If there is anyone you should feel comfortable taking advice from, it’s Kenan Thompson. With a successful career spanning over 30 years, Thompson knows what he’s doing in the entertainment world. Now, his expertise is showing up in the automobile space.
Thompson has teamed up again with Autotrader, the nation’s leading online auto marketplace, to offer some of the same priceless advice to car buyers and sellers.
“I’ve loved cars since I was a kid,” he told Blavity in a recent interview.
Thompson’s confidence in working with the “big dogs” of digital auto sales stems from his knowledge of Autotrader’s reliability.
“They [Autotrader] are the number one as far as convenience is concerned. It’s the easiest tool out there with the concept of actual car delivery to your residence,” he said. “They have pretty much thought about everything in the buying process.”
The actor can be seen all over the Autotrader website and in several commercials for the company, telling potential buyers the company has every car they can think of, even the ones on the big screen. During the ad, Thompson transitions into several television and film scenes where a cool car is his co-star.
“You can even find the car in that movie on Autotrader,” he says in the commercial as a UFO beams up a brand new Nissan Sentra.
Although he has come a long way since purchasing his first car, a Toyota Four Runner, Thompson can still remember everything he loved about it.
“It was sleek, it had this back window that could roll down. I was obsessed with it,” he said about the first purchase that made him feel like he “achieved” something.
The 45-year-old comedian has been giving sound advice for most of his career, from the hilarious French lessons as Pierre Escargot on Nickelodeon’s All That to the host of the People’s Choice Awards.
In 2023, Thompson released his memoir titled, When I Was Your Age: Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown, providing insight into how he’s maneuvered through life’s curve balls.
He told Blavity his family has a significant role in helping him along his path.
“I’ve been lucky to stay close to my family, and that perspective has always kept me very grounded,” he said.
Thompson added that his ability to have a steady career over the last 30 years has been a “blessing,” especially when fame wasn’t the goal.
“I wanted to be on TV, but I didn’t know what it meant to get there, what it meant to be famous, or how much they paid. It didn’t matter. I just wanted to be like Knight Rider,” he said.
