According to Biography.com, Kevin Hart was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 6, 1979. He started his career in comedy right after high school and was determined to make a name for himself. It was common for Hart to use himself as the butt of his own jokes. He made it known that his jokes were from real experiences. Hart relied on making jokes and using humor to stay positive during his difficult upbringing as a child. He was mainly raised by his mother because his father was in and out of jail. Hart started out like most comedians, in small comedy clubs. He went by the name of “Lil' Kev the Bastard”, again making fun of himself. He had a challenging start and became discouraged until comedian Keith Robinson took him under his wing. Hart was given a sitcom called The Big House; it only lasted for six episodes before it was cancelled. His first stand-up album was called I’m a Grown Little Man. The stand-up was extremely popular and gained a lot of attention. Hart’s second album called Seriously Funny was an even bigger hit. The Laugh at My Pain Tour really helped him to become a star, especially because of the personal stories he told while adding humor. In addition to his comedic career, Hart has appeared in several films as well such as Soul Plane, The Five-Year Engagement, and Ride Along amongst others (Kevin Hart Bio). Hart has been successful in being a well-known comedian and humorous actor as he continues both career paths.
Hart has worked hard to make people laugh. He grew up without a proper father figure and used comedy as a getaway from reality. Hs childhood was far from ideal, but he was able to rise above and was good at making jokes. According to Grantland.com, “As a stand-up comedian, Hart’s style is a combination of all four Kings of Comedy. He has the dynamics of Steve Harvey (mostly loud), the physical comedy of Cedric the Entertainer, the snark of D.L. Hughley, and the biographical eye of Bernie Mac” (Kevin Hart Bio). With that being said, Hart has been very popular because of his ability to entertain people with different senses of humor. He uses his talent to tell his personal story, while making people laugh along the way. Hart wanted his viewers to be amused and enjoy themselves while watching him perform. Although his album I’m a Grown Little Man was well acknowledged and funny, it did not compare to the success of his Seriously Funny album, which famous sports icons Shaquille O’Neal and LeBron James attended as a live stand-up. As mentioned before, the Laugh at My Pain Tour was the ticket to making Hart extremely famous and beloved. His career in comedy lifted off and prevailed. The Tour made around 15 million dollars in ticket sales and Hart’s one-liners from his shows began to catch on. Many repeated the phrases from his shows, including “Say it with your chest!” and “All right, all right, all right!” (Cummings). Hart made these phrases well-known and his viewers found them to be addicting and hilarious. It is clear as to who an individual is quoting when these phrases are used.
Along with stand-up comedy, Hart took on a career in acting. As mentioned, he was given a sitcom called The Big House, but it did not go over very well. Hart did not let this stop him from being on television, though. Kevin Hart’s first big role was in Soul Plane and it was not a big hit. According to Grantland.com, “Hart’s come a long way since then, keeping a low profile and slowly rebuilding his brand by nailing brief appearances in mainstream comedies” (Cummings). Some of the more well-known movies he has acted in include Think Like A Man, The Wedding Ringer, The Five Year Engagement, Ride Along and Get Hard. The film, Think Like A Man (2012), is about a group of male friends who find out their wives are reading a relationship advice book that is not in their favor. Hart plays a character named Cedric in the film. He is portrayed as the divorced friend and his comedic humor stands out. In the film, The Five Year Engagement (2012), Hart plays Doug. The film is about a couple who have the intention of getting married, but life gets in the way. Doug’s sense of humor in the film is highlighted with his comment, “Yeah. No, no, it's great. I'm excited. I'ma be a pioneer. I'll be the first black guy to freeze to death. It's gonna be cool. Yeah, I'm pumped up about it” (Kevin Hart). In the film, The Wedding Ringer (2015) Hart plays Jimmy Callahan, a man who offers his services as being the “Best Man” for weddings. His business is for men who are engaged and do not necessarily have many friends to be in their wedding party. Hart gets to paid to be Doug Harris’ best man in his wedding, but ends up getting more than he bargained for. Because he does not want to go by his real name, Jimmy goes by Bic Mitchum, instead. Hart stars in Ride Along (2014) as Ben Barber, an aspiring police officer who wants to prove his worth to his girlfriend’s brother. Barber goes on a “ride along” with the brother, who is a detective. He wants to show he can handle himself in the field of law enforcement. Barber makes several mistakes, making him look like a fool, but is able to eventually prove he has what it takes to be a good husband and police officer. Ride Along 2 was released in 2016. The film, Get Hard (2015), portrays Hart as Darnell Lewis, a man who washes cars and needs money for his family. Lewis demands the money when he is asked by a wealthy man, James King, to teach him how to be tough (Kevin Hart). Hart’s humor is easily found is this comedic film as well, and the movie gets many laughs, especially since it also portrays co-star Will Ferrell, who is well-known for his humor. These films are just a handful of the films Hart has been involved with. In every film listed, he portrays a “funny guy” and his jokes, comments and quotes are laughed at.
Hart was able to take his stand-up comedy and apply the same love for humor and jokes to the movies he has acted in. It is presumable that when Hart is portrayed on television, something worth laughing about is going to come out of his mouth. According to Brian Steinberg from Variety, Comedy Central will be launching two Kevin Hart series, “Kevin Hart Presents: Hart of the City,” an eight-episode series that follows Kevin Hart as he explores local comedy scenes in cities such as Philadelphia. Atlanta, Houston, Birmingham and Sacramento” and “Untitled Kevin Hart Stand-Up Series” features six half-hour episodes of stand-up in which Kevin Hart will spotlight one up-and-coming comedian each episode” (Steinberg). This series will allow Hart to become even more well-known and popular, along with tracking him around different cities and finding out more about the funny man with the multiple-style approach to comedy. Along with this, Hart may have performed his last tour, What Now, even though it brought in around 100 million dollars. According to Will Robinson from Entertainment Weekly, “Kevin Hart is one of the most successful stand-ups in recent history, but his pavement-pounding days might be over” (Robinson). The source stated Hart said, “I don’t know if I’m ever going to go out and do it again,” (Robinson). The tour is being turned into a film. Hart has had a successful career in the stand-up comedy world and the movie world. If Hart decides to take a step back from touring, he may be seen in more and more films in the near future.
Works Cited
Cummings, Jozen. "Career Breakdown: Kevin Hart’s Long, Complicated, Hit-and-Miss-and-Hit-Again Path
to Stardom." Grantland. ESPN Internet Ventures, 20 Apr. 2012. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/career-breakdown-kevin-harts-long-complicated-hit-and-miss-and-hit-again-path-to-stardom/>.
"Kevin Hart." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0366389/>.
"Kevin Hart Bio." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.biography.com/people/kevin-hart-21129845>.
Robinson, Will. "Kevin Hart Says He May Never Go on a Stand-up Tour Again." Entertainment Weekly's
EW.com. Entertainment Weekly Inc., 13 Apr. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://www.ew.com/article/2016/04/13/kevin-hart-no-more-comedy-tours>.
Steinberg, Brian. "Comedy Central Will Launch Two Kevin Hart Series." Variety. Variety Media, LLC., 31
Mar. 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2016. <http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/comedy-central-kevin-hart-2016-tv-upfront-1201742708/>.
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