Kenan Thompson finally sees himself as an important part of SNL

The New York Times

Thompson has been the "reluctant star" of Saturday Night Live over the past decade and a half, with him seeming most comfortable in key supporting roles, says Dave Itzkoff in a New York Times profile of the actor. Thompson recently celebrated two milestones: his first-ever Emmy nomination for acting, for his work on SNL, and for surpassing Darrell Hammond's record as the longest-tenured cast member. "Over a decade and a half on SNL, Mr. Thompson, 40, has grown to see himself as an integral part of this long-running entertainment franchise," says Itzkoff. "But he had to get past his deeply ingrained modesty to achieve that recalibration." Thompson says of his emergence as an SNL leading man: “I feel like there’s less pressure and stress just hitting it and quitting it. Let me get in, get my laughs and then I’m out. As far as being the guy, the star, the lead role of something, I didn’t necessarily need that. Bring me in off the bench! But to be a starter? To deal with the fact that, yeah, they need something from me every single week? I had to make that switch in my mind.” Thompson also says he has benefitted from a social shift that has led to black people attaining positions of cultural prominence, which has resulted in more black hosts coming to SNL (the show had seven black hosts last season). “It’s a progressive thing,” he says. “Back in the day, the things that they were mimicking and everybody was familiar with, was a little more one-sided. Because it was just a more one-sided world. But now the world is so open, especially New York — of course the show had to progress and be able to reflect that.” As for when Thompson will leave SNL, he says it'll happen eventually. “I would love to just stay there forever and retire on it,” he says, adding:: “It’s going to happen. It’ll be a personal, gray-hair moment: ‘That was that chapter of my life.’ You have to close it. I’m young, and I still want to do other things.”