Monday, April 05, 2021

Daniel Kaluuya Pays Tribute to Kenan & Kel on Saturday Night Live

British actor Daniel Kaluuya hosted Saturday Night Live on Saturday, April 3, and he made sure to thank Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell for their contributions to his acting career!


The fan-favorite actor has been in Get Out, Black Panther, and Jesus and the Black Messiah as of late. But, in Studio 8H, he told the story about how the first play he wrote was based on the Nickelodeon comedy show Kenan & Kel, which was played at a major theatre. That small moment helped make him into the actor he is today. Kaluuya made sure to thank God, his mother, and Kel Mitchell.

“When I was 9 years old,” he said, “I wrote a play that got performed at Hampshire Theatre with real actors and everything. This is a true story — that play was based on Kenan & Kel. And that play led me down a path that got me to this stage tonight with Kenan [Thompson] backstage right now. And I just want to take this moment to in front of Kenan and the whole world to say: Thank you, Mom. Thank you, God. And thank you Kel.”


The star also made sure to tell Kenan Thompson that he couldn’t believe that the Nickelodeon alum, who starred with Mitchell in Nickelodeon hits All ThatKenan & Kel and Good Burger was sitting backstage right now.

For the former Nickelodeon star, who is also currently the longest-serving comedian on SNL, it has to feel good to hear another actor mention your early career as an inspiration. It seems like the Black Panther star is off to an amazing start on SNL.

During his three and a half minutes monologue, Kaluuya also took aim at a number of targets including The Royal Family, racism and even his own Golden Globes acceptance speech or lack thereof. He also poked fun at his Ugandan heritage throughout the show.

Thompson, who recently returned to his Nickelodeon roots to host Kids' Choice Awards 2021, actually talked to Chance the Rapper about why he’s decided to stick with the iconic comedy show recently. As a part of a virtual SXSW event, the comedian told the Grammy Award-winner that the thrill of coming in to work has not subsided. Until that happens, there’s no chance of Kenan stepping down.

“We’re on Season 46 right now — I’ve been there for 17 [years],” he explained. “It’s a wild place! That’s why I am never in a rush to leave because I have never seen anything like it and number two, there aren’t many live shows left. It never gets old because it’s sketch comedy and it changes every week.”

“You were either a child actor in movies…or you just were a TV kid and that’s all you did,” Thompson added about his earlier years. “You aren’t a working person that goes from job to job to job and just has a career. That was a new-ish type of thing. Our generation was focused on getting other jobs and other gigs.”

All That and Kenan & Kel are available to stream on Paramount+, and Good Burger is now available on Blu-ray. In the U.K., Kenan & Kel is available to watch on Trace Vault.



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