Kenan Thompson may be a Hollywood pro, but in the early days, he had anything but beginner's luck.
During a recent appearance on the "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" podcast, the "Saturday Night Live" star, who made his film debut in the sports comedy "D2: The Mighty Ducks," said the role made him want to quit acting.
The 1994 Disney flick, starring Emilio Estevez, follows the coming-of-age journey of an underdog teen hockey team. Thompson, who was 15 during the movie's production, played street hockey player Russ Tyler, who helps the Mighty Ducks up their game for an international tournament.
"I put it on my résumé under special skills that I could roller skate, but you know, I never in a million years considered hockey," Thompson told host and fellow
"SNL" alum Amy Poehler on the Sept. 1 episode. "I wanted to learn, but after that first day of hockey camp, which was on my 15th birthday, I wanted to quit it all."
Thompson said the role's demanding physicality made him seriously reconsider his career path at the time.
"I was like, 'I don't want to be an actor. I don't want to if this is what it's about,'" Thompson recalled. "Thank God my mom didn't let me quit."
Despite the initial challenge of learning the hockey sport, Thompson said he eventually honed his ice-skating prowess.
"I pride myself with that because it's not a big-known thing amongst the Black community to just ice skate like that," Thompson said. "There [are] only certain people that do it. There's only a few people in the [National Hockey League]."
Thompson's hard work paid off, with his acting career skyrocketing after the release of "D2: The Mighty Ducks."
The budding actor became a child superstar of the late '90s, landing a series regular role on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series "All That." During his time on the kids' network, Thompson also starred in the feature film "Good Burger" and the buddy comedy sitcom "Kenan & Kel," opposite Kel Mitchell.
Thompson graduated to comedy veteran when he joined the ranks of "SNL" in 2003, a role he has maintained for over two decades.
"I'm just full of gratitude," Thompson told USA TODAY of his career longevity in a July interview. "I'm very lucky, and it's not lost on me that I'm a blessed individual and I've had a one-of-a-kind career, whether it's here at 'Saturday Night Live' or in totality. I'm just very grateful to have these opportunities, but I'm also grateful to have an opportunity to serve the moments."
Contributing: Dontaira Terrell, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kenan Thompson reveals the surprising role that made him want to quit acting
