Kevin Hart Biography

Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American actor, comedian, writer, 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 movies like Paper Soldiers (2002), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Soul Plane (2004), In the Mix (2005), and Little Fockers (2010).

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 (2015), and The Secret Life of Pets (2016). 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 currently stars as himself in the lead role of Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Early life

Kevin Hart was born on July 6, 1979 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was raised by his single mother, Nancy Hart, and has one brother, Robert. His father, Henry Witherspoon, a cocaine addict, 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.

After graduating from 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 his fortunes soon turned for the better.

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 latter 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. 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.

It was announced in October 2013 that ABC will be making a 30-minute pilot based on Hart's stand-up act. Hart does not plan to star in the sitcom, but does plan on having a recurring role.

On April 9, 2015, Hart embarked 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.

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 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. Also in 2015, Hart starred in the films Get Hard with Will Ferrell and The Wedding Ringer.

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 hopes 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 two episodes of Saturday Night Live. In 2015, Hart hosted the Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber. As of October 2016, Hart is in talks to portray Santa Claus in Dashing Through the Snow, a planned 2017 Disney Christmas-themed film.

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. He released the singles "Push It On Me" featuring Trey Songz and "Baller Alert" with Migos & T.I.

Personal life

Kevin and Torrei Hart filed for divorce in February 2010, citing irreconcilable differences. Hart requested joint custody of their two children, daughter Heaven () and son Hendrix (). The divorce was finalized in November 2011.

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.

On August 18, 2014, Hart proposed to Eniko Parrish. They married on August 13, 2016 near Santa Barbara, California. On May 14, 2017, Hart and Parrish announced that they were expecting their first child, a boy, together.

Legal issues

Hart was arrested 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 nolo contendere|no contest to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol.

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
	Kevin Hart: I'm a Grown Little Man	Himself	Stand-up film
2010	Something Like a Business	JoJo
	Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny	Himself	Stand-up film
	Death at a Funeral	Brian
	Little Fockers	Nurse Louis
2011	35 and Ticking	Cleavon
	Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain	Himself	Stand-up film
	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	Kevin Hart
	Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain	Himself	Stand-up film
	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 role
	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	Stand-up film
2017	Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie	George Beard (voice)
	The Upside	Driss	Completed
	Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle	Franklin "Moose" Finbar	Post-production

Television

Year	Show	Role	Notes
2002-2003	Undeclared	Luke	3 episodes
2002-2004	Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn	Himself	8 episodes
2004	The Big House	Kevin	5 episodes
	Comedy Central Presents	Himself	Stand-up special
2005	Barbershop	James Ricky	3 episodes
2005-2006	Jake In Progress	Nugget Dawson	2 episodes
2006	Love, Inc.	James	2 episodes
	Help Me Help You	Kevin	Episode: "Raging Bill"
2007	All of Us	Greg	Episode: "The B-R-E-A-K-U-P"
	Wild 'n Out	Various	21 episodes
2009	Party Down	Dro Grizzle	Episode: "Taylor Stiltskin Sweet Sixteen"
	Krd Mndoon and The Flaming Sword of Fire	Zezelryck	6 episodes
	Kevin Hart: I'm a Grown Little Man	Himself	Stand-up special
2010	Kevin Hart: Seriously Funny	Himself	Stand-up special
	Cubed	Security Guard	Episode: "2.10"
2011-2012	Modern Family	Andre	2 episodes
2011	BET Awards 2011	Host	TV special
2012	Workaholics	Kevin	Episode: "To Kill a Chupacabraj"
	2012 MTV Video Music Awards	Host	TV special
2013-present	Real Husbands of Hollywood	Himself	Also co-creator, writer, executive producer
2013	Second Generation Wayans	Himself	Episode: "The Arrival"
2013-2015	Saturday Night Live	Host	2 episodes
2015	Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber	Host	TV special
2016	Lip Sync Battle	Himself	Episode: "Kevin Hart vs Olivia Munn"
	Top Gear	Himself	1 episode
	Blue Peter	Himself	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

Music

• Kevin Hart: What Now? (2016)

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2004	Teen Choice Award	Choice Breakout TV Star - Male	The Big House
2005	BET Comedy Award	Platinum Mic Viewers' Choice
2012	BET Award	Best Actor	Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Male Scene Stealer	Think Like a Man
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Hissy Fit	Think Like a Man
2014	BET Award	Best Actor	Ride Along, Real Husbands of Hollywood, About Last Night
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood
	NAACP Image Award	Entertainer of the Year
	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award	Favorite Funny Star
	MTV Movie Award	Best Comedic Performance	Ride Along
	MTV Movie Award	Best On-Screen Duo (with Ice Cube)	Ride Along
	Acalpulco Black Film Festival	Artist of the Year	Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, This Is the End, Grudge Match
	Teen Choice Award	Choice TV: Reality Show	Real Husbands of Hollywood
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actor: Comedy	Ride Along
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Chemistry (with Ice Cube)	Ride Along
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Hissy Fit	Ride Along
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Comedian
2015	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood
	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series	Real Husbands of Hollywood
	MTV Movie Award	Best Comedic Performance	The Wedding Ringer
	MTV Movie Award	Comedic Genius Award
	BET Award]	Best Actor	The Wedding Ringer
	Teen Choice Award	Choice Comedian
2016	Billboard Touring Awards	Top Comedy Tour
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Comedic Movie Actor	The Wedding Ringer
		Favorite Cable TV Actor	Real Husbands of Hollywood
2017		Favorite Comedic Movie Actor	Central Intelligence
		Favorite Animated Movie Voice	The Secret Life Of Pets as Snowball
	Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite Voice From an Animated Movie
		Favorite Villain
		Most Wanted Pet
		Best Friends Forever (shared with Dwayne Johnson)	Central Intelligence
		Best Friends Forever (shared with Ice Cube)	Ride Along 2