Jump to content

Kenan Thompson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.100.230.4 (talk) at 01:30, 23 November 2009 (→‎Saturday Night Live). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Kenan Thompson
Thompson in November 2007
Born (1978-05-10) May 10, 1978 (age 46)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
MediumTelevision, film
NationalityAmerican
Years active1994–present
GenresCharacter comedy, Situation Comedy

Kenan Thompson (born May 10, 1978) is an American actor and comedian who is currently a cast member of Saturday Night Live. He is also known for his titular role in Fat Albert, for starring as Kenan Rockmore in the sitcom Kenan & Kel, and as a former cast member of All That. He resides in Los Angeles. He ranks at #88 on VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars. He is also a voice actor, starring in LeBron and Kobe Nike commercials with David Alan Grier and Bobb'e J. Thompson.

Biography

Early life

Kenan, the son of Fletcher and Elizabeth Ann Thompson and brother of Kerwin and Feleecia Thompson, was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He went to E.C. Glass High school, and went on to pursue his career in acting, starting as a cast member on All That, then he starred in Kenan & Kel.[1] He began acting at age 5, appearing in the school play The Gingerbread Man.[2] One of his earliest roles was as an entertainment reporter for CNN's "Real News for Kids."[3] While Kenan attended Tri-Cities High School, a Visual and Performing Arts Magnet School, he began filming his first movie, D2: The Mighty Ducks.

Film and TV career

Kenan has starred in several films including Good Burger, based on the All That sketch of the same name, and Fat Albert, in which he played the title character. He has also had supporting roles in the movies Heavyweights, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Love Don't Cost a Thing, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and Snakes on a Plane. Kenan had a recurring role on The Steve Harvey Show as Junior, with co-star Kel Mitchell. Recently, he returned to Nickelodeon for the show The Mighty B! as the voice of Rocky Rhodes.

In 2009, Thompson was a regular voice actor in the Fox cartoon series, Sit Down, Shut Up. He will voice acting principal, "Sue Sezno," who, as evidenced by her last name, always says no.[4] The series premiered on April 19, 2009.[4] Jason Bateman, Kristin Chenoweth, Will Forte, Tom Kenny, Nick Kroll, Cheri Oteri, Will Arnett, and Henry Winkler are the other main cast members.[4] Thompson provided the voice for the LeBron James puppet in Nike's MVP "Most Valuable Puppets" commercials, which were produced to be shown throughout the 2009 NBA Playoffs. Thompson also guest starred on the USA Network TV show Psych, Season 4's "High Top Fade Out" (episode 7). He played an estranged college singing buddy of the character Gus.

Saturday Night Live

Kenan Thompson returned to sketch comedy when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 2003. He was a feature player until 2005 (spanning the 29th and 30th seasons), and was promoted to repertory player at the beginning of season 31 (the 2005-2006 season). Thompson is the first cast member to be born after the show's premiere in 1975.

Thompson's recurring characters on Saturday Night Live include: Deandre Cole (a talk-show host whose entire show is an extended musical number), Barbara Birmingham (a chain-smoking nanny with outre advice on disciplining children), DJ Dynasty Handbag from MTV4's Deep House Dish, Jake Denmont (Mrs. Denmont's son on Appalachian Emergency Room), Jean K. Jean (a French Def Comedy Jam performer), Lorenzo McIntosh (a convict hired to scare juvenile delinquents that uses movie references), Oscar Rogers (a financial analyst whose only advice for solving the current economic crisis is to "fix it!"), and Virginiaca Hastings.

Thompson's celebrity impersonations include: Al Roker, Al Sharpton, Aretha Franklin, Barry Bonds, Bernie Mac, Bill Cosby (whom Thompson also impersonated on All That), Charles Barkley, Colin Powell, Don King, Emmanuel Lewis, Flava Flav, Fred Berry, Gary Coleman, George Clinton, George Foreman, James Harrison, Jennifer Hudson, Jeremiah Wright, Lil' Kim, Leslie David Baker (as Stanley Hudson), Louis Armstrong, Maya Angelou, Michael Clark Duncan, Michael Steele, Nipsey Russell, O.J. Simpson, Patti LaBelle, Plaxico Burress, Randy Jackson, Roland Burris, Sammy Sosa, Serena Williams, Sir Mix-A-Lot, Star Jones, Steve Harvey, Wanda Sykes, Whoopi Goldberg, will.i.am, William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Donovan McNabb's mother, Wilma, Reba McEntire, Boyd Tinsley and Stuart Scott.[citation needed].

In 2007, Kenan announced his plan to lose weight to play Barack Obama, but, following the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, the role was given to Fred Armisen.[5]

Filmography

Television

Film

Thompson at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con

Solo Album

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kenan Thompson.
  1. ^ Kenan Thompson Biography (1978-)
  2. ^ Kenan Thompson Biography - Yahoo! Movies
  3. ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/4/Kenan-Thompson.html
  4. ^ a b c "Sit Down, Shut Up". Fox. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  5. ^ http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/article/thompson%20slims%20to%20play%20presidential%20hopeful%20obama_1041766


Template:SNLCurrentCast

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kenan_Thompson&oldid=327389847"