Before his start on Saturday Night Live, you may remember Kenan Thompson best for his roles on teen TV series like All That and Kenan & Kel. He'd later go on to star in the films Good Burger with Kel Mitchell and Fat Albert

In an interview with People online, Thompson revealed what it's been like for him appearing for the last 17 years on the Emmy-winning series, and why he'd ever depart the show. 

Kenan Thompson Reveals The Only Reason He'd Leave SNL

Thompson, himself, has been nominated for a total of 4 Emmy awards throughout the years of his hilarious performances. He was nominated in 2020 for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series, but lost to Dan Levy of Schitt's Creek, respectively. 

In his People interview, he stated that even after nearly two decades of acting and comedy performance on the show, he can't imagine leaving. What keeps him coming back year after year?

"Lorne [Michaels] keeps me coming back. It's an honor to keep being asked back. I just look at it like that. It's a one-of-a-kind show. Pretty much everyone I've seen that's left, when they come back, it's just a different feeling for them. They feel kind of lost, they miss it, they're outside of the inside jokes type of feeling. I never really was overly excited to be on the other side of that fence," Thompson explained. 

Lorne Michaels is the creator and producer of the 45-year long run NBC series. He's built an empire of comedy legends, including Conan O'Brien, Adam Sandler and Amy Poehler. 

"I love the people there, I love the spontaneity of it, I love creating new characters on new shows every week", Thompson added. 

Kenan won his first Emmy award back in 2018 for co-writing the song "Come Back Barack". As of 2020, he's also been a guest judge on America's Got Talent! We hope Lorne keeps him on the famed comedy series for years to come. 

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