https://www.vulture.com/2019/01/ron-funches-kenan-thompson-snl-underrated-interview.html
Why Kenan Thompson Is the Most Underrated SNL Cast Member Ever
By Erik Abriss
Kenan Thompson on SNL. Photo: NBC
Jan Hooks used to refer to Phil Hartman as “The Glue.” As a Saturday Night Live cast member from 1986–1994, Hartman discovered that the most effective way to separate himself from the rest of the herd was by binding the herd together. Even if he didn’t possess the showy, singular standout star factor of some of his castmates at the time, Hartman’s rare gift of selflessness shined through when he was being that adhesive to the ensemble, tapping into his own strengths as a performer by highlighting those of his co-stars and volleying that energy between himself and them.
Kenan Thompson is Hartman’s heir apparent, and not just because they both performed in sketches as two wildly eccentric chefs. As the longest-running cast member in SNL history (he’s performed through three different presidential administrations!), Thompson has spent the last 15 seasons cracking the code to cutting through the comedic Gordian knot of what it takes to elevate any and every sketch he’s in. He can button a scene together even when he’s just a peripheral player or, if he’s center stage, acts as the gravitational force that helps the other stars align. Thompson is both a great actor and reactor, delivering fully lived-in, meticulously crafted impressions (Whoopi Goldberg, Steve Harvey), absurdist original characters, or the perfect wordless cutaway glance with equal vigor. And his castmates bounce off of both to enhance their own performance … if they’re not too busy breaking because of him. He’s like Kobe Bryant if Kobe Bryant were also the consummate team player.
Thompson’s sketch-comedy credentials precede the Studio 8H stage. As one of the breakout stars of Nickelodeon’s sketch series All That, Thompson went on to create some of the more memorable — and dare I say timeless — characters that transcended just the kids’ corner of popular culture. So popular, in fact, that he and co-star Kel Mitchell were handed both a spinoff movie and spinoff show thanks to the Zeitgeist-y vein they were able to tap into. Thompson was fortunate enough to break the cruel and callous curse that befalls many child actors and pivot into films, television, and sketch comedy for adults, landing a coveted repertory-player spot on SNL in 2003. And while he still manages to dip out and make the occasional but always hilarious appearance in a film or TV show (or be the face of a massive commercial campaign), his primary, enduring home remains on that collaborative stage at 30 Rock.
Comedian Ron Funches has admired Thompson’s generous comedic spirit since the latter was a child actor on All That, and he continues to sing his praises to this day. Funches, whose first hour-long special, Ron Funches: Giggle Fit, premieres tonight on Comedy Central, imbues his comedy with a similar warmth and silliness, and he’s looked to Thompson’s 25-year-long career as an inspiration and guiding light for his own. While Funches is a proper stand-up, he, too, has leapt from film to TV to, yes, even sketch comedy in similar fashion. With Giggle Fit set to introduce him to a much wider audience and earn him an even larger following than he already has, Funches decided to hop on the phone and celebrate a comedy comrade who deserves far more mainstream love.
What’s an adjective you’d use to describe the type of career Kenan Thompson has had as an underrated person in comedy?
The main word I would say is consistency. I feel like Kenan is my generation’s Regis Philbin. He has been on television as long as I’ve been aware of television. By the time I was old enough to watch stuff, as I grew up watching Nickelodeon and All That, he’s just been on TV. He’s never been offTV. Now that I am in the business of entertainment, to know just how fukking difficult that must have been — as a black chubby nerd just surviving at making it year after year on television, to get up and do the occasional movie, survive being Fat Albert, and then go on and still be the best sketch member on Saturday Night Live, currently for sure, and he’s in the top ten, maybe top five all-time — is just an amazing feat. It’s a level of accomplishment that I don’t think I hear anyone talking about enough. He just now got a pilot on NBC. Just now!
It took 13 seasons for Kenan to get an Emmy nomination for his work on SNL, and he finally won his first one last year, which is crazy to think about. What would you say his best asset is as a comedic performer?
He is the best at faces. And people who work at Saturday Night Live have backed this up for me! I did an interview with Bobby Moynihan, and he says that they have numbers for Kenan’s faces. They’ll say, like, “We need a 36,” and then a 36 in a “Californians” sketch is different from him doing the 36 as Whoopi Goldberg. And he’s just been at it for so long, he can just dial them up. He can make a sketch that I don’t care about at all likable enough for me to get through. Then he’s been involved in these other sketches that mean a lot to me, especially as a black performer.
Is there a sketch that features Kenan you’d say was particularly foundational to your sensibilities?
The recurring sketch of “What’s Up With That?” It was just a perfect send-up of old BET shows and where some black entertainment was at that time, which was defined by being all catchphrases and being silly and stupid and there being no content. It ended up being a dumb running sketch that had a very smart message. Kenan played the host, who’d always find a way to burst into song and cut off his guests. At the time, I was not enjoying what I was watching on other shows from those types of networks. So to see someone poke fun at that with such an inspired performance made me realize there are other people like me who think that it’s stupid. That really helped me when I was younger.
Kenan really is the ultimate utility player in the tradition of Phil Hartman — the Everyman who is always committed to the character and in service of the ensemble. Do you think because of this he often gets overlooked when people discuss the all-time SNL greats?
Yeah, I think that’s exactly what does get him overlooked. It’s that thing where you’re so good at everything that people can take it for granted. There are certain performers, like Jimmy Fallon … let’s just be honest about Jimmy Fallon. For the most part, in sketches, he was not good. He was just kind of there. Then occasionally he would bat it out of the park, or he would look at the camera and break, and it was memorable. That’s why people will say Jimmy Fallon was wonderful on Saturday Night Live. But when you back it up with the stats, he doesn’t have that body of work. His run on the “Weekend Update” desk was not the one that people remember the most. It’s just that when he swung hard, he hit home runs. With Kenan, he’s the guy who constantly gives you doubles and triples.
