When you grow up in show business, you’ll undoubtedly have plenty of stories to tell. Actor and comedian Kenan Thompson has made us laugh for decades with memorable stints on the Nickelodeon series All That, the cult classic film Good Burger and, of course, his larger-than-life presence on Saturday Night Live.
This week, Thompson, who also happens to be SNL’s longest-serving cast member in history, is sharing stories from his show biz experience with a new memoir, “When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown.”
In the book, Thompson puts it all out there in a series of essays that touch on issues like race, body image, parenting and his rift with Good Burger co-star Kel Mitchell, which he told The Today Show’s Hoda Kotb was mostly about them trying to find themselves after being a package deal in the industry for so long.
“Originally, it was just us kind of looking for our own individualism, basically, as adults, taking a breather from being a duo because we both came into the game as individuals,” he said. “And we were placed together because we worked so well together and all that. It was just a journey of being adults. Time passes and more time passes and it just became ridiculous.”
While he has no problem performing sketch comedy in front of live audiences week after week, Thompson said sharing his personal stories with readers is completely new territory and something that initially made him a little nervous.
“It is terrifying to open yourself up like that because I guess I’ve not had to do that, you know what I mean?” Thompson told PEOPLE in an interview. “I’ve always been so performance-heavy. I haven’t had to do a whole lot of, ‘Let me explain where Kenan is now’ kind of stuff.”
But one thing Thompson isn’t so open about is his 2022 divorce from wife and mother of his two daughters, Christina Evangeline. Thompson told Hoda Kotb that the decision to leave out those details was conscious because he “didn’t want to speak out of turn on people who aren’t there to tell their vision of the story.”
Thompson hopes the stories in his book will leave readers with practical advice on everything from parenting to having a positive outlook on life.
“From All That to SNL, I’ve had a lot of laughs – and learned a few lessons – along the way, and I hope fans will too,” he said.