Kenan Thompson

Kenan Thompson showed up in some Gucci glasses. Amy hangs with the 'SNL' star and talks about what he brought to his role as Toto, over-tapping T. C., and wearing a will.i.am wig while very hungover. Host: Amy PoehlerGuests: Maya Rudolph and Kenan ThompsonExecutive Producers: Bill Simmons, Amy Poehler, and Jenna Weiss-BermanFor Paper Kite Productions: Executive producer Jenna Weiss-Berman, coordinator Sam Green, and supervising producer Joel LovellFor The Ringer: Supervising producers Juliet Litman, Sean Fennessey, and Mallory Rubin; video producers Jack Wilson, Belle Roman, and Aleya Zenieris; lighting director Caroline Jannace; audio producer Kaya McMullen; social producer Bridget Geerlings; video editor Drew van Steenbergen; and bookers Kat Spillane and Paige GarbariniOriginal Music: Amy Miles This episode is brought to you by Uber Eats. Stock up on glue sticks, pens, and other back-to-school essentials from your favorite brands for $5 or less on Uber Eats. Order now https://www.ubereats.com/ This episode is brought to you by Subaru. Love goes the extra mile in the Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid and Subaru Forester Hybrid. Visit https://subaru.com/hybrid to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:38Speaker 00

  Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of Good Hang. I talked to the amazing, kind, hilarious Keenan Thompson today. And we talk about some really fun stuff. We talk about Eddie Murphy and how important he was to both of us. We talk about learning how to ice skate and how it is hard. And Keenan is good at it. We talk about how we partied really hard and how we suffered because of it. And we talk about, can I wear sunglasses on the red carpet? Am I allowed? Is that cool? And the answer is no. So we're going to talk to Keenan today. Cannot wait. And before we do, we always check in with somebody who knows our guest, who wants to speak well behind their back, who wants to give me a question to ask them.

• 1:20Speaker 00

  And that person is world superstar Maya Rudolph. Maya Rudolph, joining me today from Zoom. You know, just, I don't know, comedy legend, whatever, no big deal. Friend of the pod. Let's see what Maya's up to. And check in on that cutie pie, Maya.

• 1:41Speaker 00

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• 2:26Speaker 01

  Oh, you look much nicer than I do.

• 2:28Speaker 00

  I'm trying to dress a little bit like Keenan.

• 2:31Speaker 01

  Oh.

• 2:33Speaker 00

  Oh, what mug are you drinking out of?

• 2:35Speaker 01

  It's Late Night with Correction Jackals from Late Night with Seth.

• 2:43Speaker 00

  Is your house just filled with mugs that you've gotten from various talk shows? Mine kind of is. I wonder if like Johnny Carson and like Merv Griffin and Dinah Shore, if they ever had mugs?

• 2:58Speaker 01

  You know what I would give for one of those mugs?

• 3:01Speaker 00

  Right.

• 3:01Speaker 01

  Do you know what we were looking? This is gonna, this is really ADHD. And this is going to take us on a completely different tangent.

• 3:07Speaker 00

  It doesn't matter.

• 3:08Speaker 01

  You know what we were just looking up this morning? Bicentennial, 31 flavors slash Baskin Robbins bicentennial ice cream flavors.

• 3:20Speaker 01

  And do you know what some of them were?

• 3:22Speaker 00

  Wait, so just said that this is 1976 flavors?

• 3:26Speaker 01

  1976 for the bicentennial.

• 3:29Speaker 00

  Right.

• 3:30Speaker 01

  31 flavors, AKA now known as Baskin Robbins. Or is it the other way around? It's Baskin Robbins.

• 3:36Speaker 00

  I think it's the other way around now.

• 3:37Speaker 01

  They don't, they have more than 31 now.

• 3:39Speaker 00

  Right, yeah.

• 3:42Speaker 01

  One of them was called Valley Fudge.

• 3:49Speaker 00

  Valley Fudge.

• 3:52Speaker 00

  What was another one, Maya?

• 3:54Speaker 01

  Oh, God, now I gotta look it up again. One pie was, one was apple pie ala mode.

• 4:00Speaker 00

  Yeah, sure.

• 4:01Speaker 01

  That's cute.

• 4:02Speaker 00

  Cute.

• 4:03Speaker 01

  But like, give me Valley, give me a family word. Oh, thank you. Minute amendment.

• 4:11Speaker 00

  So stupid. You know, Gen X has lived, we lived, we were alive. I was alive during the bicentennial. And here we are celebrating 250 years. And boy, has America never been better.

• 4:27Speaker 01

  That's exactly how I feel.

• 4:29Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 4:30Speaker 01

  I mean, when you think about how far we've come.

• 4:33Speaker 00

  Well, how far we've come and how much we fixed. That should be the slogan. We've fixed a lot. We're talking to Kenan Thompson today. And I'm so psyched that I'm talking to you because you and Keenan are linked in a lot of ways for me. Like, I think some of my most fun and most tender and funniest moments are watching the two of you perform. Like, you guys really have a connection. How would you explain it?

• 5:06Speaker 01

  You know, when you meet your people and you can't really, you can't really find words for it. So you just feel like you've known the person your whole life. I always feel that when I see Keenan. I feel like he's always been there and we don't have to say anything. And it's, there's a, there's a relaxation that comes over me when I, when I see him, when I watch him.

• 5:35Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 5:36Speaker 01

  It's like watching an incredible musician. You know that you're in good hands and you can't wait to see what they're going to bring you because you know it's going to be masterful and amazing. But it's also going to fill you with like a, with a joy. Like, it's relaxing. I used to feel that way about watching Prince on stage. I'd get relaxed because I was like, he can do anything. He can do anything. Keenan, I'm instantly, instantly like warmed and already giggling a little bit. There's a twinkle in his eye that says it all.

• 6:18Speaker 00

  Yes, Maya, it's so true. There's a twinkle.

• 6:20Speaker 01

  I have such strong memories of him, you know, inviting him into our dirty, dirty office. You know, sit on the floor on his knees or something like, I mean, we, we lived like disgusting college students, Amy.

• 6:36Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 6:37Speaker 01

  And you too, that was your perch.

• 6:40Speaker 00

  Yeah, that was my perch.

• 6:41Speaker 01

  Bringing, bringing friends into that and giggling till four in the morning. I remember so clearly writing stuff with him. If I bring it up now, I'll probably get canceled, what we were writing. But, but it was so fun and all we did was laugh. All we did was laugh, like, listening to songs and finding the little tiny minute things and then, and then going in and laughing.

• 7:08Speaker 00

  I mean, a great example of that is one of my favorite characters and sketches in SNL ever, which is TT and Mario.

• 7:15Speaker 01

  TT and Mario.

• 7:16Speaker 00

  So for people that didn't ever watch TT and Mario, how would you explain who TT and Mario were?

• 7:22Speaker 01

  It's a great, thank you for asking me. TT and Mario is, is a duo from your childhood past that is so, they sing the most beautiful love songs that are so raunchy and disgusting. They think they're very loving.

• 7:39Speaker 00

  Yes, they are romantic.

• 7:41Speaker 01

  They're a married couple with children. They're, they've been together for a very long time. And sometimes, one might say that sometimes they need the music to, to make things fun again.

• 7:54Speaker 00

  And what I love about them is they always start so beautiful and so romantic. And then maybe 10 or 15 seconds in, they start talking about each other's booty and how tight it is.

• 8:02Speaker 01

  Yeah, there's a lot of booty play involved. And TT and Mario serenaded you in the hospital.

• 8:09Speaker 00

  That's right.

• 8:11Speaker 01

  When Archie was born.

• 8:12Speaker 00

  That's right. I want to talk to Keenan about it because it was so, it was like, if I could have picked two, I couldn't have picked two better people when I was in a postpartum haze to be singing at me from the TV. Then you guys, it's funny, I'm excited to interview Keenan because there's a lot I actually don't know about him. He's, he's, he's more of a.

• 8:36Speaker 01

  Coyote.

• 8:37Speaker 00

  More of a coyote, more of a, he's more of a, of an observer and a mirror than he is sometimes a sharer. Do you have any questions for me today that you would like to hear Kiki talk about?

• 8:50Speaker 01

  I, I mean, we're different ages in terms of like our influences. But he was so like, well-formed when we met him. Like, I want to know what he was doing. I know he was performing as a young person, but like, how did that, how did that get in there as like, oh, I know when I'm, when I'm big, I'm gonna be this. Like, how did those influences create the Keenan that we know? Because I feel like he came out like this. I can't imagine him any other way. I also just want to know, like, like, I know you're going to ask him about like, how, how do you keep it fresh, Keenan?

• 9:31Speaker 00

  Totally me. I mean, I'm so curious about like, what do you not go to or do anymore? I mean, after 22 years of the show.

• 9:38Speaker 01

  Oh, my God, like, you know, how have you, how have you like bypassed?

• 9:42Speaker 00

  Yeah, how does the system work for you? Yeah, I'm curious.

• 9:46Speaker 01

  Because I feel like he might, he might actually be experiencing like the, like the dream of SNL. Because if you've been there long enough to be like, hey, guys, I'm gonna have to go this way.

• 9:59Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:00Speaker 01

  It's probably the dream.

• 10:02Speaker 00

  I know. It's probably, why would you ever leave? It's so fun.

• 10:06Speaker 01

  Do you ever, like, he, he, he figured it out.

• 10:09Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's, he cracked the code. And I want to know what he cracked.

• 10:13Speaker 01

  I think there's, there's gold behind those doors.

• 10:18Speaker 01

  But like Little Keenan is always what I think about. And I'm also, and I didn't know Little Keenan. And I'm curious, like, I guess I equate it to when we were little. Like, we would do plays in our living room and things like that. Like, was he just the guy who made his friends laugh? Was he the guy who was like? Because he's always been so steady and so funny.

• 10:38Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 10:39Speaker 01

  And it feels like, like, where does that charm come from?

• 10:43Speaker 00

  Okay, so I'm gonna ask Keenan about Little Kiki, which we all know. Little Keenan is probably the cutest kid we've ever seen.

• 10:50Speaker 01

  On earth, like, like, hands down. And because I like knowing if that, if that person knew that that person was gonna be the person we know today. And I feel like it's a yes. I feel like that guy always knew.

• 11:04Speaker 00

  I feel that way about you too, Maya. Like, I feel like seeing Little Maya on a home movie, like, singing into a microphone. You, you knew that too.

• 11:15Speaker 01

  That's all I wanted. I just wanted a microphone and to laugh with my friends.

• 11:19Speaker 00

  Yeah. And look at you guys, singing together about putting whipped cream on each other's business.

• 11:27Speaker 01

  That's all I want for America, for them to put whipped cream on each other's business.

• 11:32Speaker 00

  All we want is for Valley Fudge to make a comeback.

• 11:35Speaker 01

  Honestly, yeah. Don't you love this angle? I mean, I picked a great angle. My neck looks like.

• 11:42Speaker 00

  You actually look great. What does it say in your shirt?

• 11:44Speaker 01

  Oh, Rory's place. Oh, hello. It's my favorite restaurant in Ojai.

• 11:50Speaker 00

  Maya just dropped the phone down her shirt by accident.

• 11:54Speaker 01

  Whoa, whoa, oopsie.

• 11:56Speaker 00

  Yeah, exactly. Oh, no, it fell down my pants.

• 12:00Speaker 01

  Do you kids wanna see what happens when my phone fall? I feel like relaxed and smiley because we're talking about Keenan. You know what I mean?

• 12:08Speaker 00

  Totally.

• 12:09Speaker 01

  I love you.

• 12:10Speaker 00

  Love you. Bye, Mama, thanks.

• 12:11Speaker 01

  Bye.

• 12:14Speaker 00

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• 13:00Speaker 00

  Listeners, Keenan brought me some fake.

• 13:02Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 13:03Speaker 00

  Wow, this is becoming a thing now where I'm getting fake food.

• 13:07Speaker 02

  It's real. How are you doing?

• 13:09Speaker 00

  Are you gonna wear your sunglasses the whole time?

• 13:11Speaker 02

  I'm not. I knew that would be a thing.

• 13:13Speaker 00

  Well, no, because I was gonna say I'll put some on too if it would make you.

• 13:16Speaker 02

  Would you like it?

• 13:18Speaker 00

  I don't have any, but I could wear some. I would like them off because I wanna see your beauties.

• 13:22Speaker 02

  Of course. It's good to see you. I just feel cool when I wear them.

• 13:26Speaker 00

  I do too. I feel cool. Okay, what'd you bring?

• 13:28Speaker 02

  But look at this.

• 13:31Speaker 00

  Wait, wait.

• 13:32Speaker 02

  Come on.

• 13:33Speaker 00

  Okay, let me explain. Is Keenan?

• 13:35Speaker 02

  That is for you.

• 13:36Speaker 00

  Keenan brought me a pizza, a slice of cheese pizza.

• 13:39Speaker 02

  I think it's an artistic expression of the pizza rat.

• 13:42Speaker 00

  Oh, it's Pizza Rat.

• 13:44Speaker 02

  I think so.

• 13:44Speaker 00

  There's a rat riding a slice of.

• 13:48Speaker 00

  This is the first time I've had a fake food that moves, like, in any way. This is great.

• 13:53Speaker 02

  And it almost reflects us, because I feel like we're such fun, kind of like, life lovers of like a good time kind of thing. It just reminds me of like us as characters, so.

• 14:06Speaker 00

  Keenan, wait, and then you have to kind of, oh, you gotta get it going. Well, here we go, you ready?

• 14:10Speaker 02

  Just pull it back a little bit.

• 14:12Speaker 00

  For those listening, we're pulling it back.

• 14:13Speaker 02

  And then it goes, we'll pull it back a little stronger. Come on. And you can't break it. So, long story short, I went shopping and I thought of you. I saw it and I thought of you. And I've been holding on to it before I even know I was booked on here.

• 14:29Speaker 00

  No way, Keenan.

• 14:30Speaker 02

  Just fingers crossed, hoping that one day I would get to come sit in the throne.

• 14:35Speaker 00

  Okay, well, I'm gonna put it on. Oh, my God, you know, we gotta add, thank you, Jenna. Um, I'm gonna put this on my wall.

• 14:42Speaker 02

  Oh, look at the placement.

• 14:43Speaker 00

  Front and center placement. That is, that's Super Bowl placement.

• 14:47Speaker 02

  That's Super Bowl, that, that is.

• 14:49Speaker 00

  You gotta pay a lot of money for that placement.

• 14:51Speaker 02

  Byron Island placement.

• 14:54Speaker 02

  Yo, man, the best.

• 14:55Speaker 00

  Kenan Thompson is here.

• 14:56Speaker 02

  Hi.

• 14:57Speaker 00

  Hi, bud.

• 14:58Speaker 02

  How are you doing?

• 14:58Speaker 00

  I'm great.

• 14:59Speaker 02

  You doing this on both coasts?

• 15:01Speaker 00

  Yeah, we get to do it in L.A. and New York, which is the best. You just get to do it wherever you are.

• 15:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, and convenient for like guesting people, I'm guessing.

• 15:08Speaker 00

  Yeah, really convenient.

• 15:10Speaker 02

  Good job. Congrats on the golden, who gets a gold for a podcast?

• 15:13Speaker 00

  No one does.

• 15:14Speaker 02

  Exactly. That's why you're such a gaffer. Exactly. That's amazing. Congrats to everyone, you guys. That's really cool.

• 15:21Speaker 00

  Congrats to podcasting.

• 15:23Speaker 02

  Yeah, way to go, podcast. Come on, Spotify.

• 15:26Speaker 00

  You have a podcast, right?

• 15:27Speaker 02

  I did a podcast for a long time with a buddy of mine, yeah.

• 15:29Speaker 00

  Yeah, what was it, what was it about?

• 15:31Speaker 02

  It was just two black guys existing in America. You know what I mean? With a love of like, you know, Hollywood and stuff like that. So, you know, he's kind of a director. Yeah, I listen to podcasts. I listen to yours. I just caught up with The Lonely Island because.

• 15:44Speaker 00

  So funny.

• 15:44Speaker 02

  I did a guest appearance because of the Reba episode.

• 15:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 15:47Speaker 02

  And then I was like, wait a minute, let me look at how long they've been doing this. And I went back to the beginning. And it is a long ride. And God bless those guys for just showing up and they're so funny.

• 15:58Speaker 00

  Barely showing up.

• 15:59Speaker 02

  Barely showing up.

• 16:00Speaker 00

  But it's hard to get all four of them on the line.

• 16:02Speaker 02

  Oh, it rarely happens. And it's such a treat.

• 16:05Speaker 00

  Totally.

• 16:06Speaker 02

  But they're combing through like such good memories, you know?

• 16:09Speaker 00

  I know, I felt the same way. It was like really good to go back in time. And we have so much to talk about, Keenan, because we were on the show together for.

• 16:18Speaker 02

  A what, like, six years?

• 16:20Speaker 00

  Six years, which now is. Was the, it was like the first six miles of your marathon, basically.

• 16:26Speaker 02

  When did you depart?

• 16:28Speaker 00

  I left in 2008.

• 16:31Speaker 02

  Yeah, that was like a five year, because I started in '03, so.

• 16:35Speaker 00

  Well, I'm, I, I mean, getting to work with you is some of my most favorite times. And I wanna talk to you about it today because you're so attached to so many important moments in my life.

• 16:45Speaker 02

  Thank you. And likewise, like, I talk about my sisters all the time. Like, I consider y'all like, you know, such to like, get out of my room, kind of like, but also like, straighten up and don't come like playing games. That's why I was like, I was ready to take my sunglasses off. This is not a game.

• 17:04Speaker 00

  Keenan, take, I'm like your bossy older sister.

• 17:06Speaker 02

  Let me just analyze, are you gonna keep those on the whole time?

• 17:10Speaker 00

  Are, are you gonna wear your sunglasses to Mom's birthday?

• 17:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah.

• 17:14Speaker 00

  You're so right. We do have a very, there is a very sisterly quality with you and a lot of the women that you performed with during my time. And then you've, like, you've gone, your family, family dynamic at SNL has changed from like younger brother to like elder statesman.

• 17:30Speaker 02

  I'm like grandpa at this point. Yeah, yeah, I'm Gramsy. Hey, Gramgrams. Good morning.

• 17:37Speaker 00

  Everyone's like, shh, grandpa's sleeping, grandpa's sleeping.

• 17:39Speaker 02

  Grandpa's feet, grandpa's feet hurt.

• 17:42Speaker 00

  Don't tell him.

• 17:43Speaker 02

  Let's just do less for grandpa. Yeah.

• 17:46Speaker 00

  Okay, I'm gonna take you back in a little time machine to Little Keenan. Because the teeny-tiniest little version of Keenan knew pretty early that he wanted to be a performer. You're one of three kids, you're the middle.

• 18:05Speaker 02

  Yeah, but my sister's my half-sister.

• 18:07Speaker 00

  Okay, got it.

• 18:07Speaker 02

  Just for technicality's sake.

• 18:08Speaker 00

  Got it.

• 18:09Speaker 02

  That's why we're 14 years apart.

• 18:10Speaker 00

  Okay. So, were you then, were you the baby then?

• 18:14Speaker 02

  I was the baby.

• 18:15Speaker 00

  Okay, that makes more sense.

• 18:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 18:16Speaker 00

  That makes more sense.

• 18:17Speaker 02

  Just reckless and fearless, you know? And just a strange, like, you know, kind of ignorant confidence, if you will, you know?

• 18:25Speaker 00

  But do you remember the very beginning? I feel like a lot of performers have this feeling, like, they remembered that sparkle that they got when they got like attention or looked at. Do you remember that, like, early time?

• 18:36Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I talk about it all the time. It was the gingerbread man, you know, like, in kindergarten.

• 18:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:40Speaker 02

  I'm like in the graduating play, but like, I was a gingerbread man. You know what I mean? Like, I wasn't the stove.

• 18:47Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 18:47Speaker 02

  So, it was an awakening, because in rehearsal, it was just like learn these lines and like this, gotta do this thing or whatever. But once I saw people there, and then I recognized my mom, and my mom was smiling, and, you know, she was so happy and like excited, and it just made me like perform more. And then like, you know, the audio of hearing laughter, like, after something I said, I'm like, oh, wow, what is this?

• 19:09Speaker 00

  Totally, I can remember that feeling too. Like, the feeling of just like getting, feeling a little bit taller when you were, when people were looking at you.

• 19:17Speaker 02

  I mean, look at us now, we're still just fishing for laughs constantly.

• 19:21Speaker 00

  Fuck, yeah.

• 19:21Speaker 02

  It feels so good.

• 19:22Speaker 00

  It's so embarrassing, I know.

• 19:23Speaker 02

  God bless.

• 19:24Speaker 00

  But it's so true, because, and I read that you were, you were a toto in.

• 19:28Speaker 02

  That's what I'm saying. I got really hooked on trying to do something that, that gains laughter. I just wanted to put those away because.

• 19:36Speaker 00

  The sunglasses?

• 19:36Speaker 02

  They were OCD-ing me a little bit.

• 19:39Speaker 00

  First of all, these glasses are gorgeous. Who makes them?

• 19:41Speaker 02

  Those are Gucci glasses.

• 19:43Speaker 00

  Of course they are.

• 19:43Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 19:44Speaker 00

  And I get it now, I get it what you mean about being able to talk behind the sunglasses.

• 19:50Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 19:51Speaker 00

  Do you think I could pull off, and we'll get to your life, but do you think I could pull off? Eye contact is intense.

• 19:58Speaker 02

  And you can pull off anything.

• 19:59Speaker 00

  No, but you can pull off sunglasses on the red carpet, right? That's cool as shit.

• 20:05Speaker 02

  I have made it a thing to where, like, I'm just fine with if they're mad about it or not, because I feel like Jack was the coolest, and he never took his sunglasses off.

• 20:17Speaker 00

  So true.

• 20:17Speaker 02

  And I'm like, that means you don't have to.

• 20:20Speaker 00

  But wouldn't it look like I just recently had eye surgery if I was?

• 20:25Speaker 02

  Only in the beginning.

• 20:27Speaker 00

  Right.

• 20:28Speaker 02

  And then once it's a thing, it's just like, oh, that's her artistic expression or whatever kind of like excuse you can get away with.

• 20:36Speaker 00

  You're so right. Okay. Wizard, I just want to get back to Toto for a second. You played Toto.

• 20:41Speaker 02

  I played Toto because all the parts were taken. And I was like, well, nobody's gonna be the dog. And this is a church play on the South Side of Atlanta. I'm sure we didn't have many like terriers to choose from. So I was like, I'll do, I'll do the dog. Like, why not? I just wanted to be down.

• 20:58Speaker 00

  There's a lot of people I've talked to that have been in the Wizard of Oz in different ways. What did you bring to the role?

• 21:03Speaker 02

  Well, this was the whiz. So it was fantastic.

• 21:07Speaker 00

  Even more fun.

• 21:07Speaker 02

  Yes. The music and everything. And I brought tenderness to the role when Dorothy needed it. I remember like cuddling up to her and like the whole church being in it. You know, this is a small, like, maybe like 100 people, maybe something like that. And to feel all of them acknowledge my performance in that way was like, yeah, it's addicting, you know? And then like, there's a moment where everybody like runs to the back of the church when the scene is over to set for the next scene. And like, I'd been crawling around on all fours. So they left me. And I was just like, oh, snap. Like, they're all gone. And I can't go. So I stood up as a dog and ran. And that got a laugh. I was just like, fucking swinging on that one.

• 21:49Speaker 00

  I don't want, I don't mean to be like jumping, like comparing your story to mine, but I had a similar experience. I was Dorothy. We had a real dog.

• 21:59Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:00Speaker 00

  And there's a moment in the scene where Dorothy's supposed to have a tornado, like the tornado is supposed to come and she's supposed to go, Toto, Toto, where are you? But I was holding the dog. And I was like, this is, we didn't go over this part.

• 22:11Speaker 02

  Right.

• 22:11Speaker 00

  So I put the dog down, walked a few feet away, and I said, Toto, Toto, where are you? Big laugh.

• 22:17Speaker 02

  Huge laugh because everybody watched you process that. And you stuck with it and committed to like continuing the work. Man, improv is the greatest, coolest thing. I wish I would have gone to one of the schools for.

• 22:32Speaker 00

  I know. You, you have, you, you, you feel like, like from that air, from that like style and family.

• 22:38Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 22:38Speaker 00

  And did you know any actors growing up?

• 22:41Speaker 02

  No, not at all. It was such a distant dream. The best I would have thought would be like a commercial, like a national, like a Publix, you know, when I was starting to book those in the beginning, you know, Sonic, like whatever, kind of like, I thought that was kind of the, you know, the mountain I would be on.

• 22:57Speaker 00

  And was it your mom that was taking you those mostly?

• 23:00Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 23:00Speaker 00

  Yeah. And she was just like down.

• 23:02Speaker 02

  My mom's so dedicated. She got a job at the Alliance Theater School so I could take classes. She got like a side gig there, like as a like answering the phone or like some kind of like office assistant, you know what I mean? So I could take classes at a discount or whatever it was. Like, the acting thing, I just, I just loved it.

• 23:18Speaker 00

  You loved it. I mean, the theme, I feel like of today's talk and you, Keenan, is like, you feel like everywhere you arrive, like, is the, like, timing is so important in your life, career, and in the way you perform. I think you have the best timing of anyone I've ever worked with.

• 23:36Speaker 02

  Oh, thank you.

• 23:37Speaker 00

  Your timing is incredible. The way you know how to play moments and the know how, the way you know how to play life. Because life is its own game. You're, you have to figure out how to play.

• 23:48Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 23:49Speaker 00

  And I'm just in awe of your timing.

• 23:51Speaker 02

  Oh, man.

• 23:52Speaker 00

  And so.

• 23:53Speaker 02

  I guess I'm the second one to start crying. Shout out to Seth.

• 23:56Speaker 00

  Cry, cry. Oh, my God, Seth. So easy to get that guy to cry.

• 23:59Speaker 02

  The best.

• 24:00Speaker 00

  But it's so like, but, but, but because of that, I look at your life and your career, which is still, we're in the middle of it. We're not, but like, and, and the way in which wherever you are was where you were supposed to be at the time.

• 24:13Speaker 02

  And weirdly enough, it's always felt that way. You know what I mean? Like, I've never been like overly pressured. Like, the SNL audition was extreme. But like, on the way to that, for some reason, everything felt done already. Like, I already have this job. Like, I already have made my friends, you know, before I even like met all that cast. I was just like, I feel like this is mine to do, kind of thing.

• 24:36Speaker 00

  Yes. Yes. It was like, that's exactly right, Keenan. It's like, it feels like every opportunity for you felt like you were meeting the opportunity when it was meeting you. And when, when you were, I mean, you were, you were on TV when you were, what, 11, 12, doing like movie reviews?

• 24:55Speaker 02

  That was like a real job.

• 24:56Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 24:57Speaker 02

  When I first like was dipping my toe in the water, we would like, kids going along with the news anchored to this new like exhibit at the zoo. Like, it was like about dinosaurs. And they did like a little mini special about that. Like, that was like the beginning. So I was like, this is just playtime. We get to be in the zoo after hours. Kind of like, that's cool.

• 25:17Speaker 00

  Right.

• 25:18Speaker 02

  But like, real news for kids, I was like, oh, snap, I have like an ID badge. Like, I get to like.

• 25:23Speaker 00

  A little briefcase.

• 25:24Speaker 02

  To have that so young. It just pointed me confidently in the, in the direction of like, this is kind of what I feel like I should be doing. And then all kind of kismet stuff started happening. Like, my first review was the first Mighty Ducks movie.

• 25:37Speaker 00

  No way.

• 25:38Speaker 02

  Like, almost a year to the day, I got to audition for the second one and ended up like making it in. And then the director knew the producers from the Nickelodeon shows. And they like connected me to that. So that audition, I was real cocky.

• 25:53Speaker 00

  Yeah. You were like, hey, guys, hey, hey, old friends.

• 25:56Speaker 02

  What do you need? You, you need a Jamaican? I got you.

• 26:00Speaker 00

  It's interesting because you look young, you still look young.

• 26:03Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 26:04Speaker 00

  Isn't it nice to now, that's a compliment?

• 26:06Speaker 02

  Likewise, is what we're supposed to be saying.

• 26:08Speaker 00

  Well, I don't know about that. Maybe with the sunglasses on.

• 26:11Speaker 02

  Yeah, put the glasses on.

• 26:12Speaker 00

  Put the glasses.

• 26:15Speaker 00

  Wouldn't it be weird if I wore those glasses, a cane and like a, and a boot and went to a red carpet?

• 26:19Speaker 02

  That's when people are starting to worry.

• 26:20Speaker 00

  Yeah. And like a wrist, like one of those.

• 26:23Speaker 02

  Like, what, did she fall down on the beach?

• 26:27Speaker 00

  And half my face is sunburned. But you, but you had a, you have and had a baby face, but you definitely had a poise of someone much older than you. Like, I'm curious if you've always felt your age. I mean, a lot of kids who are acting at a young age, especially like making money for their family and being around adults most of the time. But you had the kind of pleasure and privilege of working on a show with a bunch of other kids.

• 26:55Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 26:55Speaker 00

  So you were with people your own age, pretty much.

• 26:58Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 26:58Speaker 00

  Did you, do you feel older or younger than your age? Like, what is your soul age?

• 27:03Speaker 02

  I've always felt like an old man. Like, I feel like I came right from something that happened in the 70s. And I stayed kind of like connected to the 70s. And I don't want to like, it's my favorite era. And like, yeah, I feel like Taurus energy just, you know, capitalizes on that. And I'm very relaxed and just chill and like, don't want to be that, not too loud, please. Everybody just, everybody settle down, please. Like, I can't handle it. Like, when people like loud talk me in restaurants and it's just love. But they, when they shout my name, I'm like, please.

• 27:37Speaker 00

  Yeah, you don't like that. I know that about you. And your influences were like that, too. Like, Richard and.

• 27:44Speaker 02

  For sure.

• 27:44Speaker 00

  Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy.

• 27:46Speaker 02

  Just the, the, the black zagat zeitgeist, basically.

• 27:51Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 27:51Speaker 02

  Of that era and then onward. And then, of course, as I got older, looking backwards and learning your history kind of stuff. But I, I love like, you know, the blaxploitation era and like diving back into those sounds and those words and like having fun with it. Because it's like, you know, playing in your dad's clothes, basically.

• 28:11Speaker 00

  Yes. Did you guys watch as a family, like, stuff together? Were you a laughing family? Like, were you a comedy family?

• 28:17Speaker 02

  My dad is the joker, for sure. Like, he's the joke teller. And he does really well. He's like a room pleaser when he does that. Like, I remember like at my grandmother's house, he would have my grandma like almost like peeing her pants, like literally. And this is my mom's mom, you know what I mean? So he ain't really doing a dance, kind of thing.

• 28:36Speaker 00

  Is he a frustrated performer?

• 28:37Speaker 02

  I don't, he's a, he's a Gemini. So I think he does a lot of things well. So, you know, he was like, he drove like NASCAR kind of cars. He was in the military. He was a mechanic, you know?

• 28:50Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 28:51Speaker 02

  You know, amazing, like, real estate person, like, made history in Atlanta for kind of desegregating, like, listings and stuff like that.

• 29:00Speaker 00

  Really?

• 29:01Speaker 02

  Yeah. So like, he's a very cool dude. And on top of that, yeah, loves to tell a joke. And then my mom has this like secretive kind of sense of humor, like a little prissy because she's like the older. She's the oldest of seven, you know, and they come from kind of, it's actually called Forest of Virginia. So you can imagine, there's lots of trees there and not a whole lot of buildings. So she comes from literally the forest and like, kind of had to be a little more like suited and booted. But yeah, she has this like sneaky little laugh where it's just like, oh, you like to laugh at the naughty. Look at you being naughty kind of thing. So for me, I have a little bit of both, but I'm not really like a room gatherer unless it's like a fixed performance.

• 29:45Speaker 00

  No, you're not. Like, you're not looking to win the room.

• 29:48Speaker 02

  Yeah, no.

• 29:49Speaker 00

  No. I mean, I would say that my experience with you is that you are a little bit more of a three-point shooter. Like, you wait for your time and you like to observe. You like to see how people are playing.

• 29:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, I like to Steph Curry it a little bit. And like when it's time to turn it on, just like take over the game.

• 30:03Speaker 00

  And you shoot it and you shoot, you do like a no look on your way out.

• 30:06Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah. Like, I know that's going in.

• 30:08Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 30:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 30:09Speaker 00

  It's definitely your style. And, and it's rare to have like a career before you reach SNL.

• 30:16Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 30:17Speaker 00

  Like, and, and not always helpful.

• 30:19Speaker 02

  No, it hadn't gone well, I don't think, for anyone at that point. I was like, I just want to do whatever because this writing thing freaks me out. So you guys tell me what you want and it took five years before I wrote something that was like my idea.

• 30:33Speaker 00

  On the show?

• 30:34Speaker 02

  Mm-hmm. Scared Straight was like the first thing that actually made it on the show, if you will.

• 30:37Speaker 00

  Well, you know, we talked, we brought up Eddie Murphy and I want to talk about what it was like to do that sketch at the 50th. But what's your early memories of Eddie Murphy? Because for me, I'm older than you, but not by much, but enough that when I was watching SNL, when I started watching SNL, it was Eddie's year. He was 18, 19. When do you remember me, when seeing him?

• 30:57Speaker 02

  Kind of me watching from down the hall when I wasn't supposed to still be awake kind of stuff. You know what I mean? And like, I remember hearing Hot Tub before I actually was able to watch it.

• 31:08Speaker 00

  Right.

• 31:08Speaker 02

  You know, just like trying to just be, and I just remember being in PJs, you know what I mean? And like, watching my dad just like laugh. I think he was still like, my mom was asleep. He was just like the only person up. How's it dark? And you just see that like blue flashing in the glow and like, yeah.

• 31:26Speaker 00

  Isn't it funny, you have memories as a little kid of like, when your parents would laugh really hard at something? It was like, you would look at them like.

• 31:32Speaker 02

  Well, what happened?

• 31:33Speaker 00

  What happened? What's funny? And it just imprints on your brain immediately then forever what you think is funny.

• 31:39Speaker 02

  It was always fun getting to a place where like we could share laughter together in the same sort of sense of humor, like with my dad, you know what I mean? Like, once we started like quoting Coming to America to each other and like, certain moments, it was just such a dynamically fun time because it was like our little thing, you know? Like, we played pool, we quote Coming to America, you know what I mean? And it's like a dad and two brothers, basically. It's really cool.

• 32:06Speaker 00

  It's kind of like, what you're, when you're saying like that, it's reminding me that like, for some families, comedy is sports. Like, that's how you connect, is you talk about what you think is funny and like, and I know that you loved Eddie, I know that you love Richard Pryor, and you also love Chris Farley, who you got to work with. Can you tell us about that?

• 32:26Speaker 02

  And Jim Carrey.

• 32:27Speaker 00

  And, oh, and Jim Carrey.

• 32:29Speaker 02

  Super duper fan of Jim Carrey and I emulate him, I think, more probably than anybody as, as far as like, micro performing goes. Like, I feel like he performs every possible like syllable kind of thing in his physical body. It's, it's wild to watch. But Farley is just a full buffalo, you know what I mean? And like, he was just so dynamically funny, not just falling down funny. Like, he had some quips that were incredible.

• 33:01Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 33:02Speaker 02

  And sometimes his performances were just like, he's the only one that can do that kind of thing. So he came to all that and did that, like.

• 33:10Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 33:11Speaker 02

  It was the greatest day I've ever seen because I was like, that's a true pro. That's somebody that doesn't, because they would tell us and rehearse us a lot because we were kids kind of thing. He came in and didn't need any instruction at all. He was playing a ketchup chef that likes to put ketchup on everything. And of course, my character likes to put chocolate on everything, so it was a battle. And they had this eight-layer chocolate cake because we were celebrating something or whatever. And, you know, Nickelodeon likes to make a mess, but they like to shoot up until right before the mess and stop and like do that part a few times to make sure they got it, if you will.

• 33:46Speaker 00

  Right.

• 33:47Speaker 02

  And they really politely asked him like.

• 33:50Speaker 00

  Please.

• 33:51Speaker 02

  And you know, take one, after we got, and we got to that point, destroyed that cake like it was nothing. Like, I think on purpose because they tried to tell him to do something. And he like beat the cake up to where there was like, there's no way we're doing a second take of this. Jumped in the car, jumped in the limousine and was gone. Like, they have showers, like, we got showers ready. I'm fine. Towelled off a little bit, still ketchup in his hair and was out of there. And I was like, now that's a gangster. That's a, that's a professional gangster.

• 34:26Speaker 00

  Yeah, that's amazing.

• 34:27Speaker 02

  So damn funny and so nice.

• 34:28Speaker 00

  So nice.

• 34:29Speaker 02

  So nice. Never fronting on me for being a kid or anything. He just came in and like, he was like, let's get to it kind of thing.

• 34:35Speaker 00

  You know, I think, I'm sure every young person feels this way. They remember the people that like treated them like peers when they were feeling, when they were, and they remember the people that were dismissive of them when they were young. Because we really do act, especially with young people, like they don't know what the fuck they're talking about. Or like, we're always doing that to them.

• 34:58Speaker 02

  And like, I have a problem with like people's boundaries. Like, I learned hard lessons with that because I'm just very like outgoing and kind of like, we're, we're fine with this, right? You're fine if I just keep tapping you on the shoulder like you know me kind of thing. And some people put you in your place and you're like, hey, man, stop tapping me. And I was like, oh, snap. Like, I'm sorry I crossed that line. TC. Like Magnum P I T C. I was so excited to be next to him, you know what I mean? Like, that's what Nickelodeon did to put us, you know, in proximity to a lot of very famous people kind of thing. And I was just overly excited. I'm like, isn't this great, my man? Look at this. This is an awesome thing. He's like, hey, man, stop tapping me. And I was like, oh, oh my God. I over tapped TC.

• 35:43Speaker 00

  But you're, but you're, what you're talking about is just like straight up like etiquette on set? That a lot of people, when they arrive at SNL, not only have not ever been like on TV, but often have never been on any kind of set. And there is an etiquette to your point, how you approach people, how you, how, like how to be a professional. And like I, Keenan, you are such a professional in the way you approach your work and the way you deal with people. You're really, really smart and you've, you have a lot of experience and you could feel it immediately when you arrived at SNL. But when you think back on those early like days of learning about what it was like to be on a set, what was like the things that you learned?

• 36:28Speaker 00

  What were some like takeaways that you still think about, like what you try to bring to other sets?

• 36:33Speaker 02

  First, thank you for all of that. Second, free stuff was the first thing I noticed. I was like, I'm in the right spot. I knew it. I knew if The Price is Right was doing it, I knew everybody was doing some version of that, whether it was snacks or drinks or whatever, whatever I'd like, I needed to ask for. If you know, little Wendy's, little bacon cheeseburger meal. Can I get that?

• 37:00Speaker 00

  I'm like, absolutely.

• 37:01Speaker 02

  Absolutely, no problem.

• 37:02Speaker 00

  Don't even take your wallet out.

• 37:05Speaker 02

  Fantastic. I'll do whatever. We'll be here 19 hours. You know, how many more times? You want to jump in the lake? Am I supposed to jump in the lake? Whatever.

• 37:13Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 37:14Speaker 02

  And that was definitely like a check, check that box. But also the size of things, like when I got on The Mighty Ducks and saw like a movie set, all these trailers and like so many clothes for everyone. I'm like, what are all these clothes for? Like, all the different scenes in the movie, they got to wear different clothes. I'm like, different clothes? That's crazy.

• 37:36Speaker 00

  Oh, it's a lot of pressure.

• 37:38Speaker 02

  Super pressure. I didn't know how to skate.

• 37:40Speaker 00

  Okay, let's talk about Mighty Ducks because you are one of my, you, you're one of my friends that skate the best.

• 37:46Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 37:46Speaker 00

  You're an incredible ice skater. A lot of people don't know this.

• 37:48Speaker 02

  Thank you. And I, I pride myself with that because it's not like a big known thing amongst the black community to just ice skate like that. You know, like, there's only certain people that do it. There's only certain couple few people in, you know, in the NHL or whatever kind of thing. You know, New Yorkers or people in cold climates kind of do it around Christmas time kind of thing. Just, you know, kind of like going bowling, if you will.

• 38:12Speaker 00

  I remember, I have a very clear memory. To get good at it is hard and I have a very clear memory. They used to let us at Christmas shows at SNL.

• 38:21Speaker 02

  It's the best.

• 38:21Speaker 00

  Best. They don't, do they do that anymore?

• 38:23Speaker 02

  They haven't done it in so long.

• 38:25Speaker 00

  They've got to do it. They used to let us, I mean, talk about free stuff, talk about perks. Is on the Christmas show, we'd be like, good night. And then they'd cut to like maybe a bumper and we'd all get to run downstairs. What would we do?

• 38:39Speaker 02

  Got to get there. There would be like a golf cart all of a sudden inside the hallway sometimes, like for people to just like zip down there. Some people would be down there already. But if you're in that final thing, kind of thing, and then we would wave good nights on the ice.

• 38:51Speaker 00

  And we'd be in the Rockefeller, on the, on the ice rink.

• 38:53Speaker 02

  Underneath the Christmas tree.

• 38:54Speaker 00

  Yeah, Rockefeller Center and just us at one o'clock in the morning.

• 38:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 38:58Speaker 00

  And I go down there and I see Keenan and Keenan is, you are skating forward, skating backwards, skating sideways, doing your thing, shooting the moon.

• 39:06Speaker 02

  What are you doing?

• 39:07Speaker 00

  Doing 45 million tricks.

• 39:09Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 39:09Speaker 00

  And then I was like, oh, Mighty Ducks.

• 39:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 39:13Speaker 00

  So how hard was it to learn for you?

• 39:15Speaker 02

  Very. Because like I remember, like I was just talking about this the other day, like roller skating and going to like roller skating rinks is what we had in Atlanta.

• 39:22Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:22Speaker 02

  Like, I was busting my ass constantly, you know what I mean, as a kid? But you don't feel anything as a kid. You just feel the knots later kind of thing. But I remember like both feet up falling all the time, you know, like all the time.

• 39:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 39:36Speaker 02

  So sure, I put it on my resume under special skills that I could roller skate or something like, yeah, roller skating. You know, but like I never in a million years. Considered hockey. And I wanted to learn, but after that first day of hockey camp, which was on my birthday, my fifteenth birthday, I wanted to quit it all.

• 39:55Speaker 00

  Oh, I bet.

• 39:56Speaker 02

  I want to be an actor. I don't want to do, if this is what it's about, like, am I, thank God my mom didn't let me quit.

• 40:01Speaker 00

  She was like, no, go back tomorrow.

• 40:04Speaker 02

  Kept going back and back and like, eight weeks on both movies, you learn how to skate.

• 40:09Speaker 00

  Yeah. Do you skate, do you find ways to skate now? Do you look for it?

• 40:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's great skating with the family, you know, I mean, Christmas time.

• 40:16Speaker 00

  Girls know how to skate?

• 40:17Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 40:18Speaker 00

  That's awesome.

• 40:18Speaker 02

  Yeah, they're both are good little skaters.

• 40:20Speaker 00

  They are. Do you watch any ice skating during Olympics?

• 40:24Speaker 02

  Yeah, I mean, I watched the figure skating, yeah. I watched the, the girl with the three tiered, you know, kind of hairdo.

• 40:31Speaker 00

  Yeah, Alyssa Liu?

• 40:32Speaker 02

  Is that her? Yes. I know she's from, from Oakland area. I know she's from the Bay.

• 40:37Speaker 00

  How dope was that?

• 40:38Speaker 02

  Unbelievable.

• 40:39Speaker 00

  Unbelievable.

• 40:40Speaker 02

  Just because of how casual she is.

• 40:41Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 40:42Speaker 02

  And like, she's just chilling, but like, the thing she can do on the ice, bro, is that I give her all the medals. Like, it was wild to watch.

• 40:51Speaker 00

  Well, she-

• 40:52Speaker 02

  Bad in hockey, I guess, I watched it all.

• 40:53Speaker 00

  She reminds me of when you perform because she was very relaxed. And you get, and like, when we're watching her, we're like, she's good, she's good. And the ner-, like nerves, nerves are, like, if you can figure out how to channel your nerves.

• 41:08Speaker 02

  Oh, man.

• 41:09Speaker 00

  So what were your nerves like when you were auditioning for SNL? You're twenty-three, which is still really, I mean, in the, in the context of the show, I guess it's not so young, but just feels so young. When I watch your audition on SNL, there's a small moment that is, Sandberg did it too when he auditioned, where you take a moment before you start and you go, oh my God, SNL. You said it, like, to yourself.

• 41:36Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 41:37Speaker 00

  And, and I, I, Sandberg had a similar moment where he was just like, you could tell he was like, well, but it's, it, it, it was very inviting. It was not like this person is like, cannot handle their nerves. It was, it felt like what you do so well, which is you like zapped yourself to the present moment. You're like, here I am, I'm here.

• 41:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, and it's like, I have to call it out because if I don't, it'll be like it didn't happen kind of thing. So I have to like, put it in, in the words that like, I recognize that this is crazy.

• 42:07Speaker 00

  It feels like also just a way to secretly kind of quiet your nerves, like just to be, say it.

• 42:14Speaker 02

  Suddenly putting that seatbelt on. Like, and like, remember in Fight Club when he's just like, you know what? I'm just gonna get crazy with this and let this stare and we'll go, I'm just gonna let it go. And I just like, let my mind just start rambling. It's so, my audition is so rambly. It's crazy.

• 42:32Speaker 00

  I mean, it's not, and, and I, I, I think I've told you this story, but I watched your audition from a, um, we were filming Mean Girls. Did I tell you this story? I've told you this story. And Lorne had the auditions, he was watching them on the plane, private.

• 42:50Speaker 02

  Private, P J. We know somebody that got money. Our friend got money.

• 42:59Speaker 00

  And probably the first time I had ever flown private, I, I don't even remember, but I remember. And it was during Mean Girls, and we must have been flying back from the set because Tina was there. And Lorne was there, and Lindsay Lohan was there.

• 43:12Speaker 02

  Incredible.

• 43:12Speaker 00

  And we watched your audition.

• 43:14Speaker 02

  That's crazy.

• 43:14Speaker 00

  And we were all like, he's incredible. And Lindsay was like, I love him. And, and I remember- And I think at the time you probably already had the job, but it was, I, the one thing I remember more than the content, which you realize very fast, nobody cares about the content. Like, you think the content, the jokes, everything is so important. You can have the best written material in the fucking world, you can have the best jokes in the world. If people don't feel like relaxed, happy to see you, drawn to you for whatever reason, it just, it doesn't work. It's like, it's this crazy chemistry thing.

• 43:52Speaker 02

  The craziest part of casting.

• 43:54Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 43:54Speaker 02

  Like, casting is such a, like, shout out to, you know, casting people that like,

• 43:59Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:00Speaker 02

  do it well, because it takes a whole lot of like, um, thanks for, thanks for coming in, but, you know, we'll get back to you. And like, being able to, they're like nurses, you know, just give you-

• 44:12Speaker 00

  They're like, we're gonna give you something.

• 44:13Speaker 02

  Help you through the awful news.

• 44:14Speaker 00

  We're gonna give you a shot. It's gonna hurt.

• 44:16Speaker 02

  Yeah, or like, let's try that again.

• 44:18Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 44:19Speaker 02

  And this, and this time, do everything different.

• 44:22Speaker 00

  Oh, I mean, yeah, they're like, um, maybe this time try to be like a normal person in the world. Like what a normal person would, yeah, that's a good note.

• 44:31Speaker 02

  And then you do it and you still like, didn't like, check those boxes.

• 44:34Speaker 00

  Did you have fun?

• 44:35Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 44:39Speaker 00

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• 46:47Speaker 00

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• 47:30Speaker 00

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• 47:45Speaker 00

  I want to say something about what, watching you ride the wave that is SNL, because it is a series of waves. What do you think has been the, like, the way that you've surfed the last 23 years?

• 47:59Speaker 02

  I think in the beginning I became friendly to the process of it. Like, I became a friendly, useful, like, tool, if you will. So like, all kinds of people would like, write for me because I was able to deliver.

• 48:13Speaker 00

  Nobody gave us this rule, but, and I'm sure you now tell people this, but if I could go back and tell people one thing, it would be, try to do as well as you can in anything you're given.

• 48:26Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 48:27Speaker 00

  That simple thing gets people to just, because everyone's nervous.

• 48:33Speaker 02

  Give me one word.

• 48:35Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 48:35Speaker 02

  Or half a line. I love it.

• 48:38Speaker 00

  Yeah. What have you changed about how you interact with the job, that, how you've made the system work for you?

• 48:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, I don't let it just keep me out anymore. It used to keep us out.

• 48:49Speaker 00

  Well, Keenan and I have had, Keenan and I have seen some-

• 48:52Speaker 02

  It's one of my favorite stories ever of us doing that bit.

• 48:55Speaker 00

  Please tell us. Okay, let's tell this story. I totally-

• 48:58Speaker 02

  I need a drink. Let's take a drink break.

• 49:00Speaker 00

  So I'll start it. Keenan and I, okay. This was a different time, before we had children.

• 49:07Speaker 02

  This was a different time before we had children.

• 49:09Speaker 00

  So we would go out a lot, Keenan and I, and all of us would party a lot.

• 49:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, we would hang out.

• 49:13Speaker 00

  And we would hang out.

• 49:14Speaker 02

  It's New York, very excited about being in New York.

• 49:16Speaker 00

  And so, we, there was a night, many nights, but there was a particular night where I was out too late.

• 49:24Speaker 02

  Yes. This is before I understood the schedule too. I was just like hanging out.

• 49:28Speaker 00

  I knew the schedule and I was still-

• 49:31Speaker 02

  Still out there.

• 49:32Speaker 00

  And we were at a place called Bungalow Eight.

• 49:34Speaker 02

  Fantastic.

• 49:35Speaker 00

  Shout out to those kind of places.

• 49:37Speaker 02

  Shout out to Rashida.

• 49:38Speaker 00

  Shout out to Rashida. Look, Rashida, Rashida Jones turned, always, my beautiful wife, turned me on to so many aspects of life.

• 49:47Speaker 02

  Literally the greatest.

• 49:48Speaker 00

  And she'd be like, hey, I'm hosting this club thing, and I'd be like, oh my God, what time? 1 a.m. Sounds great. I mean, what the fuck?

• 49:56Speaker 02

  We're there. And like, it doesn't close like the other places? Like, it can kind of just stay open a little later?

• 50:02Speaker 00

  And then when you walk in, it's like, oh, you know.

• 50:05Speaker 02

  Bringing an Amazon Rainforest, and it's time to listen to musics and drinks.

• 50:10Speaker 00

  Yeah, and like, T I is here.

• 50:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, lots of people in the building.

• 50:15Speaker 00

  Um, so, um, we went to Bungalow Eight, and I was there, and all of a sudden, guess who comes in? Later than me is Keenan.

• 50:22Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 50:22Speaker 00

  Keenan comes strolling in.

• 50:24Speaker 02

  Strolling.

• 50:25Speaker 00

  And we had, we had a 6 a.m. call, I probably had a 6 a.m., you may be a little bit later because ladies have a lot-

• 50:31Speaker 02

  It was first thing in the morning, but-

• 50:33Speaker 00

  We had to be up maybe two or three hours later to play-

• 50:38Speaker 02

  The Black Eyed Peas.

• 50:41Speaker 00

  And I had to get in full, you know,

• 50:44Speaker 02

  I had a whole lot of wiggage to be where I am. Heavy ass dreads.

• 50:49Speaker 00

  Heavy dreads. And it was, the host was John Heater.

• 50:54Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 50:55Speaker 00

  Who did not stay out late that night.

• 50:57Speaker 02

  No.

• 50:57Speaker 00

  He was ready.

• 50:58Speaker 02

  Yeah, he didn't have an issue at all. But he's like Mormon, isn't he?

• 51:02Speaker 00

  He's Mormon, so he just chilled.

• 51:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, he chilled. He was a responsible person.

• 51:05Speaker 00

  He was responsible, and he chilled. And he didn't even have caffeine. That's how.

• 51:09Speaker 02

  No. And back then, those chutes used to be 10,000 miles away.

• 51:14Speaker 00

  I had not slept. You had not slept. Who else was in it? Who was our?

• 51:17Speaker 02

  I'm gonna say Forte.

• 51:18Speaker 00

  Forte.

• 51:20Speaker 02

  I just remember Forte, like, laying on a very hard floor.

• 51:25Speaker 00

  We were so hungover.

• 51:26Speaker 02

  Face down.

• 51:28Speaker 00

  And could not move or talk. And literally, they stopped traffic in the middle of a New Jersey highway.

• 51:34Speaker 02

  Yeah, for us to pretend to be the black eyed peas.

• 51:37Speaker 00

  And rolling. It was like six.

• 51:38Speaker 02

  Like 10, 9 a.m., like rush hour. And people are just like, what is happening? Yeah. You had to be.

• 51:45Speaker 00

  Don't fuck with my heart. And we had to dance. And Keenan was doing a bit that I will never forget, which is he was taking phone calls from his past self, pretending to tell him to go home.

• 51:57Speaker 02

  Yes. Like, you are being unkind to yourself, sir.

• 52:01Speaker 00

  He was like, Keenan, this is Keenan. You gotta go home.

• 52:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, what are you doing, man? You know, you know you have to get up early. This is not good. Put it down.

• 52:09Speaker 00

  When you started, you, you mentioned this earlier, you were, you and Jost were, what, what are your memories of being, of you and Jost sharing an office?

• 52:17Speaker 02

  It was the best because we were so dynamically different, in my opinion. You know, like, him coming from, like, Harvard and Staten Island, and like, me coming from like, the south side of Atlanta, kind of thing. And like, I didn't finish, I went to Santa Monica City College, you know, so I didn't even really get too far down to like, college, college, like, sharpness road, you know? So like, I was still like, high school educated, in my opinion. I learned a lot from him. We shared an office for eight years.

• 52:43Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 52:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, because other offices would open up, but like, we enjoyed that office so much, and like, I think being together so much, and then Scared Straight was born from that, you know, kind of stuff. And like,

• 52:55Speaker 00

  Talk about full circle, Keenan. Like, you, you, you see, you're a fan of Eddie, you write Scared Straight.

• 53:03Speaker 02

  Forget about it.

• 53:03Speaker 00

  Colin, and then you do it with him at the 50th. What did that feel like?

• 53:07Speaker 02

  Shout out to those guys. Like, shout out to people that are like, like, Colin and Che are both like that. And I shout out Che out so much because a lot of my favorite stuff, that is like, very silly and black and really, really smart, you know, is coming from him sharply, like Black Jeopardy and stuff like that.

• 53:25Speaker 00

  And, uh, when you and Eddie did it for the 50th, what, what, what do you remember? But what was the little special twinkly magic moment? And when you did that, what did it feel like?

• 53:36Speaker 02

  So at the 40th was, the night before was the first time I met Eddie, you know what I mean? And he just came to that, like, toast to Lauren in the Rainbow Room. So everything was like, very New York magical, because it was like, in the sky, and he emerged from a separate elevator from everybody else. And I'm like, of course, he has his, you know, specific way. And like, I was like, that's really cool. I couldn't contain myself. And he recognized, you know what I mean? He was like, hey, man, like, I was like, oh my God, this is amazing. So fast forward to the 50th, Colin suggests we do a Scared Straight and put him in it. You know, he had hosted, which was the greatest show ever, when, you know, he hosted for Christmas time. And then back to Che,

• 54:18Speaker 02

  put me in that monologue with him, Chris Rock, Tracy, and Dave Chappelle. Like, what an epic picture. I'll keep it for forever. So at the 50th, they're talking about doing a Scared, I'm like, I wasn't even planning on, I didn't know what to do because everything was so last minute, you know what I mean? So I just heard that they wanted to do this. And I'm like, they're down to do this? I couldn't believe it. Like, Eddie and the goat, Will Ferrell, like, bro, like, Will Ferrell's the greatest cast member we've had, ever, I think, in many people's opinion. So for them to be in my little baby sketch was unreal.

• 54:53Speaker 00

  That's so cool, Keenan. Yeah. I felt that. I felt like, I felt like you were a peer and a fan at the same time with them.

• 55:01Speaker 02

  Super.

• 55:02Speaker 00

  Because you are a peer to them. And you realizing that moment was special is, is kind of like, what, going back to our theme, which is you were really present in the moment. And the other thing I'm just gonna say about you, Keenan.

• 55:13Speaker 02

  I just eat too much humble pie to, to like, not feel like a little kid looking at his hero, kind of thing.

• 55:19Speaker 00

  Well, that's what I mean is, you know, okay, do you ever watch the show Alone? I talk about it all the time on here, but it's a, um, okay, Alone is a, is a, um, it's kind of like an adventure reality show, and it's about people who are dropped off in the wilderness. They have to survive by themselves. And whoever stays the longest alone, and they all have to hunt and fish and gather and all this stuff.

• 55:39Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:39Speaker 00

  But what you realize is, the people that last the longest are not the ones that celebrate the hardest. And they're not the ones that take the losses so personally. They stay somewhat relatively even.

• 55:54Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 55:54Speaker 00

  You bag a moose, week one, you're not gonna bag it every week.

• 55:58Speaker 02

  Right.

• 55:59Speaker 00

  You, your shelter falls down, it doesn't mean because you're a jerk and bad things happen to you. Like, you don't internalize. And I get that from you. You ride those highs and lows. Do you think that that's true about yourself? And have you always been that way?

• 56:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, and I think I kind of focus on that a little bit, you know what I mean? Just to make sure that I don't allow things to just carry me away, you know what I mean? Like, there's so much to be emotional about. Outside of the business, like, the world is in like, full chaos and has been my whole life, I feel like. You know what I mean? There's always been some sort of representation of a, a bad guy, if you will, or a bad, you know, situation, kind of stuff.

• 56:40Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 56:41Speaker 02

  And then the more you learn about the world, it's like, how dare I even be bothered or upset about, you know, such minuscule things as a misaccomplishment in my career, kind of thing, you know? So I've always kind of just been like, cool. Like, if something great happens, great. Something bad happens, it's like, all right, pick up the pieces and like, let's keep it pushing, kind of thing, because you can dwell on it if you want and let it like, suck you down a little whirlpool and stuff like that. But then where would we be? And where would all the people that depend on me be, kind of thing, if I allow the darkness to creep in?

• 57:17Speaker 00

  It's true. But, but it's a, it's like a, it's like a life lesson of like, can you be satisfied? Like, the life lesson of, can you be satisfied?

• 57:27Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 57:28Speaker 00

  Is a really, you know, that yearning.

• 57:30Speaker 02

  I can easily be satisfied. Yeah. I, I, I know the things I like, and I'm happy when they're around.

• 57:37Speaker 00

  When you speak about, I let, you know what you like, I feel like you love working with Maya.

• 57:44Speaker 02

  She's the greatest.

• 57:45Speaker 00

  And she loves working with you.

• 57:46Speaker 02

  Maya is just such, I didn't, I never met such a dynamic force of nature, you know what I mean? Just in pedigree and talent and, you know, the kind of person she is, the kindness she is, like, she's very maternal. You are as well. Like, all four of my, like, original, Dratch and Tina, like, my four horsemen, horse ladies sisters, are giant forces of nature, you know? And it started with Maya, and like, I'm deeply indebted to her for kind of pulling me out of the fog of Tuesday night and getting something done in my first week. And constantly kind of being that source of just funny convo or wonderful performer to perform things with.

• 58:31Speaker 00

  I mean, you guys are like, instant family. Like, you were a family in another life. You immediately met each other and you were like, oh, you play the same way I play.

• 58:39Speaker 02

  Yeah, and also just, I'm obsessed with songbirds, you know what I mean? It's an amazing talent to sit next to and just listen to her just take off on some sort of like, musical number or something like, while she's just sitting there. And it's like, do y'all hear this? Like,

• 58:55Speaker 00

  I mean, I always said that she would be better than most of the professional singers that came from.

• 59:00Speaker 02

  A hundred percent.

• 59:01Speaker 00

  And you too, Keenan.

• 59:02Speaker 02

  I try, but like, man, what a, what a cool thing to kind of like, be in close to, kind of thing. And like, I just, I love it. So the same with like, you know, even, you know, up to the current cast and like, everyone in between. And I just love our family so much that I like being close to it. And like, it's just, I'm not afraid of how it will be when I leave. It's just, I would much rather just stay, you know? Dude, why not? Who's writing this rulebook?

• 59:30Speaker 00

  Yeah, exactly right.

• 59:32Speaker 02

  Like, I'm up to 23 years.

• 59:34Speaker 00

  I know.

• 59:34Speaker 02

  Possibly starting in 24 or whatever.

• 59:36Speaker 00

  Possibly.

• 59:37Speaker 02

  You know, like.

• 59:38Speaker 00

  It's happening. I mean, yeah, I know, you're exactly right. What are, what are the rules? And, and so, so we do this thing in the, in the show where we talk to somebody, we get a question. So we talk to Maya.

• 59:48Speaker 02

  Oh my God, how wonderful. What does she say?

• 59:51Speaker 00

  She loves you so much, Keenan.

• 59:53Speaker 02

  God bless her, man. I love her too.

• 59:55Speaker 00

  And we laugh so hard at how dumb and how fun the stupid shit you guys have done.

• 1:00:01Speaker 02

  It's the best.

• 1:00:02Speaker 00

  It's the best. And we talked about TT and Mario, which, you know, is my favorite, which is the couple that is.

• 1:00:08Speaker 02

  Put your hands in roller skates.

• 1:00:10Speaker 00

  And?

• 1:00:10Speaker 02

  Flip you upside down. And then wheel you into the kitchen, put whipped cream on your business.

• 1:00:18Speaker 00

  I want you to know I was singing that on the way here. Put whipped cream on your business. What a gorgeous lyric.

• 1:00:24Speaker 02

  God bless censorship. If it wasn't for censorship,

• 1:00:27Speaker 00

  You're so right.

• 1:00:27Speaker 02

  the wordplay would be so less fun.

• 1:00:30Speaker 00

  Sometimes the guardrails make it way funnier and you can't say anything dirty. So you have to say, put whipped cream on your business.

• 1:00:37Speaker 00

  But Maya was talking like, and, and also I just want to like, say, thank you again. I know I've thanked you many times in my life, but you and Maya did one of the most tender, wonderful, like funny and beautiful things for me in my life that when I rushed from set to have my kid.

• 1:00:53Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:00:54Speaker 00

  And my first son, Archie, and he was in my arms and I was watching the show that the day before I was rehearsing, which talk about like feeling like you're in a crazy alternate reality. You guys sang to me from Update, you and Maya, and with the TT and Mario flair, but not as filthy because there were children present.

• 1:01:15Speaker 02

  Of course.

• 1:01:16Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:01:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:01:17Speaker 00

  And I couldn't have chosen two better people to have that feeling from. And it was so, it was such a wonderful, beautiful, I really treasure it, Keenan.

• 1:01:28Speaker 02

  I'm so glad because it felt that way in the moment. And I was still so young, you know, I was just honored to be asked to be a part of a, like, this is such a moment for you, like a brand new mom. And we watched you be pregnant the whole time. And we thought you were going to troupe out the show. Like, it was a super surprise.

• 1:01:48Speaker 00

  That was the plan.

• 1:01:48Speaker 02

  You know what I mean?

• 1:01:49Speaker 00

  That was the plan.

• 1:01:49Speaker 02

  So it was like showing up on Saturday and it was like hearing the news, like Amy won't be with us. There was like all hands on deck kind of energy because you're such a pivotal part of the show. So you not being there was just like, there's such a gap. We have to acknowledge this in some sort of way. And yeah, to be asked to do it was like, this is cool. Like, this is what makes this place, you know, an epic kind of place. And I felt very grateful to be involved in any sort of like moment like that, you know? It's very special, man.

• 1:02:22Speaker 00

  Maya's question to you was, it was basically more of like a statement, which is you're a fully formed, little Keenan, felt like he kind of came out fully formed. And I think little Maya too, the same thing. I think you guys saw that in each other.

• 1:02:38Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:02:38Speaker 00

  And I think her question was really like, do you think that's true? And I do think we kind of talked about, like, do you think you knew from the very earliest age what you wanted to do?

• 1:02:49Speaker 02

  In some sort of, some sort of way. And definitely in that direction, you know what I mean of like, I don't know if sports is going to be it. Like, I'm, like, I enjoy playing sports, but I don't, I didn't think I was going to be Bo Jackson. You know what I'm saying?

• 1:03:02Speaker 00

  Yeah. Remember Bo Jackson?

• 1:03:04Speaker 02

  So like, yeah, I think I had an affinity towards my path kind of. And I always felt like it had already been carved in some sort of way.

• 1:03:13Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:03:13Speaker 02

  You know what I mean? Like, it was just, you know, big Destiny believer. That could have something to do with like faith and growing up in church and stuff like that.

• 1:03:19Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:03:20Speaker 02

  But it just felt that way. And then I kept getting reminded of those things when those kids midi kind of things would happen along the way.

• 1:03:27Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:03:27Speaker 02

  And I'm just like, I think I should just give over to the universe and just stay positive, stay ready.

• 1:03:33Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:03:33Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:34Speaker 00

  Well, um, well, where are you going?

• 1:03:36Speaker 02

  I'm just going to my daughter's little, like,

• 1:03:39Speaker 00

  Okay.

• 1:03:39Speaker 02

  summer play.

• 1:03:40Speaker 00

  Oh, God. You're going, you're just going to your daughter's play.

• 1:03:43Speaker 02

  Literally across the street.

• 1:03:44Speaker 00

  Okay, but what time is the play at?

• 1:03:46Speaker 02

  Where they're allowing the parents in at 1:35.

• 1:03:49Speaker 00

  Oh, my God. We have to get you out of here. Okay. So we cannot, it's 1:30.

• 1:03:52Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:53Speaker 00

  So let's go.

• 1:03:53Speaker 02

  That's the time.

• 1:03:53Speaker 00

  But I gotta ask you one question. I'm gonna put your glasses on.

• 1:03:55Speaker 02

  Yeah, please.

• 1:03:56Speaker 00

  What are you listening to right now?

• 1:03:58Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:03:58Speaker 00

  What are you, what's making you laugh?

• 1:04:00Speaker 02

  Yeah, what's making me laugh?

• 1:04:01Speaker 00

  I love that you're going to your daughter's play. What is she?

• 1:04:03Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's the best.

• 1:04:03Speaker 00

  What is she doing? What play is she in?

• 1:04:05Speaker 02

  I want to say, it's just they're like sixth grade, end of school.

• 1:04:10Speaker 00

  Does she want to be a performer?

• 1:04:11Speaker 02

  School year thing.

• 1:04:12Speaker 00

  Does any of them?

• 1:04:13Speaker 02

  Some, yeah, she's better at sports kind of thing. She's a little introverted.

• 1:04:17Speaker 00

  Oh.

• 1:04:17Speaker 02

  But I see it in her, you know, and she has her moments where she just hams it up, you know, kind of thing.

• 1:04:23Speaker 00

  All right, we're gonna get you to that play.

• 1:04:24Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:04:25Speaker 00

  But what are you laughing at right now? What's making you laugh?

• 1:04:27Speaker 02

  I'm laughing at a lot of, I'm watching my friends work, you know, like whoever's putting out like new work kind of thing, you know, I just, like, I wasn't really aware of Sarah's like stand-up presence.

• 1:04:39Speaker 00

  Oh, my God.

• 1:04:39Speaker 02

  And I watched that special.

• 1:04:40Speaker 00

  That special, so we,

• 1:04:42Speaker 02

  She's a force.

• 1:04:43Speaker 00

  We, we, we had her on. She is, that special is the craziest shit I've ever seen.

• 1:04:48Speaker 02

  It's the craziest. And I like, thank God, because who else can do it, you know, kind of? So I'm like, well, she's here for a reason. And like buckle up, everybody, because when she decides to like,

• 1:04:58Speaker 00

  She was so funny on here.

• 1:04:59Speaker 02

  Let the train loose, it's gone. Like, it was great. Yeah, she's fantastic. And like, that's one of the newer things that I caught on to recently. But like, you know, any and all of our friends that are doing stuff, you know, like Leslie Jones's special was fantastic. Like, Vanessa's still out there, Carolyn? Vanessa's out there with Tisha Campbell, which is why he got Tisha Campbell doing stand-up. And it's really funny.

• 1:05:20Speaker 00

  Yes.

• 1:05:21Speaker 02

  So like, yeah, I'm just, you know, celebrating all of our friends.

• 1:05:25Speaker 00

  Keenan, you always do. You've always been like laughing with us along the way and always like reminding us that like, we, we won the lottery for getting to do what we get to do.

• 1:05:35Speaker 02

  A lot of the time, it is really a nice reminder and a pleasure to like, take a look around, you know, and be reminded of the reach. And when we're like flicking through the channels or like something pops up in the zeitgeist, like, thank you for Broad City, you know, and like for Paige and Hannah, you know what I mean? Like just supporting like new people along the way and like constantly just keeping the vibe alive, you know what I mean? Of fishing for fun times.

• 1:06:03Speaker 00

  Thank you for always shouting out all us women too. You always do that. We love you for it.

• 1:06:07Speaker 02

  It's unbelievable. And it's undeniable.

• 1:06:09Speaker 00

  You can put your glasses back on for this last thing.

• 1:06:12Speaker 02

  Thank you. Let's go.

• 1:06:12Speaker 00

  And we're, I mean, I love that you're going to your daughter's play.

• 1:06:15Speaker 02

  Yeah, it's my sweetheart.

• 1:06:17Speaker 00

  Yeah.

• 1:06:18Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:06:18Speaker 00

  She is.

• 1:06:19Speaker 02

  I'm so excited. And my other one had Field Day and her country to represent was Austria. So she had to learn about Austria. And listening to a seven-year-old talk about Austria is adorable.

• 1:06:30Speaker 00

  Oh, and I've seen the faces of these children and they are

• 1:06:34Speaker 02

  Swedes.

• 1:06:34Speaker 00

  insanely sweet and cute.

• 1:06:36Speaker 02

  God bless them.

• 1:06:37Speaker 00

  And they're so lucky to have you as their dad. And now that you're a grandpa, we're so lucky to have you as a grandpa.

• 1:06:41Speaker 02

  Yeah. And hopefully I'll be a great, great before I'm out of here like Morgan Freeman, you know?

• 1:06:46Speaker 00

  Yeah. And I'm gonna meet you on the red carpet and have, also have sunglasses on and, and weirdly a, like a dog seeing eye dog.

• 1:06:52Speaker 02

  I'm gonna start bringing a backup pair for people that I like. And it was like, all right, just make sure.

• 1:06:57Speaker 00

  I do really like those glasses. So so Gucci.

• 1:06:58Speaker 02

  Thank you. We'll get you some.

• 1:06:59Speaker 00

  Keenan, we're so lucky to have you. I'm so lucky to know you and it's so good to see you.

• 1:07:03Speaker 02

  Same.

• 1:07:03Speaker 00

  Love you. Thank you for doing this.

• 1:07:05Speaker 02

  I love you so much. My pleasure. My pleasure.

• 1:07:07Speaker 00

  So much miss you and so happy to see you today.

• 1:07:08Speaker 02

  Yeah, same.

• 1:07:11Speaker 00

  Thank you so much, Kenan Thompson. You are the best. You're the best, most wonderful person and so hilarious. And I'm so lucky to know you and thank you for doing this. And, you know, in these polar plunges, we usually kind of dig deeper into something that we talked about. But I just want to take a minute to just dig a little bit deeper into the fact that Keenan's characters on SNL, 23 years in, still kind of remain the characters that I quote on a weekly basis. Whether it is TT and Mario saying, I'm gonna put whipped cream on your business. Or it's Jean K. Jean, the French stand-up comedian who says zutelors when he does Update. Or DJ Dynasty Handbag, a, a, a, a character

• 1:07:54Speaker 00

  that he did on a sketch called Deep House Dish, which was kind of like a Euro MTV show. And written by the great James Anderson. And, and Keenan's character used to say bouquet instead of okay. And I say bouquet. Or bouquet, or bouquet, or whatever, however he said it. I say it all the time. I guess my point is, Keenan is like woven into the fabric of that show and my experience in that show in a way that's, that's like very, very, very special to me and is kind of stuck in my brain. So my plunge today is to encourage

• 1:08:37Speaker 00

  you to keep watching his stuff, past, present, and future, and to stay in the present like Keenan does too. So thank you for listening to this podcast called Good Hang with Amy Poehler. Okay, bye.

• 1:08:53Speaker 00

  You've been listening to Good Hang. The executive producers for this show are Bill Simmons, Jenna Weiss-Berman, and me, Amy Poehler. The show is produced by The Ringer and Paperkite. For The Ringer, production by Jack Wilson, Kat Spillane, Kaia McMullin, Aleia Zaneras, Brigitte Gierlings, Paige Garberini, Belle Roman, and Drew Vanstein-Burgen. For Paperkite, production by Sam Green, Joel Lovell, and Jenna Weiss-Berman. Original music by Amy Miles.

• 1:09:25Speaker 04

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