Chris Tucker Almost Died While Filming a Tupac Music Video

When it comes to 1990s comedy movies, 1995’s Friday is easily among the most iconic. The film follows a pair of friends (Ice Cube and Chris Tucker) in their Los Angeles neighborhood. Directed by first-time director F. Gary Gray, the movie launched all three men to mainstream stardom. But it isn’t the only career milestone Tucker achieved that year. He also appeared in a music video for Tupac Shakur. And the experience nearly cost him his life.

Chris Tucker was an up-and-coming star in the early 1990s

Tucker was a rising star on the stand-up circuit in the early 1990s. Prior to Friday, his only major movie credit was the previous year’s House Party 3. Thankfully, his role there as Johnny Booze, along with his performance on Def Comedy Jam, caught the attention of Ice Cube. He and Friday co-writer DJ Pooh chose Tucker to play Smokey in the movie. And after an arduous audition process, Tucker finally won the role.

Of course, an unknown comedian with almost no big-screen experience wasn’t the studio’s first choice for the role. Many other stars, including more famous actors such as Tommy Davidson and Chris Rock, were considered for Smokey. But in the end, Tucker’s energy matched the tone of the movie. And moreover, he and Ice Cube shared wild on-screen chemistry that elevated the material.

The actor nearly died while filming a Tupac Shakur video

In the months after Friday hit theaters, Tucker appeared in two more movies. He played a bodyguard in Panther, a drama about the Black Panther Party, and had a major role opposite Larenz Tate in Dead Presidents.

Before 1995 ended, Tucker snuck in one more iconic screen appearance onto his resume. The actor is in the music video for Shakur’s hit song “California Love.” In 2016, Tucker shared a story about how he almost died during filming.

“It was fun and dangerous at the same time,” Tucker said on The Late Late Show with James Corden. “Tupac just got out of jail, and Suge Knight was walking around with a Rottweiler. I didn’t know if I was gonna get bit or what. I almost fell off a jeep. Michael Clarke Duncan saved my life, my good friend. He saved my life! I was so young. I was on the jeep and I was acting. I was over-acting… and they went over a dune in the middle of the desert, and I was like ‘Ah!’ And Michael said, ‘Come here, little boy. Come back here,’ and I said, ‘Thank you, God. Thank you!’ He saved my life.”

Michael Clarke Duncan himself was also destined for Hollywood stardom. The actor — who died in 2012 — was Oscar-nominated for The Green Mile just a few years later. And it seems Tucker never forgot about what Duncan had done for him on the “California Love” set.

Chris Tucker went on to become an A-list movie star

Tucker, of course, soon became one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. Two years after Friday, he landed his first lead role in 1997’s Money Talks. That film — directed by Brett Ratner — led the filmmaker to reunite with Tucker for a little film called Rush Hour. The movie paired Tucker with Jackie Chan and spawned two sequels and a TV series.

2001’s Rush Hour 2 saw Tucker earn a $20 million paycheck. And he made even more for the third film six years later. After Rush Hour 3 premiered in 2007, Tucker only appeared in 2012’s Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook and 2016’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.

He returned to the big screen in April 2023 in the sports biographical drama, Air.