In our exclusive interview with Kenan Thompson, learn about his role in Fat Albert, letting go of the Nickelodeon roles and moving forward with Saturday Night Live and beyond. Find out what he has to say to kids who dream about show biz, who his mentor is, and where he sees himself going in the future.
FC: Hi Kenan, thank you for speaking to the FamilyCorner.com readers today.
KT: No problem, I'm glad to. Thank you for having me.
FC: Fat Albert the movie is being released on DVD March 22. It's been said that this is a great movie for families and children. What would you tell parents and kids out there that have not yet seen the film?
KT: Fat Albert came out at the holidays, it was a great time for families to spend their holiday vacation together and watch a great, wholesome flick, which is what we put out. And funny along the way!
FC: Did you have to watch a lot of the Fat Albert cartoons to prepare for the movie, or did you just go by the script?
KT: I remembered the show a little bit, from the reruns and from when I was a kid. For my own sake, I did watch them on DVD to help me get into character. It wasn't really my childhood, I kind of like, relived my parents' childhood (laughs). I did watch them, to familiarize myself with the way they talked, their attitudes and mannerisms, and things like that.
FC: During the making of Fat Albert, did you have the opportunity to work closely with Bill Cosby?
KT: Yeah! The scene we had together, we spent the whole day together, and we kind of like, rewrote that scene together. That was awesome, that was like a dream come true! He's the first comedian that I knew that I could watch as a kid, other comedians were too dirty, I couldn't watch them. But Bill Cosby, I could watch him all the time. And then, I got a role in his movie, and then I got to meet him, and then I got to be creative with him, so it was an all around great experience.
We've asked some of our readers what they would ask you if they had a few minutes of your time. Here's what some of them want to know:
FC: How old were you when you realized you had the "gift of comedy"?
KT: I think my mother saw that I had some kind of energy when I was really, really young and she put me into acting classes. I didn't realize it until I was about 12 or 13, I was just being silly, playing around, having a good time being little. Then I realized that everybody was kind of waiting to hear what I would say next and they were laughing. I started putting two and two together.
FC: Do you prefer acting in the movies over roles such as "All That" or other similar shows?
KT: It's all very different, ya know? I love TV, I like working for Saturday Night Live now, I think it's great, but I also love working on movies too. Movies only take up a couple of months, or a couple of weeks out of your life, where the TV shows are like a year round commitment. As an adult that's a good thing because ya know, the bills come year round (laughs). I like it all, I like to just keep working and making people smile and laugh.
FC: Do you miss working with Kel? Do you stay in touch with him?
KT: I do. It's funny, we just had our 10th year anniversary for the All That show. We did a special, and that's going to be coming out in mid April to Nickelodeon. I got a chance to work with everybody again, I got to work with Kel again. It was just a great time. I miss that guy, he's just very, very funny.
FC: How would you describe the transition from child actor to adult actor? Has it been smooth, or difficult? Do people still refer to you as the "Nickelodeon star"?
KT: Yeah a lot of people do, ya know, because they know me through their kids. Now that I'm growing up (laughs) it's like "Man I used to watch you with my kids". Now you can really just watch me now. You don't have to say that you were watching me with your kids, ya know? (laughs) I'm doing adult comedy as well now. It's been rough, but Saturday Night Live helps, adn the more shows we do, the more people will see that I'm growing up. While Fat Albert still keeps me in the kid set, I think it really helped people to learn my name, and that's good. I'm just along for the ride, I'm happy (laughs).
FC: Saturday Night Live seems to be a great launching point for so many celebrities; Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin, and so many more. You have the advantage of a head start with an already successful career behind you. How do you think SNL will affect your future?
KT: I think it will go hand in hand, I went there without an ego... I can work with everyone, be like a family, enjoy each others' company and comedy, and that's exactly what's been happening. I am developing relationships with people that are going to continue to work in the business, and you know, if I'm unfortunate enough to not have a job, they might throw me a bone. And that's what it's all about anyway.Try to make some history I guess, coming into their show with a track record, and try to leave there and make another one, ya know?
FC: What would you say was your favorite role of your career so far?
KT: I'd have to say Fat Albert. It was just awesome. It was my first time being #1 in the call sheet, I was all by myself on the poster, things like that. I've never had all that pressure of a movie on my shoulders before. I thought that was an awesome all around experience. I had an assistant, and stuff like that, you know, I was all grown up (laughs).
FC: Who is your mentor, and why?
KT: I had a lot of them. I still have mentors right now, but there more like close or personal friends, but they're older than I am. You just look to whoever is doing something positive in their lives that you might want to have some aspect of your life be similar to. And you can call them your mentor pretty much. So I have like a lot of them, Bill Cosby, my producer, and several others. Let's just say that I had a LOT (laughs).
FC: While I'm sure it's exciting meeting so many stars in a career such as yours, has there been anyone in particular that you've met that was overly memorable for you?
KT: That's a hard one. I've met so many now, like I've met Mike Myers and Will Ferrell, but these are like my alumni now, ya know? I can't look at them like they are super duper famous people, because they are my friends now. It's crazy. I still want to meet Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy, and some others I haven't met yet.
FC: What other projects do you currently have in the works?
KT: I have no idea, we are trying to figure out what we are going to fit in this summer while I'm off from the show, so...that's why I'm out in L.A. right now. Trying to put together some stuff.
FC: It's obvious that you have a successful career, not only as a child star, but an adult as well. Finally, I'm sure you are asked this question a lot, do you have any advice for kids wanting to get into show biz?
KT: It's always easier, I think, to start out as an actor as a kid. I honestly do. Now making the transition between child actor and adult actor, it's a tough one, but a lot of people make it through with independent films and things like that. I just think it's a lot better when you start off young. You build relationships with people that normally, you might not meet until you're 30. But as a kid, you're not 30 trying to get those relationships. It's very hard as an adult trying to break into the business. I'd say acting classes, plays at their school, performance groups, ya know, I did all that. Festivals, check out auditions in your area, things like that.
FC: Thank you so much for your time today, Kenan. It has been an absolute pleasure speaking with you and FamilyCorner is excited to be offering this fun family movie to its readers.
KT: Wonderful, thank you for having me. Enjoy the movie!
Don't miss the new Fat Albert movie coming to DVD on March 22, 2005. Be sure to enter our giveaway to get your FREE copy!
Buy Fat Albert the movie on DVD
Buy Fat Albert the animated series on DVD
BIO Courtesy of Saturday Night Live:
Kenan Thompson joined the cast of SNL as a featured player.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Thompson made his television debut as a member of Nickelodeon’s all-kid sketch comedy series "All That." He and his partner Kel Mitchell debuted in a spinoff show "Kenan and Kel" in 1996. Thompson also had a recurring role on the WB’s "Felicity."
Thompson’s feature film credits include "D2: The Mighty Ducks," "Good Burger" "Rocky & Bullwinkle" and "Heavyweights" with Ben Stiller. This year, Thompson appeared in "The Boss’ Daughter" with Ashton Kutcher and will soon be seen in "Barbershop 2."
Thompson lives in Los Angeles and New York. His birthday is May 10.
In our exclusive interview with Kenan Thompson, learn about his role in Fat Albert, letting go of the Nickelodeon roles and moving forward with Saturday Night Live and beyond. Find out what he has to say to kids who dream about show biz, who his mentor is, and where he sees himself going in the future.
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