If there’s one thing that’s become apparent over the past several years, it’s that while landing a gig on Saturday Night Live can propel your career to brand new heights, the time spent working on the famed sketch show can be an anxiety-producing experience. Even though Kenan Thompson had a “very stressful” SNL audition, he seems to have shut out any recurring negativity, as he’s the longest-running cast member ever, with over 20 years under his funny belt.
But he recently opened up about having to write his own sketches when he started, and admitted that it did not usually go well.
Why Did Kenan Thompson Have Trouble Writing His Own SNL Sketches At The Beginning?
Many actors and comedians would probably love to be able to rely on a steady gig that lasts for more than two decades. However, not only is such fortune hard to come by, but it sounds like performing on Saturday Night Live for that long would make for a way too “intense” and anxiety-filled life for most (as stars like Andy Samberg have talked about).
And yet, Kenan Thompson has persisted “out of love” for what he thinks is “the greatest job in the world,” even though his start on the show wasn’t quite so easy. He recently appeared on the In My Opinion podcast with hosts Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson, and when asked to explain being able to “write yourself” when starting on the legendary comedy, said:
We write on SNL, so the best way to make yourself known there is to write for yourself in the beginning. For better or for worse you have to put yourself out there, so people can kind of see what your sense of humor is and what you’d like to focus on.
Seems simple enough, right? Except not everyone is a natural writer, much less adept at writing funny things that make great (relatively short) sketches for a live comedy show, and can also do that on a weekly basis for months at a time. Apparently, the Good Burger star did have some problems with that part of the gig. He continued:
I was lucky that I was able to balance it more with performance than writing, and I would collab-write with a lot of people, but anytime I wrote on my own it went all over the place. I have a hard time staying linear; I write based on what’s on my mind at the time. When I look back at it, I’m like, ‘Come on. This makes no sense. Martin Luther King talking to Jay-Z? That doesn’t happen. When does that happen? And where is it headed? Why?’
Man, he’s right. There are so many pieces to figure out when writing what could end up being just a few minutes of screen time, and I’d certainly never thought beyond the craziness of performing in front of millions every week.
As the Reba McEntire impersonator noted, he was already so good at being able to take whatever others gave him and turn it into comedy gold, that he could get his humor and talents across more with performing than having to come up with sketches for himself, which is lucky for all of us. I mean, with his track record of loving the job and sticking with it, Thompson just might be able to run the joint one day.
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