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.
