Brian Scolaro (Comedian)

Brian Scolaro (born October 18, 1973)  is an American comedian, actor, and voice actor. He is most known for his half-hour special on Comedy Central and his roles on FOX's Stacked, TBS's Sullivan & Son and NBC's Three Sisters.

Brian Scolaro

Born: October 18, 1973 (age 46) Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York

Nationality: American

Years active: 2001–present

Early life

Brian Scolaro was born October 18, 1973 in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and went to Archbishop Molloy High School in Jamaica, Queens where he appeared as a lead in the school's theatre productions of No Time for Sergeants, Room Service, 12 Angry Men and Arsenic and Old Lace. At the State University of New Paltz, New York, Scolaro wrote, produced and hosted a radio comedy program That Damn Show on WFNP FM for three years and became the hero of neighboring high school kids in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Along with his friend Brett Bisogno, Scolaro wrote, produced and starred in the college's television comedy show Earp and Whitney which was nominated for a National Association of College Broadcaster's award for Best Comedy Program in 1995.

 

After graduating college, Scolaro worked with the mentally handicapped in Brooklyn, and as a brief stint as a production assistant for HBO Downtown Productions, The Comedy Channel (now Comedy Central) and HBO's "Reel Sex". Scolaro quit his assistant job and turned to stand-up comedy full-time and did his first stand-up show at Stand Up NY in Manhattan on January 14, 1992.

He established himself as a stand up comedian in Manhattan at Gotham Comedy Club, Caroline's Comedy Club, Stand Up NY, Dangerfields, Comic Strip Live, Boston Comedy Club, Catch a Rising Star and The Comedy Cellar on Macdougal Street in Greenwich Village. He appeared in Montreal's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in 1999.

His early professional acting career was highlighted by three Wendy's commercials and a guest role on Sidney Lumet's "100 Centre St."

Career

In 2001, writer Steve Koren (Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld) saw Scolaro at the end of 12-hour video tape collage of actors auditioning for his NBC pilot Everything but the Girl with Tiffani Amber Thiessen. Koren insisted NBC fly Scolaro in to test and he was hired as a regular cast member for the role of love sick, overly sensitive "Doug". When the pilot was beat to the line-up by Scrubs, Lester Lewis (The Office) brought him to the attention of Eileen Heisler and DeAnn Heline (The Middle) and he immediately moved to Hollywood to be a regular cast member on the second season of NBC's Three Sisters as the bartender named Gordon, love interest of A. J. Langer.

In 2003, Scolaro appeared as a regular cast member on a popular ABC pilot by director Tom Shadyack called Platonically Incorrect with Tom Everett Scott. The pilot was penned by Darlene Hunt, Gabe Sax and Jeff Judah and even shot a second episode but still did not get picked up by ABC after a long deliberation.

After a holding deal with CBS in 2004, Scolaro was cast as Stuart Miller for Fox's Stacked which starred Pamela Anderson and Christopher Lloyd. Written by Steve Levitan, Stacked was a pilot that was guaranteed to air six episodes in 2005 and the following year aired a full second season. Paul Brownfield from the Los Angeles Times said "Scolaro is terrific. An actual sitcom find."

During the writer's strike of 2007-2008, Scolaro did stand-up performances on NBC's Late Nite with Conan O'Brien, ABC's Comics Unleashed, and was invited back to the channel that started his career as an intern, Comedy Central, to headline an episode of Live at Gotham. In 2009, he taped his own half-hour special for the network Comedy Central Presents: Brian Scolaro.

From 2008 to 2018, Scolaro has had a recurring character of the sad sack, forgetful, Doug, on the first season of TBS's Sullivan and Son, played numerous characters on HBO's The Life and Times of Tim, did stand-up on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Conan, and appeared on AMC's Mad Men, Showtime's Shameless, TNT's Men of a Certain Age, Showtime's Dexter, ABC's Grey's Anatomy, ABC's A Million Little Things, FOX's Bones, ABC's The Middle, Comedy Central's Kroll Show, Disney's Girl Meets World, NBC's Go On, ABC's Castle, Showtime's I'm Dying Up Here, NBC's Harry's Law, CBS's Superior Donuts, Freeform's Alone Together, ABC's Comics Unleashed, NBC's Truth Be Told, Disney's Crash and Bernstein, the film The Brothers Solomon, as well as commercials for Snapple and Netflix.

Television work

Shameless (Baxter)

A Million Little Things (Brian)

Alone Together (Mark)

I'm Dying Up Here (Buzz)

Superior Donuts (Scalper)

Girl Meets World (Mr. Fannucci)

Castle (Dave Barton)

Conan (himself)

Truth Be Told (Vincent)

Bones (Frankie Cesari)

The Middle (Mickey)

Crash & Bernstein (Jimmy)

Growing Up Fisher (Guard)

Kroll Show (Sergio)

Go On (Gambler)

Sullivan & Son (Doug)

Mad Men (Alex Polito)

Grey's Anatomy (Mike)

Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (himself)

Harry's Law (Father Damien)

Men of a Certain Age (City Clerk)

The Life & Times of Tim (Various Voices)

Wizards of Waverly Place (Goblin)

100 Centre Street (Byron White)

Everything But The Girl - NBC pilot- Todd

Platonically Incorrect- ABC Pilot- Bob Snellen

Three Sisters (Gordon)

Stacked (Stuart Miller)

Dexter (Lab Tech)

One on One (Torian)

Greetings from Tucson (Larry Janetti)

All of Us (Torian)

Coupling (Guest role)

Comedy Central Presents himself

Late Night with Conan O'Brien himself

Live at Gotham himself

Comics Unleashed himself

Film work

Blowing Smoke (Nick)

The Brothers Solomon (Medical Equipment Delivery Guy)

Videogame work

Grand Theft Auto V (The Local Population)

Need for Speed: Carbon (Neville)

Alex Reymundo (comedian)

 

Alex Reymundo

Alex Reymundo is a Mexican-American comedian and actor who was featured on the 2007 ALMA Awards.

Alex Reymundo

Born: Acapulco, Mexico

Medium: 

Stand-up comedy, television, film

Genres: Comedy

Subject(s): 

Mexican American culture, race relations, human sexuality, family, friends, everyday life

Children: 2

Filmography

Film

2002 The Movement, a television movie, as Officer Torez

2003  El matador, as Juan Carlos, Sr.

2007  Permanent Vacation, as Alex Garcia

Television

2010  Latino 101, as himself

Video games

2006 Cars, voice actor

Stand up

2002 The Original Latin Kings of Comedy, as himself

2007  Hick-Spanic: Live in Albuquerque, as himself

2009  Red-Nexican, as himself

Dane Cook (Comedian)

Dane Cook

Dane Jeffrey Cook (born March 18, 1972) is an American stand-up comedian and film actor. He has released five comedy albums: Harmful If Swallowed; Retaliation; Vicious Circle; Rough Around the Edges: Live from Madison Square Garden; and Isolated Incident. In 2006, Retaliation became the highest charting comedy album in 28 years and went platinum. He performed an HBO special in late 2006, Vicious Circle, a straight-to-DVD special titled Rough Around The Edges (which is included in the album of the same name), and a Comedy Central special in 2009 titled Isolated Incident. He is known for his use of observational, often vulgar, and sometimes dark comedy.

Birth name: Dane Jeffrey Cook

Born: March 18, 1972 (age 48), Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.

Medium: Stand-up, film, television

Years active: 1990–present

Genres: Observational comedy, black comedy

Subject(s): Human behavior, human sexuality, American politics, gender differences

He is one of the first comedians to use a personal webpage and MySpace to build a large fan base, and in 2006 was described as "alarmingly popular". As an actor, Cook has appeared in films since 1997, including Mystery Men, Waiting..., Employee of the Month, Good Luck Chuck, Dan in Real Life, Mr. Brooks, and My Best Friend's Girl. He also provided the lead voice role in the 2013 animated family film Planes, and its 2014 sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue. He was the second comedian (after Andrew Dice Clay) to sell out Madison Square Garden's large arena space.

Early life and education

Cook was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the second son of Donna Jean (née Ford; died 2006) and George F. Cook (died 2007). He has an older half-brother, Darryl, and five sisters. He grew up in a Catholic family of Irish descent. Cook was raised in Arlington, Massachusetts, where he attended Arlington High School.

Cook has described himself as having been "pretty quiet, pretty introverted, shy" as a child, although he was a "wild child" at home. He overcame his shyness in his junior year of high school, when he began acting and doing stand-up comedy. After graduating from high school, he studied graphic design in college as a back-up plan, in case he did not achieve success in comedy. He now designs all of his merchandise, including the cover of his album, Harmful If Swallowed.

Career

Early work

In 1990, Cook began performing stand-up in comedy clubs.

On October 30, 1992, Cook and a group of local emerging improv/sketch comedians were scheduled to appear at the Boston Garden as part of local radio station WBCN's "Rock of Boston" music concert. Although they anticipated appearing earlier in the lineup, they were scheduled to perform between popular band Spin Doctors and the final headline act Phish, making them somewhat nervous but determined to do well. Moments after they took the stage however, the crowd, neither expecting nor appreciating a comedy act at this late stage in the evening's program and impatient for Phish to go on, expressed their displeasure by throwing their shoes at the stage. Robert Kelly, also on stage as a member of the comedy group, pleaded with the audience to settle down and let them perform their act; the crowd instead escalated to throwing lighters. Sustaining minor injuries, Cook and the comedy group left the stage. Cook described the incident – as well as how dejected he felt and his resulting determination to someday return to the Boston Garden and perform successfully someday – as part of a web series for The Tonight Show entitled "Worst I Ever Bombed".

Stand-up

1990s

In 1994, Cook moved to New York City and began performing. Two years later, he moved to Los Angeles, where he still lives today. His big break came in 1998 when he appeared on Comedy Central's Premium Blend. In 2000, Cook did a half-hour special on Comedy Central Presents. Since then his special has won the Comedy Central Stand-up showdown twice in a row.

2000s

In 2003, Cook released his first CD/DVD, Harmful If Swallowed. He signed a contract with Comedy Central Records. The album is certified platinum. He released his second CD/DVD in 2005, entitled Retaliation. This album went double platinum and made Cook the first comic in 27 years to have an album in the top 5 on the Billboard charts after Steve Martin's A Wild and Crazy Guy moved as high as #2 in late 1978. He performed at the MTV Video Music Awards, and then afterwards he joined Snoop Dogg in presenting the award for Best New Artist.

On April 15, 2005, Cook performed his first HBO Special entitled Vicious Circle. Vicious Circle was filmed "in the round" at the TD Garden. The same year, Cook shot two pilot episodes for his own sitcom, Cooked. The sitcom was not picked up and the two pilot episodes were later released on DVD as the Lost Pilot. That same year, he embarked on a 30-day, 20-show college tour called Tourgasm with his longtime friends Robert Kelly, Gary Gulman, and Jay Davis. The tour was filmed and was later made into a 9-episode documentary on HBO.

On December 3, 2005, Cook hosted Saturday Night Live (SNL). He would then go on to host the premiere of season 32 of SNL a year later. The same year Cook launched his own company, Superfinger Entertainment, in order to produce his own albums and videos.

In 2006, Cook headlined for Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour and hosted the 2006 Teen Choice Awards alongside Jessica Simpson. The following year he won the award for Best Comedian. On November 12, 2007, Cook became the second comic to sell out Madison Square Garden's large arena space after Andrew Dice Clay accomplished this feat in 1990. He did two sold-out shows in one night. The show was filmed and would later be put onto a DVD to be sold on Cook's third comedy album. Cook won the Big Entertainer Award at the VH1 Big in '06 Awards, and Rolling Stone magazine's Hot Comic of the Year. The following day, November 13, 2007, he released his third CD/DVD entitled Rough Around The Edges, which was filmed live at Madison Square Garden in New York City. During that time, he embarked on his first arena tour.

Cook at Comic Con 2007 promoting Good Luck Chuck

On April 10, 2007, Cook broke the Laugh Factory's endurance record (previously held by Richard Pryor) by performing on stage for three hours and 50 minutes. Dave Chappelle would break the record five days later by performing for six hours and seven minutes. Chappelle beat that record on December 3, 2007 by performing for six hours and twelve minutes. On January 1, 2008, Cook broke Chappelle's record, by performing on stage for seven hours.

From May 23, 2008 to May 25, 2008, Cook reunited with Robert Kelly and Al Del Bene for three shows at The Coliseum in Caesars Palace. From May 29-June 4, 2008 the trio went to Iraq to perform for the troops. Del Bene was the Emcee, Kelly was the feature, and Cook was the headliner.

He finished his fourth album, Isolated Incident; a performance which aired on Comedy Central on May 17, 2009, with the release of the record following two days later. He kicked off that tour at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, on April 25, 2009. This album was the last as part of Cook's four-record deal with Comedy Central Records. The new album was performed at Laugh Factory in Hollywood, which is considered to be Cook's home base, where he goes to work on new material. He released the DVD version of Isolated Incident in November 2009.

2010s

In 2012, Cook caused a minor controversy when a joke he made in a comedy club about the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting was recorded and made the headlines.

So I heard that the guy came into the theater about 25 minutes into the movie. And I don't know if you've seen the movie, but the movie is pretty much a piece of crap… Yeah, spoiler alert. And I know that if none of that would have happened, I'm pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in, realizing it was a piece of crap, probably was like, 'Ugh fucking shoot me.'

— Dane Cook

He later took to Twitter to apologize, "I am devastated by the recent tragedy in Colorado & did not mean to make light of what happened. I made a bad judgment call with my material last night & regret making a joke at such a sensitive time. My heart goes out to all of the families & friends of the victims."

In 2014, Showtime aired Cook's Troublemaker special.

In September 2016 Cook headlined with Sebastian Maniscalco at the Oddball Comedy Festival in Dallas, Texas, and the Oddball Comedy & Curiosity Festival in Irvine, California. He also toured Canada in November at the annual "Just For Laughs" comedy festival.

In May 2018 he performed at Hard Rock Rocksino in Northfield Park, Ohio.

At the end of 2018 Cook announced the "Tell It Like It is" Tour, his first full-scale stand-up tour since "Under Oath" in 2013. The tour began in February 2019 in Huntington, New York and concludes in November in Los Angeles, California.

Film

Cook began his film career with small roles in the late 1990s, including Mystery Men as "The Waffler", and opposite Dennis Rodman in 1999's Simon Sez.

In 2006, Cook starred in his first leading role as Zack Bradley in Employee of the Month, which co-starred Jessica Simpson and Dax Shepard. The film made a modest $30 million against a $12 million budget. In June 2007, Cook co-starred in his first dramatic role as the devious photographer "Mr. Smith" in Mr. Brooks, which starred Kevin Costner. The film debuted at number 4 at the box office, grossing $10,017,067 in its opening weekend.

In September 2007, Cook starred as dentist Charlie Logan in Good Luck Chuck, which co-starred Jessica Alba and Dan Fogler. The film was the second-highest-grossing film (#1 Comedy) at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend, grossing $13.6 million in 2,612 theaters. The film went on to have a total box office tally of approximately $35 million U.S. and $24 million foreign. A month later, Cook co-starred as Mitch Burns in Dan In Real Life, which starred Steve Carell. The film grossed $11.8 million in 1,921 theaters its opening weekend, ranking number 2 at the box office. As of July 6, 2008, it has grossed $62,745,217.

In 2008, Cook starred as air purifier call-center supervisor Tank Turner in My Best Friend's Girl with Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs, and Alec Baldwin. The film grossed $8.2 million in its opening weekend, debuting at #3 at the box office.[46] In 2010, Cook claimed that he had auditioned for the role of Captain America for Captain America: The First Avenger, although director Joe Johnston, did not have him on the short list for the part.

In 2013, Cook voiced the character of Dusty Crophopper in the animated film, Planes, a spin-off of Pixar's Cars franchise. He reprised his role as Dusty in the 2014 sequel Planes: Fire & Rescue.

In 2015, Cook starred in the film 400 Days with Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, and Ben Feldman. The film was directed by Matt Osterman and executive produced by Cook.

Stage

Cook at a USO tour in 2008

On November 18, 2010, it was announced that both Cook and Josh Hamilton would be starring in Neil LaBute's 2011 Broadway production of Fat Pig; however, before the show began it was postponed for financial reasons.

Television

His first TV role was playing a quarterback named Kyle on the 1995 ABC comedy Maybe This Time, which starred Marie Osmond, Betty White and Ashley Johnson.

In October 2005, during an interview with Jay Leno on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, actress Charlize Theron leaned forward and allowed Cook to kiss her backside.

In May 2012, it was announced that Cook would be starring in the new NBC comedy Next Caller. On October 12, 2012 the show was canceled prior to its airing after filming four out of six episodes.

Comedic style

Cook's style is principally "long-form storytelling" and "multipurpose phrases". Cook says his onstage persona is a combination of the personalities of his mom, Donna, and his dad, George. "My mother is like a Looney Tunes cartoon. She's wiggly ... She has the ability to tongue in cheek a lot, and do it in a way where she's being physical. My dad is the polar opposite. He always had a little 'what the fuck' in his voice. Even if he knew nothing about what he was talking about, he could sell it. So I looked at these two extremely funny people and created a style of comedy from absorbing their actions."

He explains:

I wanted to create a stage persona for myself that allowed me to really speak about anything I want... So I can be a storyteller, I can be jokey, I can be corny, I can be a little vulgar, I can be a lot vulgar. And I'm not afraid to go anywhere to get the point of the joke across, even if I have to just blabber like a retard until it becomes apparent that I'm a retard and that the audience should laugh.

Reception

One reviewer noted that Cook attracted a young, growing audience through colorful observations and high energy performances.

Commentators in a variety of media sources have characterized Dane Cook's humor as unfunny. Comedian Ron White has criticized Dane Cook for his lack of real material and for his inflated ego; saying "[He] does not make me laugh, at all, in any way, shape or form." When asked about his opinion of Cook on The Howard Stern Show, comedian Nick DiPaolo said "he doesn't make me laugh, but that doesn't mean he's not funny." On Boston radio station WBCN, Dane Cook was named by radio show Toucher and Rich to a tournament of the top 16 "Worst Comedians" and, based on listener voting, was voted the "Worst Comedian" of all. In the Michigan Daily, Elie Zwiebel and co-author Jesse Bean wrote that "he's managed to become one of the most overrated comics ever" and that his act is "boringly stagnant". In an interview with Jason Tanamor of Zoiks! Online, Tanamor asked Cook why he was so despised. Cook stated that he'd had conversations with his therapist, attributing some of the negativity to his alpha demeanor. Add to that, Cook's highly successful career. "Unfortunately, what you find is, you know in your graduating class with the guys you came up with, there's going to be some dudes in front of you that don't want you catching up, and there's going to be some guys behind you that maybe they've never had an opportunity. That, coupled with, like you said, reaching the Billboard charts with 'Retaliation' and a lot of people going, 'Who the fuck does he think he is?'

Jim Breuer talked about Cook's reputation within the comedy industry, saying: "Everyone kills this guy ... Not one comedian comes on [my Sirius radio show] and says 'I'm so happy for him', which is weird. ... They can't stand this poor guy." Breuer went on to say that he personally thinks Cook is a "tremendous performer".

Paul Provenza said that he was not a fan of his earlier work, but "...caught a couple of Dane Cook shows at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, and he was fantastic", and became a fan because he felt he had "matured".

Accusations of plagiarism

Comedian Joe Rogan claimed that Cook performed a bit on an episode of Premium Blend that Rogan had developed on I'm Gonna Be Dead Someday, and claimed to have performed the routine earlier in clubs with Cook present. In 2010 Rogan had Cook as a guest on his podcast, telling him that he was a "good dude" and that he was "...glad we put all that shit past and hung out...I think you are doing some awesome shit." Cook replied: "That means the world hearing that from you, Joe ... You've got a lot of integrity and I've always had a lot of respect for you."

In 2007, a "veteran comic" accused Cook of appropriating one of that comic's "very physical routines", despite a direct request that Cook stop using the routine in question.

There was also widespread Internet discussion regarding 3 bits from Cook's 2005 album Retaliation, and similar bits from comic Louis C.K.'s 2001 album Live in Houston. In 2011, Cook played himself in an episode of Louie, scripted by C.K., centering on a fictional encounter between the two comics during which they discuss the controversy. In an interview in 2012, Louis C.K. defended Cook, saying "I don't think he stole from me knowingly... I think he sort of got some of my jokes in his head and got sloppy. He's a good guy and not capable of maleficence."

Tours

Cook at Madison Square Garden in 2008

• Tourgasm 2005 (w/ Robert Kelly, Gary Gulman, Jay Davis)

• Dave Attell's Insomniac Tour 2006 (w/ Dave Attell, Greg Giraldo and Sean Rouse)

• Rough Around The Edges Tour 2007

• Globo Thermo Tour 2008 (w/ Robert Kelly and Al Del Bene)

• Isolated Incident 2009

• Under Oath 2013

• Tell It Like It Is Tour 2019

Personal life

Cook has stated that he does not drink or take drugs. Cook's half-brother Darryl was his business manager until 2008, when it was discovered that Darryl and his wife had embezzled millions of dollars from Cook. Both were convicted and sentenced to prison for the embezzlement.

In 2017, Cook began dating Kelsi Taylor, who is 26 years his junior.

Kevin Hart (Comedian)

 

Kevin Hart

This article is about the American comedian and actor. For other people named Kevin Hart, see Kevin Hart (disambiguation).

Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979)[3] is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Hart began his career by winning several amateur comedy competitions at clubs throughout New England, culminating in his first real break in 2001 when he was cast by Judd Apatow for a recurring role on the TV series Undeclared. The series lasted only one season, but he soon landed other roles in films such as Paper Soldiers (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Soul Plane (2004), In the Mix (2005), and Little Fockers (2010).

Kevin Hart

Birth name: Kevin Darnell Hart

Born: July 6, 1979 (age 41) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Net worth: $200 million

Medium: Stand-up, film, television

Years active: 2001-present

Genres: Observational comedy, black comedy, surreal humor, insult comedy satire

Subject(s):

African-American culture

everyday life

human sexuality

marriage

parenting

pop culturerace relations

racism

self-deprecation

Spouse: 

Torrei Hart (m. 2003; div. 2011) 

Eniko Parrish (m. 2016)

Children: 4

Hart's comedic reputation continued to grow with the release of his first stand-up album I'm a Grown Little Man (2008), and performances in the films Think Like a Man (2012), Grudge Match (2013), Ride Along (2014) and its sequel Ride Along 2 (2016), About Last Night (2014), Get Hard (2015), Central Intelligence (2016), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017), Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), Night School (2018), and Jumanji: The Next Level (2019).

He also released four more comedy albums, Seriously Funny in 2010, Laugh at My Pain in 2011, Let Me Explain in 2013, and What Now? in 2016. In 2015, Time Magazine named Hart one of the 100 most influential people in the world on the annual Time 100 list. He starred as himself in the lead role of Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Early life

Hart was born on July 6, 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised in a single-parent household by his mother Nancy Hart, who was a systems analyst for the Office of Student Registration and Financial Services at University of Pennsylvania. He has one older brother named Robert. His father, Henry Witherspoon,[6] was a cocaine addict who was in and out of jail throughout most of Kevin's childhood, and Kevin used humor as a way to cope with his troubled family life. He is a Christian. After graduating from George Washington High School, Hart briefly attended the Community College of Philadelphia and moved to New York City. He then moved to Brockton, Massachusetts, and found work as a shoe salesman. He began pursuing a career in stand-up comedy after performing at an amateur night at a club in Philadelphia.

Career

Stand-up

Hart's first gig was at The Laff House in Philadelphia under the name of Lil Kev, which did not go well. His career suffered a slow start, as he was booed off stage several times, once even having a piece of chicken thrown at him. After those initial unsuccessful shows, Hart began entering comedy competitions throughout Massachusetts and audience receptions of his performances eventually improved.

It took time for Hart to develop a unique comedic style. After an early period of attempting to imitate comedians like Chris Tucker, he found his own rhythm by delving into his insecurities and life experiences. "Because of what I do, it has to be an open book," he has said. "But right now this is a book that is being written."

Hart's comedy tours began in 2009 with his act titled I'm a Grown Little Man, followed by Seriously Funny in 2010, Laugh at My Pain in 2011, and Let Me Explain in 2013, the later two of which were also released as features in movie theaters. Hart grossed over $15 million from "Laugh at My Pain", making it one of the year's top-selling comedy tours.[citation needed] Hart also has a game available through iTunes called "Little Jumpman". His Facebook page, Twitter account, and YouTube channel are all connected to and accessible through this app. Most overseas fans of Hart discovered him on YouTube, as well.

On April 9, 2015, Hart embarked on a comedy world tour titled the What Now? Tour at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, which concluded on August 7, 2016, at the Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia. On July 16, 2015, Universal Pictures announced that Kevin Hart: What Now?, a stand-up comedy film featuring a performance of Kevin Hart's What Now? Tour, would be theatrically released in the United States on October 14, 2016. The show was filmed live on August 30, 2015, in front of 53,000 people, at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field.

Film and television roles

Hart came to prominence from his guest appearance in Undeclared. He made his film debut in the film Paper Soldiers. Hart then gained further recognition from his other films such as the Scary Movie franchise, Soul Plane, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Death at a Funeral, and Little Fockers. He turned down a role in the 2008 film Tropic Thunder because the character is gay, citing his own "insecurities".

He played Doug in the film The Five-Year Engagement (2012) and appeared in Think Like a Man which was a box office success. He also appeared in the sequel. He had a cameo as himself in This Is the End. In 2013, Hart played a boxing promoter in Grudge Match and appeared in Exit Strategy as Mannequin Head Man. He also appeared in 35 and Ticking.

In 2014, Hart starred as Ben in Ride Along, opposite Ice Cube. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but was a major box office success. Hart returned in the sequel, Ride Along 2, which was released on January 15, 2016.

In 2013, Hart co-created Real Husbands of Hollywood with Chris Spencer. The show follows Hart along with other married celebrities (each playing a comical fictionalized version of themselves) within the series including: Boris Kodjoe, Nelly, Duane Martin, J.B. Smoove, Nick Cannon, and Robin Thicke. Thicke didn't return for the second season due to his music career, though Hart has stated that the door is open for Thicke to return. The series is intentionally filmed in a style similar to Bravo's The Real Housewives. Episodes often hinge on the "real" Kevin Hart's desperately unsuccessful attempts to climb Hollywood's celebrity social ladder (which always backfire in humiliating ways), and the character's barely-hidden jealousy of his more successful celebrity friends. A sneak peek was shown as a segment during the 2012 BET Awards and the official promo was released in October 2012.

In 2015, Hart starred in the films Get Hard with Will Ferrell and The Wedding Ringer. In 2016, he starred in the movies Central Intelligence, with Dwayne Johnson, and the animated The Secret Life of Pets.  In 2017, he starred in the movies Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, in a voice role, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle with Jack Black, Karen Gillan, and retaming again with Johnson.

In 2018, he produced his first film under his production company HartBeat Productions, Night School. In October 2018, it was announced that through his production company, he has signed a first-look deal with Nickelodeon. Under the deal, Hart and his HartBeat Productions banner will develop and produce live-action, scripted kids content for the network. Hart also has a first-look film deal with Universal Studios.

In 2019, Hart's film The Upside, his first headlining role in a drama, was theatrically released. It also starred Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman. Hart also reprised his role of Snowball in the sequel The Secret Life of Pets 2.

Upcoming projects

Hart will next appear in Fatherhood, a drama about a man whose wife dies shortly after childbirth, leaving him to raise their daughter on his own. It will be released on January 8, 2021.

As of October 2016, Hart was set to portray Santa Claus in Dashing Through the Snow, a planned 2017 Disney Christmas-themed film. In October 2018, it was reported that Chris Rock will direct Hart in a movie based on an original idea by the both of them. The film will be written by Black-ish writer Yamara Taylor and the film will revolve around a stay at home dad who raises the kids while his star CEO wife serves as the breadwinner. The man finds himself in emotional and public turmoil when his wife kicks him to the curb, and they engage in a bitter divorce and custody battle. In 2019, Hart signed on to star in and produce Monopoly, Black Friday, an untitled international romantic comedy, Extreme Job, and Scrooged.

Hosting

In addition to acting, Hart has also hosted various ceremonies. Hart first hosted the 2011 BET Awards. Hart then hosted the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards. His longtime friend Judd Apatow, the director who gave him his first big on-screen break in the TV series Undeclared, was the one who recommended him for the gig. Hart hoped that this will project him further into a side career as an emcee, stating, "Hopefully after MTV, of course we're talking Emmys, Oscars, whatever." He has hosted three episodes of Saturday Night Live. In 2015, Hart hosted the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber. In 2016, Hart co-hosted the 2016 MTV Movie Awards with Dwayne Johnson.

Kevin Hart has also hosted on HQ Trivia and gave away $100,000 to 1 person with Scott Rogowsky on September 26, 2018 which had 699K players.

On December 4, 2018, Hart was announced as the host of the 91st Academy Awards, but on December 6 he stepped down as host in response to public criticism of several homophobic tweets from 2010 and 2011. Hart characterized the protest as non-constructive and stated "If you don’t believe people change, grow as they get older, I don’t know what to tell you". On December 7, he tweeted an apology to the LGBTQ community following criticism that he did not issue one the previous day. On January 3, 2019, Hart announced he was going to reconsider stepping down as host, after openly lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres, who has hosted the Academy Awards multiple times, expressed support for Hart to do so and said she telephoned the Academy to ask if Hart would be able to reverse his decision if he wished and, according to DeGeneres, the Academy said he would be able to do so. On January 8, after a backlash for what was perceived as his insincere apology, Kevin Hart announced that he would not be hosting the Academy Awards. The ceremony was held without a host that year.

On September 9, 2020, executives from the Muscular Dystrophy Association announced plans to relaunch their annual MDA telethon, move it to October 2020, and make Hart its new host, taking over duties that had been previously been held from 1966 to 2010 by comedian and former National MDA Chairman, Jerry Lewis.  Entitled The MDA Kevin Hart Kids Telethon, the new two-hour telethon will be seen exclusively through participating social media platforms; the event is scheduled October 24, 2020 at 8 p.m. EDT.

Music

As Chocolate Droppa, his alias, he signed to Motown Records and released Kevin Hart: What Now? (The Mixtape Presents Chocolate Droppa), the soundtrack to his stand-up film of the same name.[59] He released the singles "Push It On Me" featuring Trey Songz and "Baller Alert" with Migos & T.I.

Modeling

In 2017, Kevin Hart and Tommy John appeared in an underwear commercial for Macy's.

Influences

Hart has cited as comedy inspirations Bill Cosby, Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy, George Carlin, Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, Richard Pryor, Patrice O'Neal, and Keith Robinson.

Personal life

Family relationships

Hart's relationship with his father improved after the latter recovered from his addiction. Hart said, "My dad said I was supposed to be on drugs. I was like, 'Dad, shut up', but then I thought about it, and it was stupid, but it made sense. He was saying that basically he was my example to never go down that road."

Hart also talks about his mother in his stand-up routine, portraying her as a loving, yet intimidating woman. She died from cancer in 2007.

Marriages

Kevin and Torrei Hart filed for divorce in February 2010, citing irreconcilable differences. Hart requested joint custody of their two children, daughter Heaven Leigh, born March 22, 2005, and son Hendrix, born on October 8, 2007. The divorce was finalized in November 2011.

On August 18, 2014, Hart proposed to Eniko Parrish. They married on August 13, 2016, near Santa Barbara, California.

Their son Kenzo Kash was born on November 21, 2017. On December 15, 2017, Hart publicly admitted to having cheated on his wife while she was pregnant with their son. Their second child together, a daughter, was born on September 29, 2020.

Earnings

Hart earned an estimated $32.5 million in 2017.

Poker

Kevin Hart has been playing poker since around 2010, entering major tournaments such as the WSOP, cashing in one event for $4,783 in 2014. He also plays cash games, like the ones organized by PokerStars, and actually became their Brand Ambassador in 2017. As such, he was featured in PokerStars ad campaigns and promotional content, along the likes of Usain Bolt.

As of September 2020, Kevin Hart has earned $47,828 in live tournament cashes.

Legal troubles

Hart was charged on April 14, 2013 on suspicion of drunk driving after his black Mercedes nearly collided with a tanker truck on a Southern California freeway. Hart failed a field sobriety test and was booked for misdemeanor DUI. On August 5, 2013, Hart was sentenced to three years of probation after pleading no contest to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Car accident

On September 1, 2019, Hart was a passenger in a 1970 Plymouth Barracuda that went off Mulholland Highway and rolled down an embankment near Calabasas, California. He and the driver reportedly suffered "major back injuries" and were taken to separate hospitals. Hart was released from the hospital ten days later, and continued recovery at a rehabilitation facility.

Tours

• What Now? Tour (2015–16)

• Irresponsible Tour (2017–18)

Filmography/Film/Year/Film/Role/Notes

2002

Paper Soldiers

Shawn

2003

Scary Movie 3

CJ

Death of a Dynasty

P-Diddy / Cop 1 / Dance Coach / Hyper Rapper /

H. Lector

2004

Along Came Polly

Vic

Soul Plane

Nashawn Wade

2005

The 40-Year-Old Virgin

Smart Tech Customer

In the Mix

Busta

2006

Scary Movie 4

CJ

The Last Stand

F Stop / G Spot

2007

Epic Movie

Silas

2008

Fool's Gold

Bigg Bunny

Superhero Movie

Trey

Extreme Movie

Barry

Meet Dave

Number 17

Drillbit Taylor

Pawn Shop Dealer

2009

Not Easily Broken

Tree

2010

Something Like a Business

JoJo

Death at a Funeral

Brian

Little Fockers

Nurse Louis

2011

35 and Ticking

Cleavon

Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain

Himself

Let Go

Kris Styles

2012

The Five-Year Engagement

Doug

Think Like a Man

Cedric

Exit Strategy

Mannequin Head Man

2013

This Is the End

Himself

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain

Himself

Grudge Match

Dante Slate Jr.

2014

Ride Along

Ben Barber

About Last Night

Bernie

Think Like a Man Too

Cedric

School Dance

OG Pretty Lil' Thug

Uncredited

Top Five

Charles

2015

The Wedding Ringer

Jimmy Callahan/Bic Mitchum

Get Hard

Darnell Lewis

2016

Ride Along 2

Ben Barber

Central Intelligence

Calvin Joyner

The Secret Life of Pets

Snowball (voice)

Kevin Hart: What Now?

Himself

2017

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

George Beard (voice)

Also songwriter for "Saturday"

The Upside

Dell Scott

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Franklin "Mouse" Finbar

2018

Night School

Teddy Walker

Also producer and writer

2019

The Secret Life of Pets 2

Snowball (voice)

Hobbs & Shaw

Dinkley

Uncredited

Jumanji: The Next Level

Franklin "Mouse" Finbar

2021

Fatherhood

Matt Logelin

Post-production; Also producer

Television

Year/Film/Role/Notes

2002–2003

Undeclared

Luke

3 episodes

2004

The Big House

Kevin

6 episodes

2004

Comedy Central Presents

Himself

2005

Barbershop

James Ricky

3 episodes

2005–2006

Jake In Progress

Nugget Dawson

2 episodes

2006

Help Me Help You

Kevin

Episode: "Raging Bill"

2006

Love, Inc.

James

2 episodes

2007

All of Us

Greg

Episode: "The B-R-E-A-K-U-P"

2007

Wild 'n Out

Various

21 episodes

2009

Party Down

Dro Grizzle

Episode: "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen"

2009

Kröd Mändoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire

Zezelryck

6 episodes

2009

Kevin Hart: I'm a Grown Little Man

Himself

2010

Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny

Himself

2011–2012

Modern Family

Andre

2 episodes

2011

BET Awards 2011

Himself / Host

2012

Workaholics

Kevin

Episode: "To Kill a Chupacabraj"

2012

2012 MTV Video Music Awards

Himself / Host

2013–2016

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Himself

60 episodes; Also co-creator, writer, executive producer

2013

Second Generation Wayans

Himself

Episode: "The Arrival"

2013–2017

Saturday Night Live

Himself / Host

3 episodes

2015

Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber

Himself / Host

2016

Lip Sync Battle

Himself

Episode: "Olivia Munn vs. Kevin Hart"

2016

2016 MTV Movie Awards

Himself / Co-host

2018

TKO: Total Knock Out

Himself / Host

10 episodes; Also executive producer

2019

Kevin Hart's Guide to Black History

Himself

2019

Kevin Hart: Irresponsible

Himself

2019–present

Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud

Himself / Host

2019–present

Kevin Hart: Don't F**k this up

Himself

2020

Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time

Himself - Video Clue Presenter

1 episode

Music videos

Year/Song/Artist/Role

2004

"Lean Back"

Terror Squad featuring Fat Joe and Remy Ma

Himself

2011

"Booty Wurk (One Cheek at a Time)"

T-Pain

Himself

2016

"Push it On Me"

Trey Songz

Chocolate Droppa

2017

"Jumanji Jumanji"

Nick Jonas and Jack Black

Himself

2018

"Kevin's Heart"

J. Cole

Himself

2019

"Earth"

Lil Dicky

Kanye West

Bibliography

Awards and nominations

Year/Award/Category/Work/Result

2004

Teen Choice Award

Choice Breakout TV Star – Male

The Big House

Nominated

2005

BET Comedy Award

Platinum Mic Viewers' Choice

Nominated

2012

BET Awards

Best Actor

Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain

Won

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Movie: Male Scene Stealer

Think Like a Man

Nominated

Choice Movie Hissy Fit

Nominated

2014

BET Awards

Best Actor

Ride Along, Real Husbands of Hollywood, About Last Night

Nominated

NAACP Image Awards

Outstanding Comedy Series

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Won

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Won

Entertainer of the Year

Won

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Funny Star

Grudge Match

Won

MTV Movie Awards

Best Comedic Performance

Ride Along

Nominated

Best On-Screen Duo (with Ice Cube)

Nominated

Acapulco Black Film Festival

Artist of the Year

Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, This Is the End, Grudge Match

Won

Teen Choice Awards

Choice TV: Reality Show

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Nominated

Choice Movie Actor: Comedy

Ride Along

Won

Choice Movie: Chemistry (with Ice Cube)

Nominated

Choice Movie: Hissy Fit

Nominated

Choice Comedian

Won

2015

NAACP Image Awards

Outstanding Comedy Series

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Nominated

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Nominated

MTV Movie Awards

Best Comedic Performance

The Wedding Ringer

Nominated

Comedic Genius Award

Won

BET Awards

Best Actor

The Wedding Ringer, Think Like a Man Too, Real Husbands of Hollywood and Top Five

Nominated

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Comedian

Nominated

2016

Billboard Touring Awards

Top Comedy Tour

Won

People's Choice Awards

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor

The Wedding Ringer

Won

Favorite Cable TV Comedy

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Nominated

Favorite Cable TV Actor

Won

MTV Movie Awards

Best Comedic Performance

Ride Along 2

Nominated

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Movie Actor: Comedy

Nominated

Choice Movie: Hissy Fit

Nominated

Choice Comedian

Nominated

Choice Twit

Nominated

Choice Movie Actor: Summer

Central Intelligence

Won

2017

People's Choice Awards

Favorite Movie Actor

Nominated

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor

Won

Favorite Cable TV Comedy

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Nominated

Favorite Cable TV Actor

Nominated

Favorite Comedic Collaboration (shared with Conan O'Brien and Ice Cube)

Conan

Nominated

Favorite Animated Movie Voice

The Secret Life of Pets

Nominated

NAACP Image Awards

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series

Real Husbands of Hollywood

Nominated

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance – (Television or Film)

The Secret Life of Pets

Nominated

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie

Nominated

Favorite Villain

Won

Most Wanted Pet

Won

Best Friends Forever (shared with Dwayne Johnson)

Central Intelligence

Won

Best Friends Forever (shared with Ice Cube)

Ride Along 2

Nominated

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Comedian

Nominated

2018

Grammy Awards

Best Comedy Album

Kevin Hart: What Now?

Nominated

Black Reel Awards

Outstanding Voice Performance

Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie

Nominated

Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Movie Actor

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Nominated

MTV Movie & TV Awards

Best On-Screen Team (shared with Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Karen Gillan and Nick Jonas)

Nominated

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Movie Actor – Comedy

Nominated

Choice Comedian

Nominated

People's Choice Awards

The Comedy Act of 2018

Won

2019

Teen Choice Awards

Choice Comedy Movie Actor

Night School

Nominated

Choice Comedian

Nominated

2020

Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Movie Actor

Jumanji: The Next Level

Nominated

Favorite Male Voice from an Animated Movie

The Secret Life of Pets 2

Nominated

Primetime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program

Kevin Hart: Don't Fuck This Up

Nominated