This Fan-Favorite 90s Movie Almost Made Kenan Thompson Quit Acting

I went to the movies by myself in 2004 to see Miracle, which was about the U.S. Olympic Hockey team squaring off against the Soviet team in the 1980 Winter Olympics. It was a David and Goliath story, as the U.S. team was considered inferior. Regardless, the U.S. persevered, resulting in one of the greatest calls in sports history (“Do you believe in miracles?!”), and a shocking revelation in my then 15-year-old brain: the second Mighty Ducks movie totally ripped off this story.

The Mighty Ducks trilogy was watched quite often when I was growing up, and the second film, D2: The Mighty Ducks, was easily my and my brother’s favorite. It was funnier, had bigger stakes, and gave us more Kenan Thompson, who we had already begun to see on All That. He was the absolute coolest, and we would try to emulate his “knuckle puck” all the time. Little did we know that the process of being in the movie almost made it the last time we saw him.

Thompson recently joined Amy Poehler for a Good Hang (via THR), and D2 was discussed (setting off my numerous Google Alerts). The long-time SNL star revealed that he had listed roller skating under the special skills section of his resume. However, he didn’t think he’d have to ice skate, which was needed for the film, so he had to train. “I wanted to learn, but after that first day of hockey camp, which was on my birthday, my 15th birthday, I wanted to quit it all,” Thompson explained.

“I was like, ‘I don’t want to be an actor. I don’t want to if this is what it’s about,’” he told Poehler. “Thank God my mom didn’t let me quit. Kept going back and back.” Not only has Thompson had a successful career, but he also prides himself on his ice skating skills, with Poehler noting how much skill he has on the ice. “I pride myself with that, because it’s not like a big known thing amongst the Black community to just ice skate like that,” Thompson noted. “There’s only certain people that do it. There’s only a few people in the NHL or whatever kind of thing… to get good at it is wild.”

It’s wild to think about how long Kenan has been in the spotlight, especially when you think he could have (very reasonably) stopped it all at 15. It is a lot of work, but Kenan embraced it and has remained a household name for decades. His career spans generations. He’s the longest-tenured cast member on a legendary television show. That’s nothing to slap a puck at.