![]() It was kind of like they were finally ready to look for people like myself, or I had finally matured to where they felt like I didn’t have the same baby face anymore. It wasn’t necessarily a diversity thing that got me into auditioning for SNL. If this industry improvement had begun sooner, how do you think your career might have been different, if at all? There’s been this cultural shift in terms of diversity, including within the SNL cast and writers. But every cast member that comes in there, if they get the job, they’re ready to do it so they don’t need much advice. Or if I see something that I think could help a sketch, then I’ll try to voice my opinion on that, but that’s only been recent. I try to help whoever asks for help or whatever. ![]() I feel like stand-up is such a personal thing, and a lot of great stand-ups like Jerry Seinfeld kind of just spend their time talking about what bothers them, you know what I mean? It seems to be occupying a lot of their day-like, “I’m bothered by this,” or “I don’t get that.” Where a sketch is concerned, you just throw on that Superman costume, do that voice, and you know, you’re done when it’s done.Īs the person with the longest SNL tenure now, do you feel that recognition from your castmates? I guess I’m able to just go in and out of so many different things without it affecting my personal life. Why is sketch comedy your sweet spot? What is it about that format that really speaks to you? I grew up on ‘80s television sitcoms, so Different Strokes, The Facts of Life, The Cosby Show, A Different World, Family Ties, Silver Spoons, and that good stuff-just good old classic, four-camera sitcom life. What were the comedies you grew up on as a kid? As far as me getting up on stage, I didn’t really have the time to dedicate towards it. Martin Lawrence, and Dave Chappelle, and George Carlin, and Jim Carrey, Ellen DeGeneres, Bill Burr, I could just go down the list because I watch them all. I always respected Richard Pryor, and Eddie Murphy, and all those guys. Getting a glimpse at that, I kind of respected it and I didn’t want to do something that I wasn’t going to be fully committed to standing next to those guys. When I first moved to LA I was 18 years old, so I didn’t really know what the hustle of a stand-up comedian’s life was really like. I never really got up on stage until I was already on SNL and everything. I was more just a fan, going to the comedy clubs every week, just because I was a fan of stand-up. Why do you think it didn’t stick with you long-term? When you first came to LA for work on Nickelodeon, I believe you tried stand-up a little bit. It’s nothing I necessarily wanted to rush into because I didn’t want to spoil my experience there, because I think it is such an awesome job. ![]() But I’ve noticed it can stress people out. But as I’ve grown into the show, I’ve been able to relax into that kind of responsibility more and more. I just noticed that it seemed to be a very stressful position to be in when you were the go-to guy every week at the time. I’m really not necessarily introverted, I just tend to stay very chill. Do you think of yourself as an introvert? Historically you haven’t seemed to push yourself forward as the ‘star of the show’ on SNL. That would be so awesome.” Will Heath/NBC “Do a bunch of comedy and then turn into the biggest movie star ever. “I would love to take the Tom Hanks approach,” he laughs. Speaking from his home, where his family are mid-photo shoot with his brand new baby daughter, he says he’d happily stay on the show “forever,” but also has dreams of his own production company, and maybe even a crossover into dramatic film. Thompson will certainly go down in SNL history for some of the show’s best-loved sketches, like “What Up With That?” and “Black Jeopardy!”, along with his impression of Steve Harvey hosting Family Feud, and great one-offs, like playing a New York club kid singing at a funeral with Scarlett Johansson. ![]() Luke Null Isn't Returning To 'Saturday Night Live' Chicago Comic Tweets ![]()
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