Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson has shared how he avoids breaking character during a sketch on live television. While he has been a part of the live show for over two decades, he still experiences moments of vulnerability. However, he said that he ensures to “get back into professional mode” instantly.
Kenan Thompson on how he stops himself from breaking character on Saturday Night Live
In a recent interview with PEOPLE, SNL’s Kenan Thompson shared how he prevents himself from breaking character during live television. “I’ve tried to pick my moments when I’m off camera to kind of like let the release valve go a little bit,” the Kenan & Kel alum explained.
Despite the process, he admitted that he occasionally cracks a smile. “I try to immerse myself as much as possible. But sometimes, things make me laugh and I’ll kind of smile at it and, you know, breathe through it and then continue,” the 47-year-old said.
Since SNL is aired live, the veteran emphasized that he tries to “get back into professional mode,” without breaking character completely. “You have to be careful with that because, you know, it’s live TV,” he noted.
The Good Burger actor added, “Different buttons get pushed sometimes, and the camera might cut to you. You kind of have to stay present as much as possible. But, I mean, I also enjoy what I’m doing, and I enjoy the people I’m doing it with, and I enjoy the reasons why.”
Kenan Thompson also believes in balancing between honoring the script and not sounding “robotic.” “I do wanna respect the writing and things like that. It’s just a balance of a lot of things going on in your mind. And if you get lost in that, you probably get lost in the sketch while you’re doing it,” he explained.
Interestingly, in contrast to his on-screen roles, he said, “I’m weirdly drastically different from my persona on television.”
Thompson joined SNL in 2003, making him the longest-tenured member of the show. He has been nominated for the Primetime Emmy Awards a total of five times and won his first Emmy in 2018.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on ComingSoon.
