In 'True Story', Kevin Hart Really Does Kill

In a candid interview, the prolific comedian and actor talks about taking a dark dramatic turn in this Netflix thriller and gaining support from his friend Dave Chappelle.

Sometimes it takes some persistence to get Kevin Hart's attention, but it's ultimately worth the wait.

As he approached last Thursday for our lunchtime interview, Hart was in the middle of a phone call that he couldn't get out or finished. For a few minutes he walked down the aisles of the MO Lounge at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in midtown Manhattan, a cellphone pressed into one ear as he strolled closer to our desk, then turned off in the other direction as he continued the conversation.

Then, in one uninterrupted motion, Hart ended the call, slumped over a chair in front of me and smoothly switched to face-to-face conversation mode.

"Talk to me, let's go," he said.

The 42-year-old stand-up and comedian, Hart has a constantly busy schedule and he seems to love it. You can catch him round the clock in light-hearted adventures like the "Jumanji" series; dramas such as "The Upside" and "Fatherhood"; animated features such as "The Secret Life of Pets"; their advertisements for Chase Banking; any of his previous stand-up specials; Or his streaming talk show, "Heart to Heart." Hours after we spoke, it was announced that Little Hart would be playing Gary Coleman in a live TV re-enactment of "Different Strokes." And on Tuesday, his comedy album "Zero _____ Given" was nominated for a Grammy.

To this detailed resume you can now add the Netflix series "True Story," a seven-episode thriller starring Hart as a celebrity running to cover up a death he may be responsible for Or not.

In "True Story," which is set to release Wednesday, Hart plays a mega-popular comedian and actor known as the Kid. After a misguided night out with his struggling older brother, Carlton (Wesley Snipes), Kidd wakes up in a hotel room next to a dead woman's body—and then swiftly tries to cover up and protect her death. initiates a series of reckless decisions. His profession

You might wonder if Hart could handle such a role with his life or death stakes and sometimes brutal action sequences. He shares none of these concerns. As Hart explained to me between a bite of french fries and a sip of coffee, "True Story" was created to show that he is as capable of hard-edged drama as any other genre. (Hart is also the executive producer of the series.)

"When it's all said and done with me and my career, people will realize I've checked every box," he said. "It's just for show, I got that. It's in my bag. If I'm itching to do it, I'll make it a thing to scratch."

The "true story" arose from this ambition and from Hart's conversations with Eric Newman, an executive producer and showrunner of the crime dramas "Narcos" and "Narcos: Mexico".

Newman, creator of "True Story" and a writer for the series, said in a phone interview that Hart wanted to play a character who was similar to himself, but whom he perceived as an existential threat to desperate measures.

But, Newman said of the show's protagonist: "Her version of existential danger may be different from yours or mine. If my children were in danger I might have been driven to do something terrible. A Celebrity Matters In, a famous person, if you take away his career, it is a fate worse than death."

The "true story" is largely fictional, but Hart's real life doesn't lack for drama. He is only two years away from a car accident in which he suffered major back injuries, required surgery and rehabilitation, and is said to have left him a changed man. And it's almost three years since she stepped down as host of the Academy Awards after some of her previous jokes and comments were criticized as homophobic.

While Hart continues to ponder the Oscar controversy, he has also received renewed public support from Dave Chappelle, his friend and fellow stand-up, who, in his recent Netflix special, "The Closer," said that with Hart was mistreated. ("The Closer" itself has been criticized as transphobic, and dozens of Netflix employees walked out of the company's Los Angeles office in protest last month.)

Hart spoke further about his desire to create a "true story", his understanding of the fact and fiction behind the series, and the criticism he and Chappelle received. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.

The "true story" goes deeper than anything we've seen you before. What did you want to do?

The goal was to present a side of my talent that could never have been expected. The best way to do this was to kill. How do I shoot on camera? Bluntly, just like that. The joy in entertainment is in doing things that you can never do in life. Comedy has given a chance to be funny in different ways. Buddy-cop movies. action Adventure. It has given me a world where I am able to play and have fun. Well, it's the exact opposite. I'm still playing, but I have to be dark as hell.

Is there any chance that your audience won't accept you in something like a "true story"?

When you start doing it for the perception of others, you are never going to win. You should be your biggest believer in what you do. I want to do drama because I know I can do it. I know that I am good at it. So I'm going to do it and keep it there. I would never put so much power in someone else to think that their opinion controls my narrative.

What was it about "Narcos" that made you want to work with Eric Newman?

Eric made you root for a bad guy. Although we all know how Pablo Escobar dies, you still found yourself rooting for Pablo when he was running from officers on a rooftop. You find yourself walking, "Come on, Pablo, get out there." To me, I said: "I have to be reliable in this space. If I'm going to kill, how do I make people care about me the same way?"

The nonstop demands of the professional world that Kidd stay in "True Story" seem punishable enough. Do you like your job?

While we were in the process of development, I explained my world to Eric. Everyone is giving you their energy, good or bad. their problems. It is: "I need you to -" "Do you -?" "You know what's going on with me, you think you can help?" When is it too much? No one wants to hear that you don't want to, or that you can't. So you find yourself being pushed around.

Do you find, as he does, that there are temptations for bad behavior around every corner?

[controversial] Yes, it still is! It's so easy to dumb [derogatory]. It is available whenever you want. Doing the right thing, living life the right way, is a conscious effort behind it. And this is work. Not to say it's working poorly, but you're constantly working to make sure you're doing things the right way in the right way. You need a good team around you who is okay with saying no.

How did you get Wesley Snipes to play the baby brother, Carlton?

As we really started to get into this character, we realized he was such an important piece of the puzzle. We need a real good actor who can pull off Carlton, and Wesley Snipes' name comes up. We were like, "Do you think we can have that?" I was like, "I'm going to reach out." Wesley thought it was a comedy at first; He was a little far. I had to explain to him that it was serious and I wasn't kidding. When he lay down on the material, he said: "Well, you better bring it up. Because if I do that, that's what I'm expecting." I said, "Don't say that anymore."

[Hart gives himself an excuse to go to the bathroom. When he returns, he is again talking on his cellphone, this time with filmmaker F. From Gary Gray, who is directing Hart's upcoming heist film, "Lift."]

How many balls do you have to face to make it as an entertainer these days?

My reality is crazy. The amount of things I am able to manage and delegate and operate at the same time is mind-blowing. It is a talent within a talent. I can't multitask like nobody else's business.

I guess you can dial it all back in if you want - just do one or two projects a year?

Then what should I do with the rest of the year? [Laughs.] I'm twiddling my thumb. I'll be mad, man.

Dave Chappelle speaks in your defense at the end of his new Netflix special, "The Closer." How did you feel about that?

He's my brother. My relationship with Dave is one that I value, respect and appreciate. In our profession, it's a crab-in-a-barrel mentality. There is a belief that there can only be one star or one funny man, and we are always pitted against each other. When you have the confidence and security to embrace another talent and stand up to another talent, it says a lot about who you are. Chappelle is working on a different frequency, man, and I can't be prouder of that.

Were you worried that your mention of him would reopen your old controversy, or put you in a position to defend Chappelle from the criticism he received?

In what world would he not be a friend if he wanted to be a friend? With Dave, I think the media have an amazing way of making what they want a narrative to be. In this conversation related to Dave, no one heard what his effort was. They are hearing a story that has been created. So the conversation has now been escalated to something that has nothing to do with the beginning of what it was. That's where it gets lost. Everyone has to get off the soap box and get to the solution site.

But where is the middle ground between Chappelle and the people who feel hurt by "The Closer"?

There is no disgusting bone in that man's body. And I don't say that because it's fictional - I say it because I know it. I know his world. I know he embraces the LGBT+ community because he has friends who are close to him from that community. I know their children understand equality, fair treatment, love. I know his wife incorporates this into her children. I know why people hug him. He's a good dude.

Do you agree with the argument - as some defenders of Chappelle have made, and as often comes when a comedian is criticized for insensitivity - that anything can be said in the context of the joke?

You can't say that. "It's just a joke," isn't it? I understand why people want this. but it's not like that. If it's a joke, it's a joke. You may find a joke tasteful or distasteful. If you're a supporter of an artist, you're probably fine with what's going on. And if you're not a fan, you're angry and you're annoyed. That's right - you have every right to be. You also have the right not to support it. But the energy which is put into trying to change or eliminate someone is getting out of hand.

Has this experience given you a new perspective on a time when you were criticized for your comments?

I can only relate because of what I have gone through. Difference in what I experienced: I learned a lesson in arrogance. My ego blinded me where I couldn't see what the real thing was. My ego kept me thinking: You want me to apologize? I have already done it. This was 10 years ago. Why are you asking like this, now, when I have said these things?

But it was not about people who may or may not have known that I apologized. It was about people who wanted to know that I do not support violence in any way. Because I missed it, it doesn't make me a hater—which makes me oblivious for a moment as I wrapped up in my [disgrace]. I was human You can't lose it. And that's what's happening today: We're getting lost trying to say, "I'm right and you're wrong and that's all." I don't understand how we ever evolve.

Does it seem strange that comedians should be paying so much attention - that their words should carry so much weight?

You cannot ignore the attention that comes with the platform we are on. One thing you have to be aware of now is that words have an effect. You have the option of choosing to be a stage person when you speak. If you want to say something, it is your right. With the things you choose to speak on, the reaction can come. If you're okay with its pluses and minuses, that's your choice.

I am much more aware today than I was yesterday, and I am mindful of what I say. I am making sure that I am on the side of understanding. It doesn't take away my ability to be myself. It simply means that in being ourselves, let's make sure we are respectful in our approach.