Thompson says he felt "exploited a little" while filming the Judd Apatow directed comedy, writing in his memoir, 'When I Was Your Age', that he convinced himself "it wasn't happening to him."
Kenan Thompson is looking back on his early days as a child actor.
In excerpts from his new memoir, When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Advice from a Professional Clown, obtained by People, Thompson recalled struggles with his weight and body image, which were first brought to the forefront while filming the 1995 film, Heavyweights.
The Judd Apatow-directed comedy sees Thompson amongst a group of overweight kids who were lured into joining a fat camp with the promise of quick weight loss and good times, run by a over-the-top ex-fitness instructor.
In his memoir, Thompson, who was 16 at the time, writes he felt “exploited a little,” while filming the project, adding that he “convinced himself it wasn’t happening to him.”
Thompson would continue to struggle with his body image throughout his time in Hollywood, from his Nickelodeon days through to his early years on Saturday Night Live.
Writing that he “hated” having to take his shirt off while filming 2008 road trip movie Wieners, Thompson said his body shape slowly started becoming part of his brand, earning him the nickname of “the huggable cutie” on All That.
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“On All That, everyone was designated a role during sketch casting: Kel was the smooth talker, Josh [Server] was the heartthrob, and I was the huggable cutie, and I was aight with that,” Thompson wrote.
Now, the 45-year-old comedian, who has since lost weight, admits it’s hard to rewatch some of his early SNL skits, writing, “I was at my heaviest moment, and that’s always hard to rewatch.”
Despite now being the longest-running SNL cast member since joining the show in 2003, Thompson reveals that he almost quit the sketch comedy show early on, citing “rookie mistakes” in his early years.
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After getting little to no airtime at the start, Thompson’s confidence sunk 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.
“To be complimented by someone you admire was humbling and enlightening. I wasn’t just a kid laughing at his own jokes in front of the mirror. I’d been validated,” Thompson writes of Rudolph’s vote of confidence in him.
“It took a major attitude adjustment to earn my place at SNL,” Thompson adds, and he surely has, earning five Emmy nominations during his time on the long-running series, taking home a trophy in 2018, for co-writing the sketch “Come Back, Barack.”
When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown is now available from Harper Books, an imprint of HarperCollins.
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