When Kenan Thompson joined the cast of “Saturday Night Live” in 2003, Tracy Morgan, who had exited the comedy sketch series a season earlier, wasn’t quite ready to turn in his work badge.
“He was there like he was still on the show, just holding court and telling stories and laughing,” Thompson recalls in a video interview with TODAY.com.
Morgan was eager to take the new kid under his wing, and suggested grabbing a bite. An exclusive members-only hotspot downtown? Nope — he took Thompson to TGI Fridays.
“If we had walked, it would have been half a block, but he took us to the garage to get his car out,” Thompson, 46, says. “And then he parked on the curb.”
Thompson chuckles as he remembers the larger-than-life comedian’s Cadillac Escalade perched on the edge of a curb in the chaos of New York City’s Times Square.
“Tracy is my brother,” he says. “I love him to death.”
Thompson opened up to TODAY.com while discussing his partnership with Cascade and the brand’s Platinum Plus dishwasher detergent.
According to Thompson, the new formula helps clean grody dishes without pre-rinsing — meaning he has more time to spend with his daughters, Georgia, 10, and Gianna, 6.
Thompson, who co-parents with his ex-wife, Christina Evangeline, says his kids would likely describe him as “silly, very loving, protective, and a little strict-ish.”
“I just wants the best for them, that’s all,” he explains.
In 2023, the two sisters appeared alongside their dad in a heartwarming Nintendo commercial. Thompson, who made his Nickelodeon debut at age 16, says he would be “fine” if Georgia and Gianna chose to follow in his footsteps into show business.
In fact, he feels that starting young gives aspiring performers an advantage.
“It gives you some experience and notches on the resume early,” Thompson says. But he is quick to note that child stars need protective parents to guide them “through those (early) years where things can go left or right.”
