3 with Miley Cyrus hosting, will be Thompson’s thirteenth.
“It’s cool, I’ve seen a lot,” he said. “I’ve seen the tones of the show change a few different times. It’s always cool to see new talent come in and serve the show as well. It’s awesome being surrounded by so many different people all the time.”
When asked about his favorite sketch out of the ones he has been a part of, Thompson shared a repeated performance that most “SNL” fans would agree with.
“I like the ‘What’s Up With That?’ whole situation,” he said. “Probably every last one of them.”
Although he now has 12 seasons of the always-hectic “SNL” under his belt, Thompson is far from being burned out. He said he looks forward to funny and memorable moments with his cast-mates, as well as the possibility of bringing on new hosts or inviting old favorites back.
“I think it’d be cool for [Eddie] Murphy to come back and do it, and it’d be cool for Will Smith to do it,” Thompson said. “But, you know, Brad Pitt hasn’t done it and Tom Cruise hasn’t done it. Those guys would be huge. You know, Clooney, Clooney’s up there. Dave Chappelle, for sure.”
With “SNL” and raising a 15-month-old daughter to juggle, it is clear that Thompson is a busy man. However, it is his determination and ability to balance his priorities that has gotten him this far — a lesson he will likely share during his guest lecture.
“Do the work and put in the time it takes, because otherwise, there’s no way to disguise unprepared work,” Thompson said. “It’s going to be obvious who’s worked on their stuff and who hasn’t. You’ve just got to do it.”
Students can vote online through Monday for their college to be selected to host Kenan Thompson on the event’s website, which also features related videos and quizzes.
