美国国家公共电台 NPR Kenan Thompson Becomes Longest-Serving Cast Member On SNL

 

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

And I'm resisting the urge to give you a primal¹ scream. We will instead talk about comedian² Kenan Thompson, who has achieved a milestone³. He is now the longest-serving cast member of "Saturday Night Live" in the 43-season history of that show. NPR's Eric Deggans met Thompson backstage.

ERIC DEGGANS, BYLINE⁴: Hours before Kenan Thompson will rehearse a sketch⁵ with guest host Ryan Gosling, he gets a little touch-up on his haircut inside his closet-sized dressing⁶ room at "Saturday Night Live's" studio in 30 Rockefeller Center. It's the Thursday before "SNL's" season premiere last week. The show returned from summer break after its most successful season in decades and a big win at the Emmy Awards for best variety sketch show. Humble⁷ and soft-spoken, Thompson seemed surprisingly relaxed. He said the show's success last season came from providing great satire⁸ of the Trump⁹ administration just when America needed to see it.

KENAN THOMPSON: It was just that everybody was on the same page. That's what it was. You know what I'm saying? Like, when everybody's on the same page, everybody can hear the joke coming, and they can enjoy it. We're healing, like, a lot of wounds that people have to live with throughout their day. And they finally get to a Saturday night, and they can patch it up a little bit and go back to Monday.

DEGGANS: The week is also significant for Thompson, who edges out impressionist Darrell Hammond as the show's longest-serving cast member. According to the fan website SNL Archives, Thompson's also performed the most impressions on the show at 126. Some highlights include retired¹⁰ Boston Red Sox star David Big Papi Ortiz...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

THOMPSON: (As David Ortiz) Do you like basketball and football but they too fun and fast?

(LAUGHTER)

THOMPSON: (As David Ortiz) Try baseball.

DEGGANS: ..."Family Feud¹¹" host Steve Harvey...

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

THOMPSON: (As Steve Harvey) Welcome to "Celebrity¹² Family Feud." Y'all like this suit? It's the first suit made by Hennessy.

DEGGANS: ...And civil rights leader/MSNBC anchor Al Sharpton.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

THOMPSON: (As Al Sharpton) This Eric Garner¹³ decision has upset me so much that in three days, I have gained over 100 pounds.

(LAUGHTER)

DEGGANS: All this leads to a natural question - how has he stayed so funny on "SNL" for so long?

THOMPSON: Man, I wish I could say, man. Like, it was a blessing¹⁴ just to get the job, you know I mean? Like, everything is so up in the air week by week, year by year in a place like this.

DEGGANS: Bryan Tucker, the co-head writer for "SNL" and a longtime collaborator¹⁵ of Thompson's, offers a few ideas.

BRYAN TUCKER: I think the biggest thing it takes is to have your own distinct voice that other people don't do. And then a willingness to do what we call, like, playing service. You know, stepping aside and letting someone else be the star. And when you come in in your three or four lines, you make them count.

DEGGANS: Finding that distinct voice is an important moment for an "SNL" cast member, that moment they click with the material, the audience and the times. And that moment came for Thompson in 2009 thanks to the sketch called "What's Up With That."

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

WILL FORTE¹⁶: (As announcer) It's "What's Up With That," tackling the issues of today with soul.

DEGGANS: The sketch itself is a fake talk show where three completely random¹⁷ guests wait for Thompson as host Deondre Cole to finish singing the theme song. But the joke is he never really stops.

(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE")

THOMPSON: (As Deondre Cole, singing) I woke up this morning and I got out of bed, had a big old cup of coffee...

DEGGANS: After years of searching for a breakout bit, the sketch was a triumph for Thompson. And his co-workers knew it.

TUCKER: He finished. The audience clapped. And then a bunch of "SNL" staff kind of applauded and gave him a high-five. You know, it's pretty rare I see that at "SNL," that everybody just decides, you know, we're going to acknowledge this for one person. And it was kind of a celebration of Kenan.

DEGGANS: Since then, Thompson has become one of the best sketch comedy actors on TV. He consistently knows how to score a laugh often just by making a face. The Atlanta native learned his comedy chops as a teen in local theater and then on Nickelodeon, where he starred on the mid-'90s sketch comedy show "All That" and then co-led a little sitcom¹⁸ called "Kenan And Kel."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "AW, HERE IT GOES")

COOLIO: (Rapping) Everybody out there go run and tell your homeboys and home girls it's time for Kenan and Kel.

THOMPSON: I was always very, like, professional in the approach to this, you know what I'm saying? And so it was never about what this could bring me. It was always just about, like, servicing whatever product I was doing.

DEGGANS: Thompson's had roles in films like "Fat Albert" and "The Smurfs." And at age 39 he's gone from joining "SNL" as the youngest cast member in 2003 to being the second-oldest this fall, encouraging his cast mates and guest hosts with the knowledge that he's gained from years on the stage. "SNL's" co-head writer Tucker remains¹⁹ surprised Thompson hasn't broken out into bigger stardom like former cast mates Tina Fey, Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig.

TUCKER: Frankly²⁰, I often get a little frustrated²¹ that he hasn't broken out because I think he has this thing where you just like him no matter what he does. And I feel like that could translate to lots of other things.

DEGGANS: But Thompson evokes²² uber-producers like Brian Grazer when asked what he'd like to do next. A devoted²³ husband and father, he's less concerned with superstardom than steady, quality work, perhaps another reason he's lasted longer than anyone else in one of the toughest jobs in show business. I'm Eric Deggans.

1 primal   

adj.原始的；最重要的

参考例句：

• Jealousy is a primal emotion.嫉妒是最原始的情感。
• Money was a primal necessity to them.对于他们，钱是主要的需要。

2 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

3 milestone   

n.里程碑；划时代的事件

参考例句：

• The film proved to be a milestone in the history of cinema.事实证明这部影片是电影史上的一个里程碑。
• I think this is a very important milestone in the relations between our two countries.我认为这是我们两国关系中一个十分重要的里程碑。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

6 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

7 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

8 satire   

n.讽刺，讽刺文学，讽刺作品

参考例句：

• The movie is a clever satire on the advertising industry.那部影片是关于广告业的一部巧妙的讽刺作品。
• Satire is often a form of protest against injustice.讽刺往往是一种对不公正的抗议形式。

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

11 feud   

n.长期不和；世仇；v.长期争斗；世代结仇

参考例句：

• How did he start his feud with his neighbor?他是怎样和邻居开始争吵起来的？
• The two tribes were long at feud with each other.这两个部族长期不和。

12 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

13 garner   

v.收藏；取得

参考例句：

• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals.他的提议得到了广泛的支持。
• Squirrels garner nuts for the winter.松鼠为过冬储存松果。

14 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

15 collaborator   

n.合作者，协作者

参考例句：

• I need a collaborator to help me. 我需要个人跟我合作，帮我的忙。
• His collaborator, Hooke, was of a different opinion. 他的合作者霍克持有不同的看法。

16 forte   

n.长处，擅长；adj.(音乐)强音的

参考例句：

• Her forte is playing the piano.她擅长弹钢琴。
• His forte is to show people around in the company.他最拿手的就是向大家介绍公司。

17 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

18 sitcom   

n.情景喜剧，（广播、电视的）系列幽默剧

参考例句：

• This sitcom is produced in cooperation with Hong Kong TV.这部连续剧是同香港电视台联合制作的。
• I heard that a new sitcom is coming out next season.我听说下一季会推出一个新的情境喜剧。

19 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

20 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

21 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 evokes   

产生，引起，唤起( evoke的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• Each type evokes antibodies which protect against the homologous. 每一种类型都能产生抗同种病毒的抗体。

23 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。