Transcript

Kenan Thompson Almost Quit SNL After 1 Season Until He Spoke to This Legend · Direct From Hollywood with Ryan Seacrest

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Speaker 1: Direct from Hollywood with Ryan Seacrest. Keenan Thompson's been getting
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Speaker 1: people laughing on SNL for longer than any other featured
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Speaker 1: performer across its forty nine year history. An incredible twenty
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Speaker 1: year run, But he writes in his autobiography, his stint
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Speaker 1: almost ended as soon as it started. In fact, his
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Speaker 1: confidence was so shaken at one point during his first
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Speaker 1: season he considered leaving on his own, convinced he'd be fired.
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Speaker 1: It happened after he bombed in his skit and felt
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Speaker 1: like it made writers avoid him. But the turning point
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Speaker 1: came when he asked Maya Rudolph why they'd hired him.
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Speaker 1: She replied it was a no brainer. Everyone could tell
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Speaker 1: he was ready. Keenan writes, I fully freaked out hearing
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Speaker 1: that I literally had a seat next to one of
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Speaker 1: the most talented performers I've ever seen. Her pedigree was legendary.
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Speaker 1: To be complimented by someone you admire was humbling and enlightening.
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Speaker 1: I wasn't just a kid laughing at his own jokes
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Speaker 1: in front of the mirror. I'd been validated. Keenan's memoir
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Speaker 1: When I was your age is out now that's direct
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Speaker 1: from Hollywood,