Thompson, 47, adds that he when he does laugh, he tries to "get back into professional mode" quickly. Kenan on SNL. Thompson joined SNL in 2003 and is now in his 23rd season as a cast member. While he acknowledges that the show is more of "a pressure cooker," than his other projects, he adds there are several characters and sketches of which he's very proud. "I'm weirdly drastically different from my persona on television," Thompson says.