Transcript of Kenan Thompson

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. I talk to the amazing, kind, hilarious Kenan Thompson today, and we talk about some really fun stuff. We talk about Eddie Murphy and how important he was to both of us. We talk about learning how to ice skate and how it is hard, and Kenan is good at it. We talk about how we partied really hard and how, uh, We suffered because of it. And we talk about, can I wear sunglasses on the red carpet? Am I allowed? Is that cool? And the answer is no. So we're gonna talk to Kenan today. Cannot wait. And before we do, we always check in with somebody who knows our guest, who wants to speak well behind their back, who wants to give me a question to ask them. And that person is world superstar Maya Rudolph. Maya Rudolph, join us. Hi, everybody. joining me today from Zoom. Um, you know, just, I don't know, comedy legend, whatever. No big deal. Friend of the pod. Let's see what Maya's up to and check in on that cutie pie. Maya?

Woohoo!

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Oh, you look much nicer than I do.

I'm trying to dress a little bit like Kenan.

Aww.

Ooh, what mug are you drinking out of?

It's, um, Late Night with Correction Jackals from Late Night with Seth.

Is your house just filled with mugs that you've gotten from various talk shows?

Yeah.

Mine kind of is. I wonder if, like, Johnny Carson And like Merv Griffin and Dinah Shore, if they ever had mugs.

Do you know what I would give for one of those mugs?

Right?

Do you know what we were looking— this is gonna— this is really ADHD, and this is gonna take us on a completely different tangent.

It doesn't matter.

You know what we were just looking up this morning? Bicentennial 31 flavors slash Baskin-Robbins bicentennial ice cream flavors. And do you know what some of them were?

Wait, so just said that this is 1976 flavors?

1976.

Okay.

For the bicentennial.

Right.

31 flavors, AKA now known as Baskin-Robbins. Or is it the other way around?

It's Baskin-Robbins. I think it's the other way around now.

It's— They don't— they have more than 31.

Right. Yeah.

Um, one of them was called Valley Fudge.

Valley Pie. What was another one, Maya?

Oh God, no, now I gotta look it up again. One pie was— one was Apple Pie à la Mode.

Yeah, sure.

That's cute.

Cute.

But like, gimme Valley— gimme a play on words. Oh, thank you. Minutemen Mint.

So stupid. You know, Gen X, Has lived— we lived— we were alive. I was alive during the bicentennial, and here we are celebrating 250 years, and boy, has America never been better.

That's exactly how I feel.

Yep.

I mean, when you think about how far we've come.

Well, how far we've come and how much we fixed. That should be the, the, the slogan. We've fixed a lot. We're talking to Kenan Thompson today, and I'm so psyched that I'm talking to you because you and Kenan are linked in a lot of ways for me. Like, I think some of my most fun and most tender and funniest moments are watching the two of you perform. Like, you guys really have a connection. How would you explain it?

You know when you meet your people and you can't really find words for it, so you just feel like you've known the person your whole life? I always feel that when I see Keenan. I feel like he's always been there and we don't have to say anything.

Mm-hmm.

And there's a relaxation that comes over me when I— When I see him, when I watch him—

Yes.

It's like watching an incredible musician. You know that you're in good hands, and you can't wait to see what they're going to bring you because you know it's going to be masterful and amazing. But it's also going to fill you with, like, a joy. Like, it's relaxing. I used to feel that way about watching Prince on stage. I'd get relaxed because I was like, He can do anything. He can do anything. Keenan, I'm instantly, instantly, like, warmed and already giggling a little bit. There's a twinkle in his eye that says it all.

Yes, Maya, it's so true. There's a twinkle.

I have such strong memories of him, you know, inviting him into our dirty, dirty office to sit, you know, sit on the floor on his knees or something. Like, I mean, We, we lived like disgusting college students, Amy.

Yeah.

And you too. That was your perch.

Yeah, that was my perch.

Bringing, bringing friends into that and giggling till 4 in the morning. I remember so clearly, um, writing stuff with him. If I bring it up now, I'll probably get canceled, what we were writing. But, but it was so fun, and all we did was laugh. All we did was laugh, like listening to songs and finding the little tiny minute things and then going in and laughing.

I mean, a great example of that is one of my favorite characters and sketches at SNL ever, which is Titi and Mario.

Titi and Mario.

So, for people that didn't ever watch Titi and Mario, how would you explain who Titi and Mario were?

That's a great— thank you for asking me. Titi and Mario Is, is a duo from your childhood past that is so— they sing the most beautiful love songs that are so raunchy and disgusting. They think they're very loving.

Yes, they're romantic.

They're a married couple with children. They're— they've been together for a very long time, and sometimes one might say that sometimes they need the music to To make things fun again.

And what I love about them is they always start so beautiful and so romantic, and then maybe 10 or 15 seconds in, they start talking about each other's booty and how tight it is.

Yeah. There's a lot of booty play involved. And Titi and Mario serenaded you in the hospital.

That's right.

I think when Archie was born.

That's right. I want to talk to Keenan about it because it was so— it was like if I could have picked two— I couldn't have picked two better people when I was in a postpartum haze to be singing at me from my TV.

For sure.

Then you guys— it's funny, I'm excited to interview Keenan 'cause there's a lot I actually don't know about him. He's more of a—

Coyote?

More of a coyote. More of a— he's more of an observer and a mirror than he is sometimes a sharer. Do you have any questions for me today that you would like to hear Kiki talk about?

I mean, we're different ages in terms of our influences, but he was so well-formed when we met him.

Mm-hmm.

I want to know what he was doing. I know he was performing as a young person, but how did that get in there as like, oh, I know when I'm big, I'm going to be this? How did those influences create the Kenan that we know? Because I feel like he came out like this. I can't imagine him any other way. I also just want to know, like, I know you're going to ask him about, like, how do you keep it fresh, Kenan?

Totally, babe. I mean, I'm so curious about, like, what do you not go to or do anymore? I mean, after 22 years of the show.

Oh my God.

Like, you know.

How have you, like, Bypass.

Yeah. How does the system work for you? Yeah, I'm curious.

I feel like he might, he might actually be experiencing like the, like the dream of SNL because if you've been there long enough to be like, hey guys, I'm gonna have to go this way.

Yeah.

It's probably the dream.

I know. It's probably why would you ever leave? It's so fun.

Would you ever like keep, keep, He figured it out.

Yeah, that's— he cracked the code, and I want to know what he cracked.

I think there's gold behind those doors. But little Keenan is always what I think about, and I didn't know little Keenan, and I'm curious. I guess I equate it to when we were little, we would do plays in our living room and things like that. Was he just the guy who made his friends laugh? Was he the guy who— Was like— because he's always been so steady and so funny.

Yeah.

And it feels like, where does that charm come from?

OK, so I'm going to ask Keenan about little Kiki, which we all know little Keenan is probably the cutest kid we've ever seen.

On Earth. Like, hands down. And because I like knowing if that person knew that that person was going to be the person we know today. And I feel like it's a yes. I feel like that guy always knew.

I feel that way about you too, Maya. Like, I feel like seeing little Maya on a home movie, like, singing into a microphone. You knew that too.

That's all I wanted. I just wanted a microphone and to laugh with my friends.

Yeah. And look at you guys singing together about putting whipped cream on each other's business.

That's all I want for America. for them to put whipped cream on each other's business.

All we want is for Valley Fudge to make a comeback.

Honestly, yeah. Don't you love this angle? I mean, I picked a great angle. My neck looks like—

You actually look great. What does it say on your shirt?

Oh, Rory's Place. Oh, hello. It's my favorite restaurant in LA.

Maya just dropped the phone down her shirt by accident.

Wah-wah. Oopsie.

Yeah, exactly.

Oh, no.

Oh, no, it fell down my pants.

Do you kids want to see it? See what happens when my phone falls? I feel like relaxed and smiley 'cause we're talking about Keenan. You know what I mean?

Totally.

I love you.

Love you. Bye, Mama. Thanks.

Bye.

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Of course.

Wow. This is becoming a thing now where I'm getting fake food.

It's real. How are you doing?

Are you gonna wear your sunglasses the whole time?

I'm not. I knew that would be a thing.

Well, no, because I was gonna say I'll put some on too if it would make you—

Would you like it?

I don't have any, but I could wear some. I would like them off because I want to see your beauties.

Of course. It's good to see you. I just feel cool when I wear them.

I do too. I feel cool.

Okay, what'd you get?

Look at this.

Wait, wait, come on. Okay, let me explain this.

Keenan—

That is for you.

Okay. Keenan brought me a pizza, a slice of cheese pizza.

I think it's an artistic expression of the pizza rat.

Oh, it's pizza rat.

I think so.

There's a rat riding a slice of pizza. This is the first time I've had a fake food that moves, like, in any way. This is great.

And it almost reflects us, because I feel like we're such fun kind of like life lovers of like a good time kind of thing. It just reminds me of like us as characters.

So, Keenan, wait, and then you have to kind of— yeah, you gotta get it going. Here we go. You ready?

Pull it back.

For those listening, we're pulling it back.

And then it goes, we'll pull it back a little stronger. Come on. And you can't break it. So long story short, I went shopping and I thought of you. I saw it and I thought of you. And I've been holding onto it before I even know I was booked on here.

No way, Keenan.

Just fingers crossed, hoping that one day I would get to come sit in that throne.

Okay. Well, I'm gonna put it up. Oh my God. You know, we gotta add it. Thank you, Jenna. Um, I'm gonna put this on my wall.

Oh, look at the placement.

Front and center placement. That is, that's Super Bowl placement.

That's Super Bowl placement. That is Iron Island placement. Yo, man, the best.

Keenan Thompson is here.

Hi.

Hi, bud.

How are you doing?

I'm great.

You're doing this on both coasts?

Yeah, we get to do it in LA and New York, which is the best. You just get to do it wherever you are.

Yeah.

And convenient for like guesting people, I'm guessing.

Yeah. Right.

Really convenient. Yeah. Um, and congrats on the golden— who gets a gold for a podcast?

Who gets a gold? No one does.

Exactly. That's why he's such a guest here. No one does.

He just got it.

Exactly. That's amazing. Congrats to everyone, you guys. That's really cool.

Congrats to podcasting.

Yeah. Way to go, podcast.

Come on, Spotify. You have a podcast, right?

I did a podcast for a long time with a buddy of mine.

Yeah.

Yeah.

What was it? What was it about?

It was just 2 Black guys existing in America. You know what I mean? With a love of like, you know, Hollywood and stuff like that. So, you know, he's kind of a director. Do you listen to podcasts? Yeah, I listen to podcasts. I listen to yours. I just caught up with Lonely Island 'cause—

So funny.

I did a guest appearance because of the Reba episode.

Yeah. That was sick.

And then I was like, wait a minute, let me look at how long they've been doing this. And I went back to the beginning. And it is a long ride. And God bless those guys for just showing up. And they're so fun.

Showing up, barely showing up.

Barely showing up.

It's hard to get all 4 of them on the line.

Oh, it rarely happens. And it's such a treat.

Totally.

But they're combing through, like, such good memories, you know?

I know. I know. I felt the same way. It was, like, really good to go back in time. And we have so much to talk about, Keenan, because we were on the show together for—

A while. Like 6 years?

6 years, which—

Maybe 5.

Was the, it was like the first 6 miles of your marathon basically.

Yeah.

When did you depart?

I left in 2008.

Yeah.

That was like a 5-year, 'cause I started in '03. So.

Well, I'm, I, I mean, getting to work with you is some of my most favorite times. And I wanna talk to you about it today because you're so attached to so many important moments in my life.

Thank you. And likewise, like I talk about, my sisters all the time. Like, I consider y'all like, you know, such the like, get outta my room kind of like, but also like straighten up and don't come like playing games. That's why I was like, I was ready to take my sunglasses off. So this is not a game.

I'm like your bossy older sister.

Let me just analyze. Are you gonna keep those on the whole time?

Are you, are you gonna wear your sunglasses to mom's birthday?

Yeah.

Yeah. You're so right. It, we do have a very, There is a very sisterly quality with you and a lot of the women that you performed with during my time. And then you've like, you've gone, your family dynamic at SNL has changed from like younger brother to like elder statesman.

I'm like grandpa at this point.

Yeah. Yeah.

I'm Gramsy. Hey, Gram-Grams. Good morning.

Everyone's like, shh, Grandpa's asleep.

Grandpa's feet hurt.

Don't tell him.

Let's just do less for Grandpa. Yeah.

Okay.

I'm gonna take you back in a little time machine to little Keenan.

Mm-hmm.

Because the teeny tiniest little version of Keenan knew pretty early that he wanted to be a performer. You're one of 3 kids. You're the middle.

Yeah, but my sister's my half sister.

Okay. Got it.

Just for technicality's sake.

Got it.

So you grew up with— That's why we're 14 years apart.

Okay.

But yeah.

So were you then— were you the baby then?

I was the baby.

Okay. Okay. That makes more sense.

Yeah.

That makes more sense.

Just reckless and fearless, you know? And just a strange, like, you know, kind of ignorant confidence, if you will. You know what I mean?

But do you remember the very beginning? I feel like a lot of performers have this feeling like they remembered that sparkle that they got when they got like attention or looked at. Do you remember that like early time?

Yeah. I mean, I talk about it all the time. It was the gingerbread man, you know, like in kindergarten.

Yes.

in the graduating play, but, like, I was a gingerbread man. You know what I mean? Like, I wasn't the stove.

Yeah.

So, it wasn't awakening because in rehearsal it was just like, learn these lines and, like, this— just gotta do this thing or whatever. But once I saw people there, and then I recognized my mom, and my mom was smiling, and, you know, she was so happy and, like, excited, and it just made me, like, perform more. And then, like, you know, the audio of hearing laughter, like, after something I said, I'm like, oh, wow, what is this?

Totally.

I can remember that feeling too.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Like, the feeling of just, like, getting a little—

feeling a little bit taller when you were— when people were looking at you?

I mean, look at us now. We're still just fishing for laughs constantly.

Oh, fuck yeah.

It feels so good.

It's so embarrassing. I know.

God bless.

But it's so true because— and I read that you were— you were Toto in, um—

That's what I'm saying. I got really hooked on trying to do something that, that gains laughter. I just wanted to put those away because—

The sunglasses?

They were OCDing me a little bit.

First of all, these glasses are gorgeous. Who makes them?

Thank you. Those are Gucci glasses.

Of course they are.

Yeah.

And I get it now. I get it what you mean about being able to talk behind the sunglasses.

Yeah.

Do you think I could pull off— and we'll get to your life—

but do you think I could pull off—

Eye contact is intense. Eye contact is intense.

Yeah. And you can pull off anything.

No, but you can pull off sunglasses on the red carpet, right? That's cool as shit.

Can I? I have made it a thing to where Like, I'm just fine with if they're mad about it or not, because I feel like Jack was the coolest and he never took his sunglasses off. And I'm like, that means you don't have to.

But wouldn't it look like I just recently had eye surgery if I was—

Only in the beginning.

Right. Then you make it a thing.

And once it's a thing, it's just like, oh, that's her artistic expression or whatever, kind of like. excuse you can get away with.

You're so right.

Okay.

Wizard— I just want to get back to Toto for a second. You played Toto.

I played Toto because all the parts were taken. And I was like, well, nobody's going to be the dog. And this is a church play on the South Side of Atlanta. I'm sure we didn't have many, like, terriers to choose from. So I was like, I'll do the dog. Like, why not? I just wanted to be down.

There's a lot of people I've talked to that have been in The Wizard of Oz in different ways. What did you bring to the role?

Well, this was The Wiz, so—

Oh, excuse me.

It was fantastic.

Even more fun.

Yes. The music and everything. And I brought tenderness to the role when Dorothy needed it. I remember, like, cuddling up to her and, like, the whole church being in it. You know, this is a small, like, maybe like 100 people, maybe something like that. And to feel all of them acknowledge my performance in that way was like, yeah, it's addicting, you know? And then, like, there's a moment where everybody, like, runs to the back of the church, when the scene is over to set for the next scene. And I've been crawling around on all fours, so they left me. And I was just like, oh, snap. They're all gone, and I can't go. So I stood up as a dog and ran. And that got a laugh.

Genius.

I was just fucking swinging on that one.

I don't mean to be jumping, comparing your story to mine, but I had a similar experience. I was Dorothy. We had a real dog. And there's a moment in the scene where Dorothy's supposed to have a tornado— the tornado's supposed to come, and she's supposed to go, to-do, to-do, where are you? But I was holding the dog. I was like, this is— we didn't go over this part. So I put the dog down, walked a few feet away, and I said, Toto, Toto, where are you? Big laugh.

Huge laugh because everybody watched you process that, and you stuck with it and committed to continuing the work. Man, improv is the greatest, coolest thing. I wish I would've gone to one of the schools for it.

I know. You feel like a part Like from that era, from that like style and family. And did you know any actors growing up?

No, not at all. It was such a distant dream. The best I would've thought would be like a commercial, like a national, like a Publix, you know, when I was starting to book those in the beginning, you know, Sonic, like whatever, kind of like, I thought that was kind of the, you know, the mountain I would be on.

And was it your mom that was taking you to those mostly?

Yep.

Yeah.

And she was just like, go.

My mom's so dedicated. She got a job at the Alliance Theater School so I could take classes. She got like a side gig there, like as a, like answering the phone or like some kind of like office assistant, you know what I mean? So I could take classes at a discount or whatever it was. Like the acting thing, I just, I just loved it.

You loved it. I mean, the theme I feel like of today's talk and you, Keenan, is like, you feel like everywhere you arrive, like is the— like, timing is so important in your life, career, and in the way you perform. I think you have the best timing of anyone I've ever worked with.

Oh, Amy, thank you.

Your timing is incredible.

Thank you.

The way you know how to play moments and the way you know how to play life, 'cause life is its own game you have to figure out how to play. And I'm just in awe of your timing.

Oh, man.

And so—

I guess I'm the second one to start crying. Shout out to Seth.

Cry, cry. Oh my God, Seth. So easy to get that way.

They're the best.

But it's so, like— but because of that, I look at your life and your career, which is still— we're in the middle of it. We're not— but, like, and the way in which wherever you are was where you were supposed to be at the time.

And weirdly enough, it's always felt that way. You know what I mean? Like, I've never been overly pressured. Like, the SNL audition was extreme. But, like, on the way to that, for some reason, everything felt done already. Like, I already have this job. Like, I already have made my friends, you know, before I even met the audience. that cast. I was just like, I feel like this is mine to do kind of thing.

Yes. Yes. It was like, that's exactly right, Keenan. It's like, it feels like every opportunity for you felt like you were meeting the opportunity when it was meeting you. And when, when you were, I mean, you were, you were on TV when you were what, 11, 12 doing like movie reviews.

That was like a real job.

Yeah.

Like, When I first, like, was dipping my toe in the water, we were like kids going along with the news anchor to this new, like, exhibit at the zoo. Like, it was, like, about dinosaurs, and they did, like, a little mini special about that. Like, that was, like, the beginning. So I was like, this is just playtime. We get to be in the zoo after hours. Kind of like, that's cool.

Right.

But, like, Real News for Kids, I was like, oh, snap, I have, like, an ID badge. Like, I get to, like, tap in.

Little briefcase.

To have that so young, It just pointed me confidently in the direction of, like, this is kind of what I feel like I should be doing. And then all kind of kismet stuff started happening. Like, my first review was the first Mighty Ducks movie.

No way.

And then, like, almost a year to the day, I got to audition for the second one and ended up, like, making it in. And then the director knew the producers from the Nickelodeon shows, and they, like, connected me to that. So that audition, I was real cocky.

Yeah.

You were like, hey, guys. Hey, old friends.

What do you need? You need a Jamaican? I got you.

It's interesting. 'Cause you look young. You still look young. Thank you. Isn't it nice to now—

And likewise is what we're supposed to be saying.

Well, I don't know about that. Maybe with the sunglasses on.

Put the glasses on.

Put the glasses on. Would it be weird if I wore those glasses, a cane, and like a, and a boot and went to a bank?

Well, that's when people are starting to worry.

Yeah.

And like a wrist, like one of those, Like, what did she fall down on the beach?

And half my face is sunburned. But you, but you had a, you have and had a baby face, but you definitely had a poise of someone much older than you. Like, I'm curious if you've always felt your age. I mean, a lot of kids who are acting at a young age, especially like making money for their family, and being around adults most of the time, but you had the kind of pleasure and privilege of working on a show with a bunch of other kids.

Yes.

So you were with people your own age, pretty much.

Yes.

Did you— do you feel older or younger than your age? Like, what is your summer age?

I've always felt like an old man. Like, I feel like I came right from something that happened in the '70s, and I stayed kind of like connected to the '70s. And I don't want to like— it's my favorite era. And like, Yeah. I feel like Taurus energy just, you know, capitalizes on that. And I'm very relaxed and just chill and like, don't wanna be that, not too loud, please. Everybody just, everybody settle down, please. Like, I can't handle it. Like when people like loud talk me in restaurants and it's just love. But they, when they shout my name, I'm like, please.

Yeah.

You don't like that. I know that about you. And your influences were like that too. Like, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy.

Just the Black zeitgeist, basically, of that era and then onward. And then, of course, as I got older, looking backwards and learning your history kind of stuff. But I love, like, you know, the Blaxploitation era and, like, diving back into those sounds and those words and, like, having fun with it. Because it's like, you know, playing in your dad's clothes. Yes.

Did you guys watch as a family, like stuff together? Were you a laughing family? Like, were you a comedy family?

My dad is the joker for sure. Like he's the joke teller and he does really well. He's like a room pleaser when he does that. Like, I remember like at my grandmother's house, he would have my grandma like almost like peeing her pants, like literally. And this is my mom's mom. You know what I mean? So he really doing a dance kind of thing.

Is he a frustrated performer?

I don't— he's a Gemini, so I think he does a lot of things well.

Yeah. Interesting.

So, you know, he was like— he drove, like, NASCAR kind of cars. He was in the military. He was a mechanic.

Yeah.

You know, amazing, like, real estate person. Like, made history in Atlanta for kind of desegregating, like, listings and stuff like that.

Really?

Yeah. So, like, he's a very cool dude. And on top of that, yeah, loves to tell a joke. And then my mom has this, like, secretive kind of sense of humor, like a little prissy, 'cause she's, like, the older— she's the oldest of 7, you know? And they come from kind of— it's actually called Forest, Virginia. So you can imagine there's lots of trees there and not a whole lot of buildings. So she comes from literally the forest and, like, kind of had to be a little more, like, suited and booted. But yeah, she has this, like, sneaky little laugh where it's just like, oh, you like to laugh at the naughty. Look at you being naughty kind of thing. So for me, I have a little bit of both, but I don't, I'm not really like a room gatherer unless it's like a fixed performance.

No, you're not. Like, you're not looking to win the room.

Yeah.

No. No. I mean, I, I would say that my experience with you is that you are a little bit more of a 3-point shooter. Like you wait for your time and you like to observe. You like to see how people are playing.

Yeah. I like to, to Steph Curry it a little bit.

Yeah. Yeah.

And like when it's time to turn it on, just like take over the game.

And you shoot it and you shoot, you do like a no look on your way out.

Oh yeah. Like I know that's going in.

Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

It's definitely your style.

That's what feels good.

And it's rare to have a career before you reach SNL.

Yes.

And not always helpful.

No. It hadn't gone well, I don't think, for anyone at that point. I was like, I just want to do whatever because this writing thing freaks me out. So you guys tell me what you want. And it took 5 years before I wrote something that was my idea.

On the show? Mm-hmm.

Scared Straight was the first thing that actually made it on the show, if you will.

Well, we talked— we brought up Eddie Murphy, and I want to talk about that. what it was like to do that sketch at the 50th. But what's your early memories of Eddie Murphy? 'Cause for me, I'm older than you, but not by much, but enough that when I was watching SNL, when I started watching SNL, it was Eddie's year. He was 18, 19. When do you remember seeing him?

But that was kind of me watching from down the hall when I wasn't supposed to still be awake kind of stuff. You know what I mean? And I remember hearing Hot Tub before I actually was able to watch it. You know, just like trying to just be— and I just remember being in PJs, you know what I mean? And like watching my dad just like laugh. I think he was still like— my mom was asleep. He was just like the only person up. House is dark, and you just see that like blue flashing in, the glow. And like, yeah.

Isn't it funny you have memories as a little kid of like when your parents would laugh really hard at something, it was like you would look at them like, what happened? What's funny? And it just imprints on your brain immediately then forever what you think is funny. It was always funny.

getting to a place where, like, we could share laughter together in the same sort of sense of humor, like with my dad.

You know what I mean?

Like, once we started, like, quoting Coming to America to each other— Oh, Coming to America. —in, like, certain moments, it was just such a dynamically fun time because it was like our little thing. You know, like, we played pool, we quote Coming to America, you know what I mean? And it's like a dad and 2 brothers, basically. It's really cool.

It's kind of like you're— what you're— when you're saying like that, it's reminding me that like for some families, comedy is sports. Like that's how you connect is you talk about what you think is funny. And like, and I know that you loved Eddie. I know that you love Richard Pryor and you also love Chris Farley, who you got to work with. Can you tell us about that?

And Jim Carrey. Like, super duper fan of Jim Carrey. And I emulate him, I think more probably than anybody as as far as, like, micro-performing goes. Like, I feel like he performs every possible, like, syllable kind of thing in his physical body.

Yeah.

It's wild to watch. But Farley is just a full buffalo, you know what I mean? And, like, he was just so dynamically funny, not just falling-down funny. Like, he had some quips that were incredible. And sometimes his performances were just like, he's the only one that can do that kind of thing. So he came to All That and did that. Like, it was the greatest day I've ever seen, 'cause I was like, that's a true pro. That's somebody that doesn't need— 'cause they would tell us and rehearse us a lot 'cause we were kids kind of thing. He came in and didn't need any instruction at all. He was playing a ketchup chef that likes to put ketchup on everything. And of course, my character likes to put chocolate on everything.

Right.

So it was a battle. And they had this 8-layer chocolate cake because we were celebrating something or whatever. And, you know, Nickelodeon likes to make a mess, but they like to shoot up until right before the mess and stop and, like, do that part a few times to make sure they got it, if you will. And they really politely asked him, like—

Please.

And, you know, take 1, after we got— and we got to that point, destroyed that cake like it was nothing. Like, I think on purpose because they tried to tell him to do something, and he, like, beat the cake up to where there was like, there's no way we're doing a second take of this. Jumped in the car, jumped in the limousine, and was gone. Like, they have showers. We're like, we got showers for you. He's like, I'm fine. Toweled off a little bit, still ketchup in his hair, and was out of there. And I was like, now that's a gangster. That's a professional gangster.

Yeah. That's amazing.

And so damn funny. And so nice.

So nice.

So nice. Never fronted on me for being a kid or anything. He just came in and like, he was like, let's get to it kind of thing.

You know, I think, I'm sure every young person feels this way. They remember the people that like treated them like peers when they were feeling— when they were— and they remember the people that were dismissive of them when they were young. 'Cause we really do act, especially with young people, like they don't know what the fuck they're talking about. Or like, We're always doing that to them.

And like, I have a problem with like people's boundaries. Like, I learned hard lessons with that because I'm just very like outgoing and kind of like, we're fine with this, right? You're fine if I just keep tapping you on the shoulder like you know me kind of thing. And some people put you in your place and you're like, hey man, stop tapping me. And I was like, oh snap. Like, I'm sorry I crossed that line, TC. Like Magnum P.I., TC. I was so excited to be next to him. You know what I mean? Like, that's what Nickelodeon did. It put us in proximity to a lot of very famous people kind of thing. And I was just overly excited. I'm like, isn't this great, my man? Look at this. This is an awesome day. He's like, hey, man, stop tapping me. And I was like, oh. Oh, my God. I over-tapped T.C.

But what you're talking about is just straight-up etiquette on set that a lot of people, when they arrive at SNL, not only have not ever been, like, on TV, but often have never been on any kind of set. And there is an etiquette, to your point, how you approach people, how you— how, like, how to be a professional.

Mm-hmm.

And like, I— Kenan, you are such a professional in the way you approach your work and the way you deal with people. You're really, really smart. And you've— you have a lot of experience, and you could feel it immediately when you arrived at SNL. But When you think back on those early days of learning about what it was like to be on a set, what was the things that you learned? What were some takeaways that you still think about, like what you try to bring to other sets?

First, thank you for all of that. Second, free stuff was the first thing I noticed. I was like, I'm in the right spot. I knew it. I knew if The Price is Right was doing it, I knew everybody was doing some version of that, whether it was snacks or drinks or whatever, whatever I'd like, I needed to ask for it. If you know, just a little Wendy's, little bacon cheeseburger meal. Can I get that? And they're like, absolutely. You can get that. Absolutely. No problem.

You can get that. Don't even take your wallet out.

I was like, fantastic. I'll do whatever. We'll be here in 19 hours. You know, how many more times you wanna jump in the lake? Am I supposed to jump in the lake? Whatever. And that was definitely like a check. Check that box. But also the size of things. Like, when I got on The Mighty Ducks and saw like a movie set, and all these trailers, and like so many clothes for everyone. I'm like, what are all these clothes for? They're like, all the different scenes in the movie, they gotta wear different clothes. I'm like, different clothes? That's crazy.

Oh, it's a lot of pressure.

Super pressure. I didn't know how to skate.

Okay. Let's talk about Mighty Ducks because you are one of my, you, you, you're one of my friends that skate the best.

Thank you.

You are, you're an incredible ice skater. A lot of people don't know this. Thank you.

And I, I pride myself with that because it's not like a big known thing amongst the Black community to just ice skate like that. You know, like there's only certain people that do it. There's only certain couple few people in, you know, in the NHL or whatever kind of thing. You know, New Yorkers or people in cold climates kind of do it around Christmas time kind of thing. Just, you know, kind of like going bowling, if you will.

I remember, I have a very clear memory.

To get good at it is wild.

To get good at it is hard. And I have a very clear memory. They used to let us at Christmas shows at SNL.

It's the best.

Yes. They don't, do they do that anymore?

They haven't done it in so long.

They've gotta do it. They used to let us, I mean, talk about free stuff. Talk about perks is at, on the Christmas show, we'd be like, good night. And then they'd cut to like maybe a bumper and we'd all get to run downstairs. What would we do?

Gotta get there. There'd be like a golf cart all of a sudden inside the hallway sometimes, like for people to just like zip down there. Some people would be down there already. But if you're in that final thing kind of thing, and then we would wave goodnights on the ice.

And we'd be in the Rockefeller— on the ice rink.

Underneath the Christmas tree.

Yeah. Rockefeller Center. And just us at 1 o'clock in the morning. And I go down there and I see Keenan, and Keenan is— You are skating forward, skating backwards, skating sideways, doing the thing, shooting the moon.

What are you doing?

Doing 45 million tricks.

Thank you.

And then I was like, God, I need to dance.

'Cause I was fresh off of learning it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So how hard was it to learn for you?

Very. 'Cause like, I remember, like, I was just talking about this the other day, like roller skating and going to like roller skating rinks is what we had in Atlanta.

Yeah.

Like I was busting my ass constantly. You know what I mean? As a kid. But you don't feel anything as a kid. You just feel the knots later kind of thing. But I remember like both feet up, falling all the time. You know? Like, all the time.

Yeah.

So, sure, I put it on my resume under special skills that I could roller skate or something like, yeah, roller skating. You know? But, like, I never in a million years considered hockey. I wanted to learn, but after that first day of hockey camp, which was on my birthday, my 15th birthday, I wanted to quit it all.

Oh, I bet.

I was like, I don't want to be an actor. I don't want to do— if this is what it's about, like, am I doing this? Thank God my mom didn't let me quit.

She was like, no, go back tomorrow.

Kept going back and back. In like 8 weeks on both movies, you learn how to skate.

Yeah. Do you skate? Do you find ways to skate now? Do you look for it?

Yes. Great. Skating with the family, you know what I mean? At Christmas time.

Your girls know how to skate?

Yeah.

That's awesome.

Yeah. They both are good little skaters.

They are?

Yeah.

Do you watch any ice skating during Olympics?

Yeah. I mean, I watched the figure skating. Yeah. I watched the— The girl with the 3-tiered, you know, kind of hairdo?

Yeah. Alyssa Liu.

Is that her? Yes. I know she's from, from Oakland area.

Yeah.

Or she's from the Bay.

How dope was that?

Unbelievable.

Unbelievable.

Just because of how casual she is.

Yes.

And like, she's just chilling, but like the things she can do on the ice, bro, is— I give her all the medals. Like, it was wild to watch.

Well, she—

That and hockey, I guess. I watch a lot of hockey.

She reminds me of when you perform because she was very relaxed and you get And when we're watching her, we're like, she's good. She's good. Very good. And nerves are— if you can figure out how to channel your nerves...

Oh, man.

So, what were your nerves like when you were auditioning for SNL? You're 23, which is still really— I mean, in the context of the show, I guess it's not so young, but it just feels so young. When I watch your audition on SNL, there's a small moment that is— Samberg did it too when he auditioned, where you take a moment before you start and you go, oh my God, SNL. You said it to yourself. And Samberg had a similar moment where he was just like— you could tell he was like, well... But it was very inviting. It was not like, this person cannot handle their nerves. It felt like what you do so well, which is you zapped yourself to the present moment. You're like, here I am. I'm here.

Yeah. And it's like, I have to call it out because if I don't, it'll be like it didn't happen kind of thing. So I have to put it into words that, like, I recognize that this is crazy.

It feels like also just a way to secretly kind of quiet your nerves. Like, just to say it. Oh, yeah.

It's like silently putting that seatbelt on. Like, remember in Fight Club when he's just like, you know what? I'm just gonna get crazy with this and let this steering wheel go. I'm just gonna let it go. And I just, like, let my mind just start rambling. It's so— my audition is so rambly. It's crazy.

I mean, it's not. And I think I've told you this story, but I watched your audition from a— we were filming Mean Girls. Did I tell you this story? I've told you this story. And Lorne had the auditions. He was watching them on the plane. Private.

Private. PJ, we know somebody that got money. Our friend got money.

And probably the first time I had ever flown private. I don't even remember, but I remember. And it was during Mean Girls, and we must have been flying back from the set because Tina was there and Lauren was there and Lindsay Lohan was there.

Incredible.

And we watched your audition.

That's crazy.

And we were all like, he's incredible. And Lindsay was like, I love him. And, and I remember, I know. And I think at the time you probably already had the job, but it was, I, the one thing I remember more than the content, which you realize very fast, nobody cares about the content.

Mm-hmm.

Like you think the content, the jokes, everything is so important. You could have the best written material in the fucking world. You can have the best jokes in the world. If people don't feel relaxed, happy to see you, drawn to you for whatever reason, it just doesn't work. It's like, it's this crazy chemistry thing.

It's the craziest part of casting.

Yeah.

Casting is such a—

That's right.

Shout out to casting people that do it well because it takes a whole lot of, well, thanks for coming in, but we'll get back to you. And being able to— they're like nurses. You know, just getting through the awful news.

We're going to give you a shot. It's going to hurt.

Yeah. Or like, let's try that again. And this, and this time do everything different.

Oh, I mean, yeah. They're like, um, maybe this time try to be like a normal person in the world. Like what a normal person would— yeah. Oh, that's a good note.

And then you do it and you still like, didn't like check those boxes.

Did you have fun?

Yeah.

I want to say something about watching you ride the wave that is SNL, because it is a series of waves. What do you think has been the way that you've surfed the last 23 years?

I think in the beginning, I became friendly to the process of it. Like, I became a friendly, useful tool, if you will. So all kinds of people would write for me Because I was able to deliver.

Nobody gave us this rule, but— and I'm sure you now tell people this, but if I could go back and tell people one thing, it would be, try to do as well as you can in anything you're given.

Yep.

That simple thing gets people to just— 'cause everyone's nervous.

Give me one word.

Yeah.

Or half a line. I love it.

Yeah. What have you changed about how you interact with the job that— how you've made the system work for you?

Yeah. I don't let it just keep me out anymore. It used to keep us out just from being excited.

Well, Keenan and I have seen some—

It's one of my favorite stories ever of us doing that bit.

Oh God, please tell us. Okay. Let's tell this story. I totally—

I need a drink. Let's take a drink break.

Okay. So I'll start it. Keenan and I Okay. This was a different time before we had children.

This was a different time before we had children.

So we would go out a lot, Keenan and I, and all of us would party a lot.

Yeah. We would hang out.

And we would hang out.

It's New York. Very excited about being in New York.

And so we, there was a night of many nights, but there was a particular night where I was out too late.

Yes. This is before I understood the schedule too. I was just like hanging out. I didn't even schedule one.

I was still—

Still out there.

And we were at a place called Bungalow 8.

Fantastic.

Shout out to those kind of spaces.

Shout out to Rashida.

Shout out to Rashida. Look, Rashida, Rashida Jones turned— always my beautiful wife turned me onto so many aspects of life.

Literally the greatest.

And she'd be like, hey, I'm hosting this club thing. And I'd be like, oh my God, what time? 1:00 AM. Sounds great. I mean, what the fuck?

We're there. And like, it doesn't close like the other places. Like it can kind of just stay open a little later.

Yeah, and it's open and then you walk in, it's like, oh, you know.

You're in an Amazon rainforest and it's time to listen to music and drinks.

Yeah, and like T.I. is here.

Yeah, lots of people in the building.

So we went to Bungalow 8 and I was there and all of a sudden, guess who comes in later than me? It's Keenan. Keenan comes strolling in.

Strolling.

And we have—

From wherever.

We had a 6:00 AM call. I probably had a 6:00 AM. You may be a little bit later because ladies have like—

It was first thing in the morning.

But we had to be up maybe 2 or 3 hours later to play—

The Black Eyed Peas.

And I had to get in full, you know, spray tan as far as you can go.

I had a whole lot of wiggage to be what I am. Heavy-ass dreads.

Heavy dreads. And it was, the host was, um, Jon Heder.

Okay.

Who did not stay out late that night.

No.

He was ready.

Yeah. He didn't have an issue at all. But he's like Mormon, isn't he?

He's Mormon, so he just chilled.

Yeah, he chilled. He was a responsible Mormon.

He responsible, and he chilled. And he didn't even have caffeine.

That's how he did it. Nope. And back then, those shoots used to be 10,000 miles away.

I had not slept. You had not slept. Who else was in it? Who was our—

I want to say Forte.

Forte.

I just remember Forte, like, laying on a very hard floor. We were so hungover. Face down.

And could not move or talk. And literally they stopped traffic in the middle of a New Jersey highway.

Yeah. For us to pretend to be the Black Eyed Peas.

And he's like, and rolling. And it's like 6—

Like at like 10, 9:00 AM, like rush hour. And people were just like, what is happening? You had to be perfect.

You broke with my heart. And we had to dance. And Kenan was doing a bit that I will never forget, which is he was taking phone calls. from his past self pretending to tell him to go home.

Yes. Like, you are being unkind to yourself, sir.

He's like, Keenan, this is Keenan.

You gotta go home.

Yeah. What are you doing, man? You know, you know you have to get up early. This is not good. Put it down.

When you started, you mentioned this earlier, you and Jost were— What are your memories of being— of you and Jost sharing an office?

It was the best because we were so dynamically different, in my opinion. You know, like him coming from Harvard and Staten Island, and me coming from the South Side of Atlanta kind of thing. And I didn't finish— I went to Santa Monica City College, you know? So I didn't even really get too far down the college, college sharpness road. You know? So I was still high school educated, in my opinion. I learned a lot from him. We shared an office for 8 years.

Yeah.

Yeah. Because other offices would open up, but we enjoyed that office so much, and I think being together so much, and then Scared Straight was born from that kind of stuff. Yeah. Right.

Talk about full circle, Keenan. Like, you see, you're a fan of Eddie, you write Scared Straight for Colin, and then you do it with him at the 50th.

What did that feel like? Shout out to those guys. Like, shout out to people that are like that. Colin and Che are both like that. And I shout Che out so much because a lot of my favorite stuff that is, like, very silly and Black and really, really smart, you know, is coming from him sharply. Like Black Jeopardy and stuff like that.

And when you and Eddie did it for the 50th, what do you remember? But what was the little special twinkly magic moment? And when you did that, what did it feel like?

So, at the 40th, the night before was the first time I met Eddie. You know what I mean? And he just came to that toast to Lorne in the Rainbow Room. So, everything was very New York magical because it was in the sky, and he emerged from a separate elevator from everybody else. And I'm like, of course, He has his specific way. And I was like, that's really cool. I couldn't contain myself. And he recognized, you know what I mean? He was like, hey, man.

Nice.

I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. So fast forward to the 50th, Colin suggests we do a Scared Straight and put him in it. He had hosted, which was the greatest show ever, when he hosted for Christmastime and then back to Che. put me in that monologue with him, Chris Rock, Tracy, and Dave Chappelle. Like, what an epic picture. I'll keep it for forever. So, at the 50th, they're talking about doing a sketch. I'm like, I wasn't even planning on— I didn't know what to do because everything was so last minute. You know what I mean?

Yeah. Yeah.

So, I just heard that they wanted to do this, and I'm like, they're down to do this? I couldn't believe it. Like, Eddie and the GOAT, Will Ferrell? Like, bro. Like, Will Ferrell's the greatest cast member we've had. ever, I think, in many people's opinion. So, for them to be in my little baby sketch was unreal.

That's so cool.

Unreal.

Yeah. I felt that. I felt like you were a peer and a fan at the same time with them.

Super.

Because you are a peer to them.

Thank you.

You realizing that moment was special is kind of like what— going back to our theme, which is you were really present in the moment. And the other thing I'm just going to say about you, Keenan, is—

I just eat too much humble pie to, like, not know feel like a little kid looking at his hero kind of thing.

Well, that's what I mean is, you know, okay, do you ever watch the show Alone? I talk about it all the time on here, but it's a— okay, Alone is a— it's kind of like an adventure reality show, and it's about people who are dropped off in the wilderness, and they have to survive by themselves, and whoever stays the longest alone, and they all have to hunt and fish and gather and all this stuff. But what you realize is, the people that last the longest are not the ones that celebrate the hardest, and they're not the ones that take the losses so personally. They stay somewhat relatively even.

Yeah.

You bag a moose week 1, you're not gonna bag it every week.

Right.

You— your shelter falls down, it doesn't mean because you're a jerk and bad things happen to you. Like, you don't internalize. And I get that from you. You ride those highs and lows. Do you think that that's true about yourself? And have you always been that way?

Yeah. And I think I kind of focus on that a little bit, you know what I mean? Just to make sure that I don't allow things to just carry me away. You know what I mean? Like, there's so much to be emotional about outside of the business. Like, the world is in, like, full chaos and has been my whole life, I feel like. You know what I mean? There's always been some sort of representation of a bad guy, if you will, or a bad, you know, situation kind of stuff.

Yeah.

And then the more you learn about the world, it's like, how dare I even be bothered or upset about, you know, such minuscule things as a missed accomplishment in my career kind of thing, you know? So I've always kind of just been like, cool. Like, if something great happens, great. Something bad happens, it's like, all right, pick up the pieces and like, let's keep it pushing kind of thing. Because You can dwell on it if you want and let it like suck you down a little whirlpool and stuff like that. But then where would we be? And where would all the people that depend on me be kind of thing if I allow the darkness to creep in?

It's true. But it's a, it's like a, it's like a life lesson of like, can you be satisfied? Like the life lesson of can you be satisfied? Yeah. Is it really, you know, that yearning?

I can easily be satisfied.

Yeah.

I know the things I like, and I'm happy when they're around.

When you speak about, you know what you like, I feel like you love working with Maya.

She's the greatest.

And she loves working with you.

Maya is just such— I never met such a dynamic force of nature. You know what I mean? Just in pedigree and talent and, you know, The kind of person she is, the kindness she is. Like, she's very maternal. You are as well. Like, all 4 of my, like, original— Dratch and Tina, like, my 4 horsemen, horse ladies, sisters are giant forces of nature, you know? And it started with Maya. And like, I'm deeply indebted to her for kind of pulling me out of the fog of Tuesday night and getting something done in my first week.

Mm-hmm.

And constantly kind of being that source of just funny convo or wonderful performer to perform things with. So—

I mean, you guys are like instant family. Like, you were family in another life. You immediately met each other, and you were like, oh, you play the same way I play.

Yeah. And also, just, I'm obsessed with Songbirds. You know what I mean? It's an amazing talent to sit next to and just listen to her just take off on— some sort of musical number or something while she's just sitting there. And it's like, do y'all hear this?

Like, she is amazing. I mean, I always said that she would be better than most of the professional singers that came out.

100%.

And you too, Keenan.

I try. But, like, man, what a cool thing to kind of be close to, kind of thing. And I just love it. So, the same with even up to the current cast and everyone in between. And I just love our family so much that I like being close to it. And, like, I'm not afraid of how it will be when I leave. It's just, I would much rather just stay. You know? Why not? Who's writing this rule book?

Yeah, exactly right.

Like, I'm up to 23 years.

I know.

Possibly starting 24 or whatever.

Possibly.

You know, like—

It's happening. I mean, yeah, I know. You're exactly right. What are the rules? And so, we do this thing in the show where we talk to somebody, we get a question. So, we talked to Maya.

Oh my God. How wonderful. What does she say?

She loves you so much, T.D.

God bless her, man. I love her too.

And we laugh so hard at how dumb and how fun the stupid shit you guys have done.

It's the best.

It's the best. And we talked about T.T. and Mario, which, you know, is my favorite, which is the couple that is—

Put your hands in roller skates.

And?

Flip you upside down.

And?

And then wheel you into the kitchen, put whipped cream on your business.

I want you to know I was singing that on the way here. Put whipped cream on your business. What a gorgeous lyric.

God bless censorship. If it wasn't for censorship, the wordplay would be so messed up.

You're right. Sometimes the guardrails make it way funnier and you can't say anything dirty. So you have to say, put whipped cream on your business. But Maya was talking like, and, and also I just wanna like say thank you again. I know I've thanked you many times in my life, But you and Maya did one of the most tender, wonderful, funny, and beautiful things for me in my life, that when I rushed from set to have my kid, and my first son, Archie, and he was in my arms, and I was watching the show that the day before I was rehearsing, which talk about feeling like you're in a crazy alternate reality, you guys sang to me from Update, you and Maya.

Yeah.

And with the Titi and Mario flair, but not as filthy, 'cause there were children present.

Of course.

Yeah. And I couldn't have chosen 2 better people to have that feeling from. And it was so— it was such a wonderful, beautiful moment. I really treasure it, Keenan.

I'm so glad because it felt that way in the moment. And I was still so young. You know, I was just honored to be asked to be a part of a— like, this is such a moment for you. You're like a brand-new mom. And we watched you be pregnant the whole time, and we thought you were gonna troop out the show. Like, it was a super surprise.

Oh, that was the plan.

You know what I mean?

That was the plan.

So it was like showing up on Saturday and it was just like hearing the news, like, Amy won't be with us. There was like all hands on deck kind of energy because you're such a pivotal part of the show. So you not being there was just like, there's such a gap. We have to acknowledge this in some sort of way. And yet, to be asked to do it was like, this is cool. This is what makes this place an epic kind of place. And I felt very grateful to be involved in any sort of moment like that. It's very special, man.

Maya's question to you was— it was basically more of a statement, which is you're a fully formed little Keenan. felt like he kind of came out fully formed. And I think little Maya too, the same thing. I think you guys saw that in each other. And I think her question was really like, do you think that's true? And I do think we kind of talked about it. Like, do you think you knew from the very earliest age what you wanted to do?

In some sort of way. And definitely in that direction. You know what I mean? Of like, I don't know if sports is going to be it. Like, I enjoyed playing sports, but I didn't think I was going to be Bo Jackson. You know what I'm saying?

Yeah.

Remember Bo Jackson? Yeah. So, like, yeah, I think I had an affinity towards my path, kind of. And I always felt like it had already been carved in some sort of way. You know what I mean? Like, it was just— you know, big destiny believer. That could have something to do with, like, faith and growing up in church and stuff like that.

Yeah.

But it just felt that way. And then I kept getting reminded of those things when those kids' MIDI kind of things would happen along the way. And I was just like, all right, I think I should just give over to the universe and just stay positive and stay ready.

Yeah. Yeah. Well, um, what's— where are you going?

I'm just going to my daughter's little like summer play.

Oh God. You're going to— you're just going to your daughter's play?

Literally across the street.

Okay. But what time is the play at?

Across the highway where they're allowing the parents in at 1:35.

Oh my God. We have to get you outta here. Okay. So we cannot— it's 1:30. Yeah. So let's go. That's the time. I gotta ask you one question. I'm gonna put your glasses on.

Yeah, please.

What are you listening to right now?

Yeah.

What are you— what's making you laugh?

Yeah.

What's making you laugh?

I love that you're going to your daughter's play. What is she doing? Yeah, it's the best.

What is she doing? What's happening?

I want to say it's just their, like, 6th grade, I think, end of school—

Does she want to be a performer?

End of school year thing.

Does any of them?

Some. Yeah. She's better at sports kind of thing. She's a little introverted, but I see it in her, you know? And she has her moments where she just hams it up, you know, kind of thing. She has a lot of energy.

All right. We need to take you to that play. But what are you laughing at right now? What's making you laugh?

I'm laughing at a lot of— I'm watching my friends work, you know? Like, whoever's putting out like new work kind of thing, you know, I just like, I wasn't really aware of Sarah's like standup presence. And I watched that special.

That special. So we, we—

She's a force.

We, we, we had her on. She is— that special is the craziest shit I've ever seen.

It's the craziest. And I'm like, thank God, because who else can do it? You know, kind of. So I'm like, well, she's here for a reason. And like, buckle up everybody. Because when she decides to like let the train loose, it's gone. Like, it was great. Yeah, she's fantastic. And, like, that's one of the newer things that I caught on to recently. But, like, you know, any and all of our friends that are doing stuff, you know, like Leslie Jones' special was fantastic. Like, Finesse is still out there killing. Finesse is out there with Tisha Campbell, which is— he got Tisha Campbell doing stand-up, and it's really funny.

Yes.

So, like, yeah, I'm just, you know, celebrating all of our friends.

Keenan, you always do. You've always been like, laughing with us along the way and always reminding us that we won the lottery for getting to do what we get to do.

A lot of the time, it is really a nice reminder and a pleasure to take a look around and be reminded of the reach. When we're flicking through the channels or something pops up in the zeitgeist, like, thank you for Broad City, for Paige and Hannah. You know what I mean? Just supporting new people along the way. Constantly just keeping the vibe alive, you know what I mean? Of fishing for fun times.

Thank you for always shouting out all us women too. You always do that, and we love you for it.

It's unbelievable, and it's undeniable.

You can put your glasses back on for this last thing.

All right, thank you. Let's go.

And we're gonna— I mean, I love that you're going to your daughter's play.

Yeah, it's my sweetheart.

Yeah.

Yeah.

She's—

I'm so excited. And my other one had field day, and her country to represent was Austria. So she had to learn about Austria.

And listening to a 7-year-old talk about Austria, Oh, and I've seen the faces of these children and they're— Sweet. Insanely sweet and cute.

God bless 'em.

And they're so lucky to have you as their dad. And now that you're a grandpa, we're so lucky to have you as a grandpa.

Yeah. And hopefully I'll be a great-great before I'm outta here. Like Morgan Freeman, you know?

Yeah. And I'm gonna meet you on the red carpet and have also have sunglasses on and, and weirdly a, like a dark sunglasses.

I think I'm gonna start bringing a backup pair for people that I like. And it was like, all right, just to make sure.

You do need those sunglasses.

Thank you. We'll get you some.

Keenan, we're so lucky to have you. I'm so lucky to know you, and it's so good to see you.

Same.

Love you. Thank you for doing this.

Same. I love you so much. My pleasure.

My pleasure.

So much. Miss you.

And I'm so happy to see you today.

Yeah, same.

Thank you so much, Keenan Thompson. You are the best. You're the best, most wonderful person, and so hilarious. And I'm so lucky to know you, and thank you for doing this. And, you know, in these Polar Plunges, we usually kind of dig deeper into something that we talked about, but I just want to take a minute to just dig a little bit deeper into the fact that Kenan's characters on SNL, 23 years in, still kind of remain the characters that I quote on a weekly basis. Whether it is Titi and Mario saying, I'm gonna put whipped cream on your business, or it's Jean-Claude Jean, the French stand-up comedian who says, Zootalors, when he does update, or DJ Dynasty Handbag, um, uh, uh, uh, character that he did on a sketch called Deep House Dish, which was kind of like a Euro MTV show and written by the great James Anderson. And, and Kenan's character used to say bokeh instead of okay. And I say bokeh, um, or bouquet or bokeh or whatever, however he said it. I say it all the time. I guess my point is Kenan is, like, woven into the fabric of that show and my experience in that show in a way that's, like, very, very, very special to me and is kind of stuck in my brain.

So, my plunge today is to encourage you to keep watching his stuff, past, present, and future, and to stay in the present like Kenan does too. So, thank you for listening to this podcast called Good Hang with Amy Poehler. Okay, bye!

Bye!

You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaya McMullen, Aleah Zaneras, Bridget Gearlings, Paige Garbarini, Belle Roman, and Drew Van Steenburgen. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles. I lie on the one who wants a really good hang.