With 22 seasons of Saturday Night time Dwell underneath his belt, Kenan Thompson has undoubtedly firmly etched his place throughout the historical past of the present. He’s appeared in numerous sketches and continues to generate his fair proportion of guffaws. Thompson has additionally notched numerous achievements as a solid member and, at this level, it truthfully seems like there isn’t rather more he really wants to perform. Nonetheless, the beloved star simply named one other “milestone” he’s but to hit, and to say it is a biggie can be an understatement.
Years in the past, Kenan Thompson surpassed Darell Hammond to change into the longest-tenured solid member within the historical past of SNL. 2022 later noticed Thompson hit different huge accomplishments, as he reached 20 seasons and hit 1,500 sketches. Additionally, he’s now a part of the fiftieth anniversary season. So what else is there for the comedic actor to do? Nicely, he may simply stay on the present endlessly. Thompson simply addressed that chance whereas talking with EW, and he, on the very least, appears intrigued by the notion of it:
I suppose the one different milestone can be simply to be the endlessly solid member. Simply by no means depart the present. I do not actually know. 30 [seasons] is like, okay, that is simply one other quantity sort of factor. 20 was simply such a factor that no person had ever executed. Folks had gotten into their teenagers earlier than, however no person had gotten all the way in which as much as 20. After which I used to be near doing it. As soon as I began stepping into 17, I used to be like, nicely, if I can, I might love to stay round until 20. And now right here we’re at 22, so I do not know.
Watching the previous Nickelodeon star on the NBC staple for all these years has actually been nice, and I really like that he’s nonetheless going. On that word, even I’ve to confess that I’m unsure simply how possible it might be for him to stay on the sequence for many years to come back. Primarily based on accounts shared by former and current solid members, engaged on the present is not any small feat for an actor of any age, and I’m unsure if the grind would get any simpler for the Kenan star as he grows older.
Regardless of all of that, I do admire Kenan Thompson’s enthusiasm. Since he joined Saturday Night time Dwell in 2003, he’s expressed optimistic ideas over being on the present and, even right now, Thompson nonetheless will get pumped for brand spanking new seasons. As he’s talked about, there are emotional downsides to being on SNL for thus lengthy, with the most important being the truth that you need to bid farewell to so many solid members. Nonetheless, Thompson simply appears to maintain on trucking. As for whether or not he’ll depart earlier than EP Lorne Michaels, although, the comedian stated this:
That is a fantastic query. I don’t know. I really feel like we’ll each simply experience till the wheels fall off.
It goes with out saying that Kenan Thompson has actually seen a few of the best moments in SNL historical past, together with a few of the strangest. From seeing Kanye West’s wild political rant to watching Morgan Wallen stroll off stage on the finish of the present, Thompson has some attention-grabbing experiences underneath his belt. I can’t say simply how for much longer he’ll maintain working at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, however I’m hopeful that each time he does depart, he’ll be capable of exit on his personal phrases and with a bang.
You possibly can take a look at new episodes of SNL after they air on Saturdays at 11:30 p.m. ET. Episodes are additionally out there to stream with a Peacock subscription.