Kenan Thompson is an Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor, producer, and author, and the longest-tenured cast member in Saturday Night Live history, now in his 23rd season. He is also one of the most famous and recognizable names in comedy today.
Thompson’s career spans more than three decades, placing him among the most accomplished performers in television comedy. He rose to prominence as a child star on Nickelodeon with All That and Kenan & Kel before successfully navigating the rare transition into sustained adult stardom. Since joining Saturday Night Live in 2003, Thompson has anchored the show across multiple eras, becoming its longest-tenured cast member thanks to his versatility, timing, and unmistakable presence.
Beyond SNL, Thompson has starred in films such as Good Burger, Fat Albert, and Snakes on a Plane, lent his voice to numerous animated projects, and most recently headlined and executive-produced the NBC sitcom Kenan. Today, he remains a constant across television, film, and brand partnerships—continuing to evolve while maintaining the comedic voice that has defined his career.
Ahead of the 2026 NFL Playoffs, Thompson has teamed up with Jim Beam for its “Refresh Your Season” campaign.
Built around the emotional rollercoaster of the football postseason, the campaign taps into a familiar feeling for fans whose championship hopes didn’t quite pan out. Rather than dwelling on disappointment, the message is simple: reset, relax, and enjoy the rest of the season anyway. Thompson brings his trademark humor and relatability to the campaign, positioning Jim Beam as part of a stress-free, easygoing way for fans to keep the good times rolling—regardless of what the scoreboard says.
In an exclusive interview with ClutchPoints, Thompson discusses the Refresh Your Season campaign, his 23-year run on Saturday Night Live, being part of the historic SNL 50, hilarious stories involving athlete hosts like Charles Barkley and Peyton Manning, pitches Michael Jordan skits if he were to ever return to Studio 8H, his Atlanta Falcons fandom, and his personal Mount Rushmore of comedy.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Rob Lepelstat: Joining me now is Kenan Thompson, Emmy Award-winning comedian, actor, producer, author, and, of course, the longest-tenured cast member in the history of SNL. It’s your Jordan year—23rd year on SNL. Kenan, thanks so much for taking the time today. How are you doing?
Kenan Thompson: My pleasure, man. Thank you for having me. I’m great. Jordan year, you know what I mean? It feels incredible. I mean, all of them have felt incredible, you know. I’ve lived a very blessed life, man. Like, I’ve been gifted a lot of things, and I’m just hyper grateful for it.
RL: Never gets old, right?
KT: No, it never really gets old. Like, it’s a wild thing. Like, SNL just keeps rolling and rolling.
RL: Absolutely. So, you’re teaming up with Jim Beam for their new Refresh Your Season campaign. What’s this campaign all about, Kenan?
KT: I mean, it’s kind of all about turning those frowns upside down. Like, we’re comboing Jim Beams and lemonades, basically. So that’s a new kind of refreshing uptick, especially when your team happens to have a less-than-ideal season. That happens to us Falcons fans a lot, so I can relate.
RL: I’m a Giants fan, so I’m right there with you!
KT: You’re feeling that pain, and it makes the transition into kind of being in the “gone fishing” boat a little easier—just a nice little touch of twang with a little Jim Beam and a little lemonade.
RL: Is it safe to say all playoffs long it’s going to be Jim Beam in one hand and lemonade in the other?
KT: I’m mixing the two, man. You know, I’m going in one jar. I’m in one jar, and I’m good. And yeah, man, because just viewing from the sidelines, you need something to spice it up (laughing).
RL: Absolutely. So what was it about this campaign and Jim Beam as a brand that made you really want to work with them?
KT: The more I learned about it when they called—you know, anytime I partner with people, I start researching and learning the history of it—and they’re a generational company. They’re generational distillers and masters and this, that, and the other. So I’m like, that all sounds very legit. Like, I’m not even going to say “pretty legit.” It’s very legit. You know what I mean?
When you’re into the sixth and seventh generations of doing the exact same thing. So they’re masters of what they do. And the fact that they asked me to help them get the word out about something, you know, it’s always flattering. And I like lemonade, you know what I’m saying? I like whiskey. I like bourbon—there’s a difference. So I like learning that kind of stuff. I like learning new things. So yeah, I just felt like I was in capable hands, definitely when I take my journey down the bourbon drain, basically, if any of that makes sense.
RL: Is Jim Beam always your drink of choice, Kenan?
KT: No, it’s a newfound love, actually!
RL: Who came up with the idea for you to be the bartender in the campaign?
KT: That was their side of the ball. They just presented me the concept. And it’s like, you’re kind of an everyday man, a little bit of a shepherd, a little bit of a friend of a doctor—kind of like, “come this way, and you’ll feel better,” that type of person. And bartenders are definitely that. So I’m sure when they were thinking what direction or what professions kind of encompass that, kind of go along with sports—sports bars, bartenders—that kind of thing.
RL: What was your favorite part about doing this campaign?
KT: I mean, it’s always shoot days—always the most fun—especially like, I was pleasantly surprised to be working with other actors that I recognize. Because a lot of the time it’s just me kind of talking to the wall and pretending that there’s somebody on the other side or something, or FaceTiming. So it was nice. I recognized the guy I was working with directly across from me, and, you know, I’m a fan. So anytime I recognize anybody, I start geeking out a little bit. So that helped the day go by pretty quickly. And it’s not like the day was long anyway, you know what I mean? So it was a really pleasant shoot. And, you know, I like vibrant colors, so seeing a million lemons around was pretty wild and just visually pleasing.
And knowing the mission—what I mean—to kind of pacify that pain. I know that pain. So, any kind of way to liven up your outlook, as far as not forgetting what today is, there are pretty cool games still happening. Just because your team is out doesn’t mean that there’s not great football being played and stuff like that. So, trying to figure out your way to help transition how you look at it and how you feel about it, basically. There’s nothing really you can do when your team goes out before they even have a chance after Week 3. Sucks, man (laughing).
RL: You just touched on it—for the fans like us, the Falcons fans, the Giants fans, the Raiders fans—what’s your advice for those fans as they’re kind of going through this playoff, Super Bowl time of the year when their team is obviously not in it?
KT: The poor Jets fans, the poor Dolphins—like, there’s so many of them. It’s wild how few really are winning franchises, you know what I mean? And if you’re not born into it or happen to choose it kind of thing, you’re just going to be on the suffering side of the spectrum, I guess. But that also brings people together. You know, just like, you know, a nice toast. And if people are gathering, it’s nice to have a nice little beverage to get everybody in good spirits, you know what I’m saying? And please drink responsibly, of course. But it’s nice to put a little buzz on with your friends, especially to get through cold days or something like that.
But yeah, while the good games are still happening, you might as well enjoy them—and enjoy them with a little JB and lemonade.
RL: We can’t all be Patriots fans, right, Kenan?
KT: You know, it’s tough, man. God bless those Patriots. But hey, yeah, I’m not from Boston. What am I going to tell you? You know, it means nothing to me. Nothing!
RL: So let’s shift gears a little bit. Obviously, we talked about SNL at the top, but you’re the longest-running cast member with an amazing 23 years—your Jordan year. Just what was it like being part of SNL 50? I mean, you talk about all the different iconic cast members, everyone coming back together. What did it mean to you to be part of that?
KT: It’s wild. I had the grace of having to work through it, you know, which kind of puts me in a bit of a bubble, so I don’t have to do the whole, “my God, Spielberg is to my right and DiCaprio’s to my left.” That’s just too much of the zeitgeist going on for me personally. Like, I get very excited. Like I said, I’m a fan. I start geeking out and telling and quoting things back to these people as opposed to treating them like people, you know, or entertaining them in some sort of way. I’m always just telling them how they entertain me.
But I had the pleasure of working through it, and it was insane. Like, watching Eddie Murphy get off in two of my sketches—it was wild.
RL: I was literally about to say, the skit with you, Eddie Murphy, and Will Ferrell—take me through that one. That one was ridiculous. It was so funny!
KT: It’s the most ridiculous because that one was kind of like the first idea that I had personally that I actually got on the show. You know, thankfully, with my partner Colin Jost, my office mate at the time—we had opposite-facing desks—and I just turned around, and I asked him, like, “Have you ever seen Scared Straight?” And he was like, “No, what is that?” And then on it went.
And I just wanted to yell at people. And then he added the brilliance of life lessons through movie plots and stuff like that. You know what I mean? That’s what made it comedy. Yeah. And like, it was my fifth year, so it really took me a while to figure out the writing style of what I think is funny and what works on the show.
And for that, fast-forward 17 years later kind of thing, to come back around and have two of my heroes in it—it was just wild. And it reminded me of how special the show is. And it also reminded me of why they continue to be around it. You know what I mean? It’s such a family. And the pursuit of laughter never stops. It never has to stop. There’s always something—a new idea being born, a new writer being introduced to the game, a fresh voice. It’s just kind of always happening.
So it’s exciting to stay in the mix, you know, because there’s nothing better than being in 8H when there’s a live, really big moment like the 50th, or when Jay-Z is performing, or anything like that. It’s just great to be in the building. So I get it. And for them to not just relax all night and sit in their tuxes—they wanted to perform through it too. And Ferrell coming through—Will Ferrell, the GOAT—wild. Wild.
RL: Who is your Mount Rushmore of all-time comedians?
KT: I mean, Eddie’s up there. I feel like Richard’s up there. Dave’s up there. But Mount Rushmore’s not enough faces because I’m such a fan. I’d put Jim Carrey up there, but now I’m out. You know what I mean? There’s only four I can choose from—that’s not fair. I’d put George Carlin and Will Ferrell, and Jamie Foxx is a brilliantly talented individual. So I’d need several mountains because I really enjoy comedy.
RL: Coming from the sports angle, it’s always interesting when athletes come on SNL and host. Who are some of the athletes you think have been the best hosts on SNL?
KT: Peyton Manning always comes to mind right away. He really rocked it. He loves to be silly. Charles Barkley is a lot of fun. I remember the Michael Jordan episode just because it was so epic. Anytime it’s a giant athlete like that, it only helps the show, even if he’s a little awkward.
I don’t know if Shaq hosted or if he was just in a sketch with Tracy, but it was really funny. It was great that Tom Brady came. It was great that LeBron came. Michael Phelps—those were great names. Roddick was a lot of fun. Andy Roddick was a lot of fun. Yeah, he was just a silly guy. Those are the people I can think of.
RL: Who’s the next athlete that hasn’t hosted yet who you think would be a really good fit?
KT: Yeah—oh yeah, Travis Kelce was fantastic. Travis Kelce. Yeah, he was fantastic. I was thinking Patrick Mahomes, just because his voice is fun.
RL: I could see you doing him with the voice and the wig…
KT: You’d have a lot of fun. Yeah. And then maybe a wrestler or something. The Rock—how can we forget Dwayne Johnson? He’s such an actor movie star now, but he’s an athlete completely. He’s hosted five times, I want to say. So, some kind of crazy wrestler would be fun. Big, ginormous presence. Throwing people through walls. Momoa—you could consider Momoa an athlete. Ginormous, super fun.
RL: Yeah, you touched on Charles Barkley earlier, and he’s obviously hilarious on Inside the NBA. We all know the personality of Charles. When you came on SNL, just what was the funniest part about working with him? I think you had mentioned something like he didn’t want to work too hard or made some type of joke about that…
KT: That’s my favorite part. He refuses to work hard (laughing). He’s like, “All my life, I’ve only worked for two hours—practice two hours, games two hours. I refuse to work more than two hours.” I’m like, well, that’s not going to be possible here, sir. Like, we work several, several hours.
But the greatest Charles Barkley story was when he tried to convince us to go gambling Friday night. He was like, “Okay, Mohegan Sun—we’re going to get a helicopter, we’ll go up there, we’ll gamble, and then we’ll be back tomorrow in time for rehearsal.” I was like, there’s no way that’s a good idea. But I think he may have gone.
RL: Did anyone take him up on the offer?
KT: One or two—like, he definitely midweek, I think, which is wild. Like, I think us cast members fear the show a little more than that, you know what I mean? Because it is such a delicate, you know, glass menagerie, if you will.
RL: What’s the biggest challenge about SNL being part of that versus any other show? Because obviously there’s a live element, there’s all the preparation. Just what’s the biggest challenge of SNL versus maybe any other type of show or movie you’ve worked on?
KT: I think it’s just the eyeballs on it, because the eyeballs on it are kind of the captains of the industry. You know what I mean? The people who watch it, really pay attention to it, are really, really big-brain people. Like, yes, they have senses of humor, but they’re really, really smart, and they have a wealth of knowledge, especially if you’ve been watching from the beginning. But you also have worldly knowledge from 1975 to go with that. You know what I’m saying?
So it’s easy to feel a little like, you know, a third grader when it comes to certain things—especially certain current events, or actual political names and intentions if you haven’t really been super paying attention to who voted how, or even how government really functions. You know what I mean? Like, a lot of us don’t really know how it works. So it’s taught me kind of to embrace the newspaper.
RL: You mentioned Michael Jordan before. If Michael Jordan were to come back to host SNL in 2026, what are you guys planning? What kind of skits are you guys doing? Like, what are you guys doing to make that just a ridiculous episode?
KT: I think big, giant boat fishing gone wrong, number one, you know, because he has a big boat and he goes deep-sea fishing a lot. So I want to see that completely go wrong and turn into chaos.
And then, probably like an old-man pickup game where everybody breaks something. Cigar lounge—like, I think “gone wrong” basically. Everybody kind of getting burnt.
JB Smoove has one of the greatest pitches ever because he’s notorious. He’s known as probably the greatest pitcher in the history of SNL because we have pitches on Monday. He pitches the wildest stuff that would make the whole room cry laughing. He pitched a long cigarette one time where the person just keeps burning the people around them.
So I want to see that happening in a cigar lounge—big cherries, like Big Bird–type stuff while people are talking. Oh man. God bless. Shoutout to JB Smoove, man. Incredible.
RL: Would you guys recreate the quarter skit? Keegan-Michael Key would come back, Heidi Gardner would play the old man, you would play Charles Barkley again, and Michael Jordan would play himself—the quarter skit when they were throwing the quarters.
KT: So great. Shoutout to Heidi, man. That’s why it’s tough when people graduate and they leave us, because she was so special. She was the first person to even bring that skit forward, you know? And as long as the tenure of SNL is, she’s the one that brought the quarters to us.
And it was so brilliant because it was uncanny how she kind of looked like the guy.
RL: Oh, she was perfect.
KT: Looked like the guy—Incredible. So yeah, we bring that back in a heartbeat. And I heard Jordan was hyper-competitive about anything, so it could turn into bottle caps, pencil shavings—I don’t know. It could get kind of quirky. But yeah, man, that was a fun episode.
RL: One final thing here. Thirty seconds. The Beavis and Butt-Head skit with Heidi.
KT: Forget about it!
RL: Describe that one for me quickly.
KT: Shoutout to Mikey Day, man. Mikey—he’s been my brother for so long, and it’s nice to see his progression on the show. He’s definitely the new king there as far as reliability is concerned, and he’s just constantly coming with fantastically funny sketches.
That was one of them. And yes, we were aware they were going to look like Beavis and Butt-Head, but sometimes you don’t really know until you see it.
We had seen it at dress rehearsal, yes, but it still looked ridiculous. And it’s also a feeling of fondness because it’s someone you love. It’s one of our family members, and we know Mikey for being silly. They have such a relationship, too.
So I think it was just an explosion of celebrating how silly and how fantastically perfect for certain things Mikey can be. And I think that was flooding out of her.
RL: Absolutely. Kenan, thank you so much for the time. Really appreciate it, and all the best of luck. And yo—Jim Beam in one hand, lemonade in the other.
Rob Lepelstat is an experienced sports media professional with over 7+ years in content creation, editorial, social media, reporting/interviewing, etc. His work has been featured in USA Today, Yahoo Sports, Bleacher Report, and more. Check out more of his interviews, including Jay-Z, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Lawrence Taylor, Derek Jeter, Ice Cube, Drew Brees, and Livvy Dunne here.
