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Despite his appearances in hit movies like "Barbershop 2: Back in Business" and his regular gig on "Saturday Night Live," there's no denying that playing the titular character in the upcoming "Fat Albert" movie is Kenan Thompson's biggest role yet. Sure, he was also in the titanically titled films "Heavyweights" and "Big Fat Liar," but neither of those parts required a giant prosthetic belly. MTV News' Vanessa White Wolf recently caught up with the actor to find out what it was like to wear the extra weight, and to meet the comedic legend who created the cartoon on which the movie is based.
MTV: So how was it for you to find out that Bill Cosby approved you so quickly for the role?
Kenan Thompson: That was crazy. I mean, he's a crazy man. That's all you can say about him. He's crazy! And I just thought that was really, really nice of him, but you know, I'd been auditioning for a couple of years, so it was like, "Finally! Thank you!"
MTV: When did you first meet him? Before or after you got the role?
Thompson: I didn't meet him until the first day of shooting, and that's when he came out to meet everybody at the same time. And we're all dressed up in character, so it really, you know, it gave me a sense of relief because it was about everybody. It wasn't just about me, it was about the whole cast and the whole project, so it was cool. It was very intimidating at first, but then once he leaned over to whisper something funny in your ear and stuff like that and starts telling you stories about his childhood, he was just really personal with us, so it was nice.
MTV: What was it like when you first took a look at yourself in the Fat Albert costume?
Thompson: I thought it was a hoot — especially putting on the fat suit by itself, you know what I mean? It was just funny to me. And then with the sweater and collar — I mean, look at that poster, that face. ... It's funny and it gives me a kick every time I see it.
MTV: Filming with such a big group of actors must've been a blast.
Thompson: It really was. It starts with whoever's in charge being fun, and Joel Zwick was just an amazing director, and he let us play around as much as incorporating our playing around into the movie, which made us feel good about being silly. It made us feel like we were being creative, so we got to get through the filming process without having to feel like we were at work. Just being ourselves and learning to grow and love each other, it was awesome.
MTV: You're still on "Saturday Night Live," and you've done movies before this, so where are you hoping "Fat Albert" will take you?
Thompson: I'm hoping this project will do what it needs to do, and if it does business, they'll probably be making a second one, and that's fine. As far as "Saturday Night Live," I still gotta introduce some characters and spin off that, but I'll still just be working. You know, this is like movie number 10, so we're gonna keep going until 100, hopefully. I'm glad movie number 10 is so great, though. It's awesome.
MTV: Have any of your "SNL" castmates seen the film?
Thompson: Yeah, they all saw it last week, so that was nice. I think a couple missed it, but we had the screening last week and everyone liked it and thought it was sweet and good for the family. Everyone's excited and they're all really supportive over there.
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Photo: Darren Michaels/20th Century Fox
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