Kevin Hart continues to win at life. The Wedding Ringer will probably end up being his fourth (or fifth?) film to break $100 million at the box office. He’s the most successful stand-up comedian working today. His personal life is pretty calm now that he’s six years’ past his divorce. So, it’s all good. He was an obvious choice for the cover of The Hollywood Reporter (this was released last week) – although, I have to say, after I skimmed the interview, Hart now reminds me of Tom Cruise. There’s something very focused and driven about him. I don’t know, it just reminded me of old-school Cruise. You can read the full piece here, and here are some highlights:
He wants to be a mogul: “I want to be a mogul, like Oprah or Jay Z or Tyler Perry. If you have a mogul mind-set, you’ll last a lot longer. That’s the mind-set of a winner.”
Being called a whore by Sony Screen Gems pres. Clint Culpepper: “I’ve talked to him. Clint called right after. It’s not like I wanted to challenge him — that’s just how he talks. He did [apologize], but there was no need. When you negotiate, you say whatever you say. Nothing affected me. It’s very hard to put me in a negative position, man. I’m happy. And I’ll continue to be happy.”
Admiring the career of Bill Cosby: Downstairs, giant portraits of the comedians he most admires — Cosby, Rock, Murphy, Richard Pryor, Martin Lawrence and Dave Chappelle — line the walls. I ask if he’s thinking of getting rid of Cosby in the wake of allegations about the 77-year-old’s conduct. “I’m not going to take the picture down,” he says. “The picture serves a purpose for me. These were the men who built a legacy doing what they love to do, which is telling jokes.” Does he think Cosby is guilty? “Right now, it’s a lot of speculation. All I can do is just say my prayers, and my wishes go out to all of the women who are potentially involved. His personal life has nothing to do with me. I can’t control it. I will never try. It doesn’t stop me from being an admirer of his work. His work and his personal life are two separate things.”
His answer about Bill Cosby bugged me. I’m sorry. I know that there are many comedians who grew up admiring Cosby and I know that Cosby is still a God to many African-Americans, but I think Hart could have come up with a better answer than “my wishes go out to all of the women who are potentially involved.”
Meanwhile, Kevin also recently discussed why he didn’t take a role in Tropic Thunder, and why he doesn’t see himself playing a gay character any time soon:
Kevin Hart doesn’t expect to play a gay character anytime soon. During an interview with New York’s Power 105.1 radio station, the Wedding Ringer star admitted to turning down the role of Alpa Chino in 2008’s Tropic Thunder because he didn’t feel comfortable playing a gay role. The part was played in the film by Brandon T. Jackson.
Hart explained that the draft of the script he read was different from the shooting script. “The dude, he was doing a lot of stuff in the draft that I read,” Hart said. “It was real flagrant. … I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’ ”
Hart was then asked whether he would ever play a gay character. “I can’t,” he said. “Not because I have any ill will or disrespect. It’s because I don’t think I’m really going to dive into that role 100 percent because of insecurities about myself trying to play that part. Does that make sense?”
Hart, who is engaged to model Eniko Parrish, pointed out that he doesn’t have an issue with the gay community. “As people, I love you,” he said. He added that he may change his mind years from now on playing a gay role, once he gets more acting experience.
I kind of understand what Kevin is saying here, and I like that he managed to talk about the idea of playing a gay character without resorting to stereotypes or generalizations. And if an actor doesn’t want to play a gay role because he doesn’t believe he’ll be able to commit to it 100%… okay? That’s fine.
Photos courtesy of THR.
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