Ken Jennings on the 'Jeopardy!' prep trick he swears by and the category that made even him sweat
Ken Jennings says that "Jeopardy!" fans who want to be contestants shouldn’t overthink their preparation.
"I would say watching the show is the best way to prep for the show," the host explained to Fox News Digital on the red carpet for the TCM Classic Film Festival. "If you watch ‘Jeopardy!’ like the rhythm of the host's voice will kind of get into your pulse. You'll know the kind of stuff that comes up, the kind of material. That's how you become a good ‘Jeopardy!’ player."
And if someone is trying to cram for the show, he suggests learning the U.S. presidents and their first ladies in order and world capitals.
"And I think those are the two things that is like the most bang for your buck if you're cramming for ‘Jeopardy!’" Jennings said, admitting that he did a "lot of studying" before his record-breaking run on the show in 2004 during which he won 74 straight games.
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And as a former contestant, Jennings admits he has "so much empathy" for players.
"Everybody there has passed a very hard test to be on the show. So really it comes down to who can perform under pressure because these people are not used to doing this with lights and camera and everything," he revealed, adding that some players "step up. It's like they'll suddenly become their best ‘Jeopardy!’ selves. And some are a little more deer in the headlights. I absolutely remember that. It's very overwhelming."
He added that he’s "always thinking about their well-being because I remember what that's like. It's intense."
And because of that compassion, Jennings tries to do things like help contestants make sure their interview stories will be interesting.
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And he wishes he could help them when they make mistakes during the game.
"I saw somebody mess up her wager in Final Jeopardy! once, but once you lock in that wager, and she was just, ‘Oh no, I messed up the math,’" he said. "But I wish I could jump in and do people's math for them, but I'm not allowed, constitutionally."
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Despite his historic run, even Jennings had categories that made him sweat a little.
"There was always a lot of hockey on ‘Jeopardy!’ When I was on, and maybe because of Alex being Canadian," he revealed, "and it turned out I did not know as much about ice hockey as a genuine Canadian like Alex."
Jennings, who has helmed the game show for five years now, said he feels like "doing an Alex Trebek impression is basically the best way to host ‘Jeopardy!’ Like, it's not a slavish thing. Like, he really perfected it, so if you're getting as close to Alex as you can, you're going as close perfection as you can."
He admitted that he doesn’t have the late Trebek’s "skill set," which is why he emulates him, but he said he differentiates himself by bringing his personality to the show.
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"You know, I genuinely enjoy the interview, I think, you know, and he was very much like, ‘OK, good for you. Let's get back to the game,’" Jennings said.
Jennings said he also learned from Trebek, who died in 2020, that the "host of ‘Jeopardy!’ is not the star. You shouldn't be paying attention to the host to ‘Jeopardy!’ Like, if everything's going well, the game and the contestants are the star and that's absolutely how it should be."
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For contestants, he said, it simply comes down to "who can perform under pressure."
And he especially looks forward to "Jeopardy!" tournaments "where we see our very best players playing each other and the viewers will know who they are, and they'll be like, ‘Oh, that's Amy Schneider. I love her.’ Or, you know, ‘That's Mattea Roach’ or Matt Amodio."
The 45-year-old said he loves to see the "Jeopardy!" veterans treated "like star athletes, like as a former nerd, trivia nerd myself, current trivia nerd, like that warms my heart, you know, to see people that excited about our little trivia game."
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Jennings thinks it also might surprise some viewers to know a week of games is actually shot in one day.
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"I think a lot of viewers don't realize we do a full week at a time," Jennings explained. "Like, we do five ‘Jeopardy!’s in one day. So, when a player wins, they have to rush off stage, put on a new outfit. I put on a new suit. We come back out 10 minutes later, and then I tell the great lie, which is like yesterday on ‘Jeopardy!’ but it was not yesterday! It was 10 minutes ago. We're just fooling you."
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He explained that that means, "when players win for weeks at a time, like Jamie Ding has been doing in recent weeks, it's an endurance contest. That's a real marathon for them. They've got to play and then go back and play again."
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And for Jennings, a love of trivia goes a lot deeper than a memorable run on the show.
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"I guess I remember being a kid and running home from school every day to watch Alex host ‘Jeopardy!’ and just thinking, you know, in real life, this makes me a little bit weird that I like knowing all this stuff," he explained. "Like, I'm very aware that this distinguishes me from other people. But for Alex, that was like a safe space. You know? ‘Jeopardy’ was a safe place for that."
He added, "There's certain kind of person where like, they need that safe space, you know, because curiosity is so important."
Always humble, Jennings, admitted that he never thought in "a million years" that he would host the show.
"People would ask me, ‘Hey, like, if Alex were — you've been on Jeopardy for months --- if Alex were to retire, would you like to be a host?’ And I said, ‘That will never happen in a million years. They'll get a real broadcaster for this job. Everybody with a good TV resume is going to want this job, I'm not even going to get a tryout. Nobody is more surprised than me that I'm hosting ‘Jeopardy!’ but I just love this show so much. I feel very lucky."