Kevin Hart talks 'Grudge Match' and black comedians doing drag for a laugh
theGRIO VIDEO - Kevin Hart talks about his new film 'Grudge Match' and also opens up about changing his mind about never wearing a dress to get a laugh...
Kevin Hart stars alongside screen legends Robert De Niro and Sylvester Stallone as fast-talking boxing promoter Dante Slate in Grudge Match.
The film, which opens Christmas day, follows two aged boxers who are coaxed out of retirement to settle a thirty-year-old grudge.
During an interview with theGrio, Hart talked about his role in Grudge Match, and whether or not his loyal fans will show to see his most mainstream flick to date.
“It’s a different role for me,” the Think Like a Man actor said. “I was able to bring some ‘Kevin-like’ aspects to the character… some of my personality traits and things that I do well. My fans… they will slowly gravitate to it.”
During a 2012 interview Hart said he would never wear a dress to get a laugh, however a year later, during a stint hosting Saturday Night Live, he dressed up as Oscar-nominated actress Quvenzhané Wallis.
These days Hart says he is willing to dress in drag for the right role.
“I got in trouble with this. I said no [to wearing a dress] and then I did SNL, and I dressed up an Quvenzhané Wallis,” Hart said. “When I got to SNL everybody was pitching stuff. It was funny because I thought, ‘I can look like her. You guys can make me look like her.’”
“I’ve learned from my mistake of saying no, that you don’t say no because you don’t know what the future holds. So in that case I don’t want to say no, I want to say that if the right thing presented itself where I had to do it for a scene… then it’s possible.”
The 34-year-old comedian also weighed in on SNL’s lack of diversity, and the show’s quest to hire its first black female cast member since Maya Rudolph left the show ins 2007.
“I don’t think there’s a thing where they don’t want a black female comedic talent on SNL. I think it’s him finding who he [executive producer Lorne Michaels] thinks would be right to fit the task, regardless of race.”
Hart revealed that he once auditioned for a spot on the cast of SNL and didn’t get the gig, but has no hard feelings today.
“I thought they were the craziest people. I didn’t get it. Everything happens for a reason. I’m not mad at it, and I don’t think that other people should be either.”
Follow Chris Witherspoon on Twitter for more entertainment news at @WitherspoonC
