Kenan Thompson Reveals Why He Almost Quit ‘SNL’ Early In His Career And How Maya Rudolph Gave Him The Boost He Needed

Kenan Thompson has been on Saturday Night Live for 20 years, making him the longest-running cast member of all time. However, in his new memoir, When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown, the actor reveals that he almost walked away from the iconic sketch show early into his now record-breaking run.

According to his memoir, a show of support from Maya Rudolph went a long way and was exactly what Thompson needed to gain his confidence and become a beloved SNL staple.

Via PEOPLE:

“Rookie mistakes” in his early years, as well as being “donut’-ed,” an industry term for having no airtime, led his confidence to “sink to an all-time low.”

“I was famous enough that people were trying to follow me off the subway, but I couldn’t get on the show,” Thompson writes. He also says that then-castmate Maya Rudolph assured him that he was ready, which was influential for him.

“It took a major attitude adjustment to earn my place at SNL,” Thompson wrote about how much Rudolph’s encouragement helped him tough it out and not bail on his burgeoning SNL career.

Thanks to sticking around, Thompson got a chance to meet some of his comedy idols like Eddie Murphy. As Thompson wrote, the two “kicked it.”

“And by ‘kicked it,’ I mean I was fanboying from afar and leaving him alone as much as possible,” Thompson quipped in the memoir.