Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#873
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Kenan Thompson represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 25 years in, and Kenan is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Kenan Thompson appears in 31 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Kenan. Will & Harper is the clearest case: a film rated 7.4 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for comedy, adventure, family. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Michael Tiddes, Morgan Neville, Angus Wall and others, Kenan Thompson helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
Will & Harper (2024) as Self (uncredited) · Trolls Band Together (2023) as Tiny Diamond (voice) · Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021) as Vet
Career snapshot
Ranked #873 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
31
2002–2027
Career length
25 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
7.4
Will & Harper
Average Nutevio score
5.7
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
7.4
Will & Harper
Most frequent director
Walt Dohrn
2 films together
Longest collaboration
2×
With Walt Dohrn
Most common genre
Comedy
25 titles
Average runtime
1h 30m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
6.8
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.3
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
2020s
5.8 average MV
The 2020s are where the work and the material meet. Pierre the Pigeon-Hawk, Scary Movie, Lorne — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
2020s
5.8
Across 20 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
2020s
5.8
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
2000s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Space Chimps, Snakes on a Plane, Big Fat Liar.
Most productive era
2020s
20 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | — | 0.01 film | — |
| Action | 5.51 film | — | — |
| Thriller | 5.51 film | — | — |
| Comedy | 5.52 films | 6.36 films | 5.717 films |
| Crime | 5.51 film | 6.71 film | — |
| Romance | — | — | 6.61 film |
| Horror | 5.51 film | — | 5.91 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
2002Big Fat Liar
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Party Goer.
Career peak
Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Highest rated performance
2024Will & Harper
7.4 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer.
Most recent film
The current state of the argument, as Sniff (voice).
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
31 of 31 films
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
Directed by Sean Charmatz
as Bricklebaum (voice)
Directed by Scott Mosier
as Self (uncredited)
Directed by Josh Greenbaum
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
Directed by Walt Dohrn
as Vet
Directed by Unknown
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Tiny Diamond (voice)
Trolls Holiday in Harmony (2021)
Performance score7.5
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Tiny Diamond (voice) gives Kenan Thompson a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Bricklebaum (voice)
The Grinch (2018)
Performance score7.3
The Grinch asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Bricklebaum (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Self (uncredited)
Will & Harper (2024)
Performance score7.2
Will & Harper asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Self (uncredited) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Tiny Diamond (voice)
Trolls Band Together (2023)
Performance score7.2
Trolls Band Together asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Tiny Diamond (voice) is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
Start here. Trolls Holiday in Harmony is the clearest statement of what Kenan Thompson does — accessible, 26 minutes, and rated 7.1 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Kenan at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
The Grinch (2018)
Keeps the comedy register of Trolls Holiday in Harmony but asks for a colder reading of it.
Clifford the Big Red Dog (2021)
Keeps the comedy register of The Grinch but asks for a colder reading of it.
Trolls Band Together (2023)
Keeps the comedy register of Clifford the Big Red Dog but asks for a colder reading of it.
Will & Harper (2024)
Keeps the comedy register of Trolls Band Together but asks for a colder reading of it.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Walt Dohrn
Director
2 films together
Notably Trolls Band Together
Shawn Levy
Director
1 film together
Notably Big Fat Liar
David R. Ellis
Director
1 film together
Notably Snakes on a Plane
Kirk DeMicco
Director
1 film together
Notably Space Chimps
David Wain
Director
1 film together
Notably They Came Together
Ash Brannon
Director
1 film together
Notably Rock Dog
Zach Braff
Director
1 film together
Notably Going in Style
Scott Mosier
Director
1 film together
Notably The Grinch
Bryce Dallas Howard
Director
1 film together
Notably Dads
Jay Karas
Director
1 film together
Notably Feeding America Comedy Festival
Steven Brill
Director
1 film together
Notably Hubie Halloween
Sean Charmatz
Director
1 film together
Notably Trolls Holiday in Harmony
Dan Mazer
Director
1 film together
Notably Home Sweet Home Alone
Nicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together
Notably Bros
Phil Traill
Director
1 film together
Notably Good Burger 2
Josh Greenbaum
Director
1 film together
Notably Will & Harper
Brent Hodge
Director
1 film together
Notably Downey Wrote That
Beth McCarthy-Miller
Director
1 film together
Notably SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
Angus Wall
Director
1 film together
Notably Being Eddie
Morgan Neville
Director
1 film together
Notably Lorne
Michael Tiddes
Director
1 film together
Notably Scary Movie
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Walt Dohrn
Director
2 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Trolls Band TogetherJosh Greenbaum
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Will & HarperSean Charmatz
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Trolls Holiday in HarmonyBryce Dallas Howard
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
DadsScott Mosier
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The GrinchMichael Tiddes
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Scary MovieMorgan Neville
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LorneAngus Wall
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Being EddieZach Braff
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Going in StyleNicholas Stoller
Director
1 film together · 6.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BrosBeth McCarthy-Miller
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
SNL50: The Homecoming ConcertPhil Traill
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Good Burger 2Ash Brannon
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Rock DogSteven Brill
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hubie HalloweenShawn Levy
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Big Fat LiarJay Karas
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Feeding America Comedy FestivalDavid Wain
Director
1 film together · 5.6 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
They Came TogetherDavid R. Ellis
Director
1 film together · 5.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Snakes on a PlaneKirk DeMicco
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Space ChimpsDan Mazer
Director
1 film together · 4.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Home Sweet Home AloneBrent Hodge
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Downey Wrote ThatSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
Will & Harper
as Self (uncredited)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
Trolls Band Together
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
Will & Harper
as Self (uncredited)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
SNL50: The Homecoming Concert
as Self
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
Trolls Holiday in Harmony
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Kenan Thompson has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
25 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Comedy Legend
Awarded
25 catalogue titles in comedy, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Trolls Band Together
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Hubie Halloween
as Sgt. Blake
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
Trolls Band Together
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Celebrity Escape Room
as Self
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Trolls Band Together
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Snakes on a Plane
as Troy
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Trolls Band Together
as Tiny Diamond (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Scary Movie
as 'Jermaine'
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
If you like this performer
Michael Caine
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Tom Hanks
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Bonnie Hunt
Built a career in the same territory: animation and family
Matt Damon
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Morgan Freeman
Built a career in the same territory: action and crime
Jamie Harris
Built a career in the same territory: adventure and drama
Have your say
Community
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Reference
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