

Hart began preparing for “Laugh at My Pain,” there was no question that his routine would take on his most complicated biographical chapters, whether his mother’s death from cancer or the eccentric behavior of his relatives at her funeral. Hart has two children with his ex-wife, Torrei.) “Me having kids, me divorcing, me talking about divorce before the divorce, me talking about my kids’ reaction to that divorce.” (Mr. “My fans saw me get engaged, saw me make that woman my wife,” Mr. Hart gained attention from stand-up specials like “I’m a Grown Little Man” (released in 2009) and “Seriously Funny” (in 2010), he did not shy away from joking about events in his seemingly private life.

“He was pretty unknown, and even then, he was enthusiastic about the things he was working on, and that energy is contagious.”Īs Mr. “There was a guy who appreciated everything he had,” Mr. He starred in pilots for Judd Apatow, the future writer-director of “Knocked Up” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin,” and for Steven Levitan, a future co-creator of “Modern Family,” that were not picked up but gave him chances to impress Hollywood. Hart honed his act in clubs in Philadelphia, New York and Los Angeles, where he had been signed to a six-figure television-network talent deal. Smoove (who would later join “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and tried too hard to imitate their acts. Hart said, he fell under the sway of elastic and physical comedians like Chris Tucker (the “Rush Hour” star) and J.
Kevin hart laugh at my pain beginning of labor professional#
“I was so confused I didn’t know what to do.”ĭuring his professional initiation in the late 1990s, Mr. Hart, who stands 5 feet 5 inches, could easily recall a time when he was still playing the comedy clubs of his native Philadelphia under the stage name Lil’ Kev the Bastard and did not warrant much support or enthusiasm. Hart’s Madison Square Garden shows and details of the celebrity-studded commercials he’d be filming for MTV.īut Mr. Hart, dressed entirely in black, tucked into a chicken Caesar salad and a glass of pinot noir, he chattered with his colleagues Harry Ratchford (who is officially director of operations for team Hart) and Dwayne Brown (his executive assistant), who sat at a nearby table.īack and forth the three men traded smartphones and an iPad as they excitedly reviewed ticket-sales data for Mr.

“But right now this is a book that is being written.”Īs Mr. “Because of what I do, it has to be an open book,” he said. And the higher he climbs, the more certain he feels that he must be candid with audiences about everything that has happened in his life. Hart is supremely confident that even greater triumphs await him. “Think Like a Man,” the Sony/Screen Gems romantic comedy in which he was a member of an ensemble cast, has sold more than $91 million in tickets since April.įor all that he has accomplished Mr. Since “Laugh at My Pain” was released last September, that independently produced feature has grossed more than $7.7 million on a budget of about $700,000. Hart finds himself in its most explosive phase so far. In a career that spans more than a decade, Mr. Hart said, “is when your career takes off.” Hart, 33, to New York, where he explained over a lunch in Times Square that his comedy was not always so confessional but that the more personal and revealing it has turned, the more successful he had become. Last month his preparations for the show brought Mr. Hart has turned this expressive re-enactment of his father’s coked-up battle cry into an improbable catchphrase - and “Laugh at My Pain,” along with it, into a grass-roots hit - earning him an ever-widening fan base and, on Thursday, a hard-won gig hosting the MTV Video Music Awards.
