Kenan Thompson reveals “SNL” costar who sought him out as a mentor: 'He came knocking'
- - Kenan Thompson reveals “SNL” costar who sought him out as a mentor: 'He came knocking'
Lauren HuffJanuary 10, 2026 at 8:00 PM
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Kenan Thompson on 'SNL'
For Kenan Thompson, being the longest-tenured cast member in Saturday Night Live history has its perks. Chief among them is getting to be a mentor to newer cast members, such as Marcello Hernández.
Thompson shouted out the star, who joined the show in 2022, during a stop on the Richer Lives by Sofi podcast. When host Vivian Tu asked Thompson if any of the cast come to him to be a mentor since he's been on the show "forever," Thompson replied, "Yeah. I mean sometimes, you know, everybody's kind of on their own journey kind of thing, but my door is open, and me and Marcello are close because he came knocking."
Of Hernández, he said, "He was willing to learn everything because he enjoyed comedy and he's like, 'This is so different from the job I had before this, I'll figure this out.' You know what I'm saying? And I'm like that's exactly the perspective to have. You do the best version of what you can do and he's been growing in that."
Kenan Thompson and Marcello Hernandez on 'SNL'
Thompson shouted out his mentee for his first impression on the sketch comedy series going "mad viral," and praised the star for having "such an amazing trajectory to witness."
He also called out Pete Davidson, who starred on the show from 2014 to 2022, and Leslie Jones, who was part of the SNL lineup from 2014 to 2019.
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"Same with Pete, you know, when Pete came in, he was just young in the game and he would ask me different questions and stuff," Thompson explained. "Leslie too, because she was young to television. She wasn't young to stand-up necessarily, but they see how casual I am about it because I've been doing it since I was a kid."
As for his best advice, Thompson, who joined as a featured player in 2003, said "there's only a couple of tricks" that he knows. "The trick is like to just face the camera, know your lines, stay in the moment, and have fun. You know, I try to have fun. Some people want to hang around the old man and tap me on the shoulder. And I'm open to all of it."
He continued, "It's just nice to watch them all come in as such newbies and baby dragons and then they grow into like these monsters so fast, you know, because it just takes off in such amazing 360 directions. People start writing for you. You start seeing them showing up on talk shows, popping into movies, and then they become superstars."
At that, he shouted out SNL alum Abby Elliott, a cast member from 2008 to 2012, who is now best known for her work on the mega hit series, The Bear. "It's just fun to see your friends wind up on the industry's biggest thing that year, and it's a reminder that once you've got the stamp, it's not as cold as it was without it, you know? So, it's a cool thing," he concluded.
Saturday Night Live returns next Saturday, Jan. 17, with a new episode hosted by Finn Wolfhard with musical guest A$AP Rocky at 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
