The Daily sits down for a chat with Kenan Thompson
Kenan Thompson has been getting bigger lately. Literally. Not only did he graduate to "Saturday Night Live" in 2003, but starting on Christmas Day you can see him as Fat Albert, a role that required the use of a custom-made fat-suit.
At 26 years of age, the Atlanta native has already been in the business for ten years. Most of us remember him cutting his chops on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy show "All That"(1995), and in 1997's "Good Burger." Recently, Thompson has appeared in "Barbershop 2" (2004) and "Love Don't Cost a Thing" (2003).
With the starring role in "Fat Albert" and his work on "SNL," Thompson is establishing himself as one of the most talented young black actors today. In town last week promoting the Globe Santa charity, Thompson was able to take out a few minutes to talk with us about Fat Albert, the "SNL" stamp of approval, and the possibility of a "Good Burger 2."
TD: Do you think that "All That" prepared you for "Saturday Night Live" or is it a whole different world?
KT: Yeah, I mean it made it a lot easier - as far as dealing with the cameras and knowing how to look this way and that way. But on "SNL" you got to write, you got to bring all your ideas and I really didn't have any. I had just been acting; people give me material and I give it back to them. So now it's kind of like I have to give everything that I have, and sometimes you have nothing.
It's different because you have to match what's going on in the world with the host to make it funny and to be on by Saturday, so it's hard. Probably one of the most stressful situations I've ever seen in life. But it's only going to last a couple more years and then after that you can do whatever. The "SNL" stamp alone is maybe like a Harvard stamp. Especially in New York. I go to the club, and I'm like "SNL" and right in the door.
TD: We grew up watching you on "All That" and "Kenan and Kel" and my friends just wanted me to ask how is Kel [Mitchell]? Are you guys still friends?
KT: Yeah, we're still friends. He's good. It's funny, my girlfriend was just telling me about his show right now. She likes his new dancing show that he's doing. It's called "Dance 360°." ... We're not really working together right now because we want to establish the fact that there is a Kenan Thompson and there is a Kel Mitchell. We already know that we work really well together, so we'll always have that in our back pockets for the future.
TD: So down the road maybe "Good Burger 2?"
KT: I'd love to do another "Good Burger," personally. Everyone keeps asking me. We should have done it when we were still with Nickelodeon, but for some reason they didn't want to do it or something, and they just let our contracts run out. We didn't renew it at the time, too. It was time to go.
TD: I read that there was a nationwide search, because they [FOX] wanted to get an unknown for "Fat Albert." Did they always kind of have you in mind, or did they look for an unknown and they realized you were the best guy for the job?
KT: Yeah, I mean I was getting a lot of weird notes. Like after I would audition I wouldn't hear back from them for a while, and then they would come back to me some weeks later and have me audition again. I guess they weren't finding what they were looking for.
TD: So you didn't know what was going on, you just knew you wanted it.
KT: I wanted to have it. Fat Albert is a great role for a young black actor, a positive type of a character that has so much love. Everyone and their momma love Fat Albert. And Bill Cosby - I love Bill Cosby. I wasn't going to have nobody else be Fat Albert.
TD: Can you talk a little bit about Fat Albert and the costume? I was reading the trivia [on a "Fat Albert" poster] that you had an air conditioned trailer and a special chair.
KT: [Laughing] Yeah, you know, they promised me all this stuff like they were going to have this cooling vest that was going to keep my body temperature low. They were lying, lying. ... Yeah, in the Fat Albert suit I was sweating. I lost like 20 or 30 pounds, just from sweating. But I put it right back on during Thanksgiving, so it's all good.
TD: Any chance for a Pierre Escargot [Kenan's signature character from "All That"] movie?
KT: [Laughing] Yeah, I mean Nickelodeon has the rights to all those characters so I'd probably have to go beg and plead to use them and put it out. But, I think there's room for characters like that. Especially on "SNL" because we do stuff like that. So we'll get to it, if we have time.
