Most people will recognize Wyatt Cenac from The Daily Show, where he was not just a correspondent but also a member of the writing team. However, it should be noted that Cenac is a skilled stand-up comedian, actor, and writer who has appeared in a significant number of other media projects, with examples ranging from a lead role as Ozzie Graham on People of Earth to a maker of three comedy albums so far.
Here are five things that you may or may not have known about Wyatt Cenac:
Descended from the Yoruba and the French
A DNA test has revealed that Cenac is descended from the Yoruba through his mother’s side and the French through his father’s side. In brief, the Yoruba are a people living in Nigeria as well as parts of Benin, with more than 40 million members in modern times. Meanwhile, Cenac has traced his paternal lineage to a French officer who served on a French battleship during the Napoleonic Wars, who went on to get married to an African woman in St. Lucia afterwards.
Interned at Saturday Night Live
When he was still a teenager, Cenac wrote letter after letter to Saturday Night Live until the show-makers decided to give him a position as an intern. There, he came under the wing of Colin Quinn, who was the Weekly Update anchor from 1998 to 2000. It was because of Quinn’s encouragement that Cenac decided to start writing comedy, which is something that has had a huge impact on the course of his career.
Auditioned to Play Barack Obama
The current U.S. president tends to be one of the most high-profile roles on Saturday Night Live. As a result, it should come as no surprise to learn that Cenac auditioned for it even though he ended up losing out to Fred Armisen. In total, Armisen would play the part from 2008 to 2012 before he was replaced by Jay Pharoah, who had actually become something of an Internet sensation for his Obama impersonation on YouTube before he joined the series in 2010.
Has a Fondness for Puppets
As unexpected as it might be, Cenac has stated that he has a fondness for puppets. In fact, he has a puppet of himself that still sits in a box that can be found in his apartment. For those who are curious, the puppet was created when he was still with The Daily Show at around the same time as puppets of both Jon Stewart and John Oliver. When Cenac left the series, he decided to take his puppet with him as what he felt to be his rightful possession.
Got into a Serious Fight with Jon Stewart
In 2012, Cenac left The Daily Show. Later, he revealed that part of the reason was because he got into a serious fight with Jon Stewart over a segment on U.S. presidential candidate Herman Cain, which Cenac said reminded him of the character “Kingfish” from Amos ‘n’ Andy. As a result, Cenac felt uncomfortable, which contributed to his departure. With that said, Stewart did apologize for the incident, which was why Cenac showed up for his last show.
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