Kenan Thompson is an African American actor and comedian born May 10, 1978, in Atlanta, who began his television career as a teenager on Nickelodeon’s All That. He and Kel Mitchell went on to Kenan & Kel in 1996, where Thompson played Kenan Rockmore through 2000 while still working on All That, and the two carried their Good Burger sketch from the show to a 1997 feature film. A generation of children met Thompson through those characters before he ever appeared on late-night comedy.
Thompson joined Saturday Night Live in 2003; by the time of his 2022 Hollywood Walk of Fame honor, he was the show’s longest-serving cast member, and he has since extended the record further, with his 23rd season on the program marking another first in the show’s history. The Television Academy records five Emmy nominations for his work there. His SNL characters include Diondre Cole in What Up With That and Darnell Hayes in Black Jeopardy. In 2018, he received an Emmy for original music and lyrics for the SNL song Come Back, Barack. He also starred in and executive produced the comedy series Kenan, and in 2022 he hosted the 74th Emmy Awards ceremony.
Speaking to Blackfilm in 2004 about Fat Albert, Thompson valued the experience of working with other young performers and described the early calls and effort behind the production.
