Kevin Hart Was Once Told to Quit Comedy by the Same Manager Who Discovered Eddie Murphy
Kevin Hart has gotten far in life thanks to his natural comedic abilities. But earlier in his career, he wanted to get even further and tried to impress the same person who helped find Eddie Murphy. Hart, however, didn’t get the response he might’ve wanted after his performance.
Kevin Hart was told he didn’t measure up to comedians like Eddie Murphy
Like many comedians, Eddie Murphy was one of the comics who the Lift star looked up to. Hart considered himself to be funny from a young age. He described himself as a class clown who got the comedy bug after performing stand-up on a whim. Although he was working as a shoe salesman then, Hart seemed to have found his calling.
“My energy was great. I made my co-workers smile all the time. And I was a good salesman. I was always in the top two of the salesmen — it was always me and this guy Dwight. It was my co-workers who pushed me to go on stage on amateur night at the Laugh House comedy club. I was shocked at first, but then I said I’d do it,” Hart once told Orange County Register.
After making the audience laugh, Hart did more comedy shows until he decided to pursue the profession full-time. He even went as far as to quit his job for the sake of dedicating more time to his passion. But Hart received a huge blow to his pride after one of his biggest shows as an aspiring comic. The actor found an opportunity to perform for someone with an eye for talent.
“There was a guy named Lucion. He was known for discovering guys like Eddie Murphy and various huge names out of New York City when it came to comedy. If this guy said you were funny, then you were funny. If this guy said you had it, you had it. And I worked so hard to get to this guy, and I got to him,” Hart once told CNBC Make It.
But Hart’s performance for Lucion backfired.
“I performed for him, and he told me to my face that I should really think about finding another profession,” Hart said. “He told me to my face that he didn’t feel that comedy was for me.”
What Kevin Hart learned from being told to quit comedy
Hart was disappointed and perhaps even discouraged by Lucion’s feedback. But the comedian didn’t allow the respected booker’s opinion to get under his skin.
“I had put so much pride and wear and tear on myself to get that information. And then when I got it, it wasn’t what I expected it to be,” Hart said. “And that could have been a damaging moment, but those are the moments I choose to let go of.”
Fortunately, the Central Intelligence star had a friend who supported him after the rejection and told the comedian what he needed to hear.
“It took a friend of mine named Keith Robinson when I walked out, he said, ‘What’d he say?’ I told him, and Keith was like, ‘F*** him. What do you care? We’ll get somewhere else to perform.’ And he shoulder-shrugged it. But he shoulder-shrugged it as if that information wasn’t heavy.”
Hart asserted that the experience gave him a valuable lesson that further motivated him to succeed.
“So as long as you have the get up and go to just do, and never stop, then you’ll be fine. When you allow others to dictate your movements, then you’ll always be affected,” he said.
Kevin Hart felt comedy would always come before acting
Hart would end up surpassing even his own expectations, becoming one of the biggest comics in the world. He even pivoted to a successful acting career, starring in various projects outside of comedy. Still, Hart reassured that despite how big of an actor he became, he’d never truly leave comedy behind.
“Nothing’s ever going to surpass that. I’m where I am because of stand-up comedy. That’s always going to be number one. Acting is great — but it’s a bonus,” Hart once told Esquire.
