Why Kenan Thompson Nearly Quit Acting Before Becoming an SNL Legend

Kenan Thompson recently spoke about why he almost quit acting due to the preparation challenges he faced for D2: The Mighty Ducks. He explained that after struggling with training for the sequel, a member of his family encouraged him to not give up and keep pursuing his acting career.

Kenan Thompson’s unexpected skating journey from Disney films to SNL

In a recent conversation on the Good Hang podcast, Kenan Thompson revealed that he once seriously struggled with learning how to ice skate in order to secure a role in the movie D2: The Mighty Ducks. The actor said, “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.” He credited his mother for encouraging him to keep going despite the challenges he faced during the difficult time.

“I was like, ‘I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t want to if this is what it’s about,’” he said about the difficulties he faced with learning how to ice skate. However, according to him, his mother “didn’t let” him “quit.” He noted that he trained for eight weeks and eventually learned how to ice skate. Host Amy Poehler also complimented his skating skills.

Thompson responded, “I pride myself with that, because it’s not like a big known thing amongst the Black community to just ice skate like that. There’s only certain people that do it. There’s only a few people in the NHL or whatever kind of thing… to get good at it is wild.” The actor notably landed the role in D2: The Mighty Ducks and returned for the following sequel, D3: The Mighty Ducks. He is most known now for his prominent role as a recurring cast member on Saturday Night Live.

Source: Comingsoon.net