Stand-up Hart's first stand-up performance took place at The Laff House in his native
Philadelphia under the name of Lil Kev, which did not go well. His career suffered a slow start and he was booed offstage several times, once even having a piece of chicken thrown at him. After those initial unsuccessful shows, he began entering comedy competitions throughout
Massachusetts, with audience receptions eventually improving. It took time for Hart to develop a unique comedic style. After an early period of attempting to imitate comedians like
Chris Tucker, he found his own rhythm by delving into his insecurities and life experiences. He said, "Because of what I do, it has to be an open book. But right now, this is a book that is being written." Hart also has a game app available through
iTunes called "Little Jumpman". His
Facebook page,
Twitter account, and
YouTube channel are all connected to and accessible through this app. On April 9, 2015, Hart embarked on a comedy world tour titled the
What Now? Tour at the
AT&T Center in
San Antonio, which concluded on August 7, 2016, at the
Columbus Civic Center in Columbus, Georgia. On July 16, 2015,
Universal Pictures announced that
Kevin Hart: What Now?, a stand-up comedy film featuring a performance of Hart's
What Now? Tour, would be theatrically released in the United States on October 14, 2016. The show was filmed live on August 30, 2015, in front of 53,000 people, at
Philadelphia's
Lincoln Financial Field. In 2025, Hart performed as a headliner in
Saudi Arabia's
Riyadh Comedy Festival, an event taking place from September 26th to October 9th. The comedy festival overlaps with the seventh anniversary of
the assassination of
Jamal Khashoggi, prompting Joey Shea, Saudi Arabia researcher at
Human Rights Watch, to say in a statement that the Saudi government is using the comedy festival to
whitewash its
human rights abuses. Hart has performed in the region before, the first time taking place in January, 2023.
Film and television roles in October 2009 Hart had a guest appearance in the 2002
sitcom,
Undeclared. He made his film debut in the 2002 film
Paper Soldiers. Hart then had other film roles such as the
Scary Movie franchise,
Soul Plane,
The 40-Year-Old Virgin,
Death at a Funeral and
Little Fockers. He turned down a role in the 2008 film
Tropic Thunder because the character is gay, citing his own "insecurities". He played Doug in the film
The Five-Year Engagement (2012) and appeared in
Think Like a Man which was a box office success. He also appeared in
the sequel. He had a cameo as himself in
This Is the End. In 2013, Hart played a boxing promoter in
Grudge Match and appeared in
Exit Strategy as Mannequin Head Man. He also appeared in
35 and Ticking. In 2013, Hart co-created
Real Husbands of Hollywood with
Chris Spencer. The show follows Hart along with other married celebrities (each playing a comical fictionalized version of themselves) within the series including:
Boris Kodjoe,
Nelly,
Duane Martin,
J. B. Smoove,
Nick Cannon and
Robin Thicke. Thicke did not return for the second season due to his music career, though Hart has stated that the door is open for him to return. The series is filmed in a style similar to
Bravo's
The Real Housewives. Episodes often hinge on the "real" Hart's desperately unsuccessful attempts to climb Hollywood's celebrity social ladder (which always backfire in humiliating ways), and the character's barely-hidden envy of his more successful celebrity friends. A sneak peek was shown as a segment during the
2012 BET Awards and the official
promo was released in October 2012. In 2014, Hart starred as Ben in
Ride Along, opposite
Ice Cube. The film received generally negative reviews from critics, but was a major box office success. Hart returned in the sequel,
Ride Along 2, which was released in 2016. In 2015, Hart starred in the films
Get Hard with
Will Ferrell and
The Wedding Ringer. In 2016, he starred in
Central Intelligence with
Dwayne Johnson and the animated
The Secret Life of Pets. In 2017, he starred in
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (in a voice role), and
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle with
Jack Black,
Karen Gillan, and reteaming again with Johnson. He earned an estimated $32.5 million in 2017. In 2018, he produced his first film under his production company HartBeat Productions,
Night School. In October 2018, his production company announced that he signed a
first-look deal with
Nickelodeon. Under the deal, Hart and his HartBeat Productions banner will develop and produce live-action, scripted kids content for the network. Hart also has a first-look film deal with
Universal Studios. In 2019, Hart's film
The Upside, his first headlining role in a drama, was theatrically released. It also starred
Bryan Cranston and
Nicole Kidman. Hart also reprised his role of Snowball in the sequel
The Secret Life of Pets 2, and Franklin Finbar in
Jumanji: The Next Level. In 2021, Hart starred in
Fatherhood, a
drama about a man whose wife dies shortly after childbirth, leaving him to raise their daughter on his own. It premiered on
Netflix on June 18, 2021. In July 2020, his series
Die Hart premiered on
Quibi on July 20 and had a strong first weekend. In March 2023,
Roku and Hart's multi-platform comedy brand
Laugh Out Loud debuted the series' second season on
The Roku Channel. In addition to returning to his starring role, Hart executive produced the second season; Laugh Out Loud CEO and Hart's longtime business partner, Jeff Clanagan, served as a producer on the project. Hart signed a first look deal with Netflix in January 2021. He later played Arnold Drummond in the ''
Diff'rent Strokes portion of the third edition of Live in Front of a Studio Audience. In 2022, Hart starred alongside Mark Wahlberg in the comedy film, Me Time. The film shows how Sonny (Hart) experiences a wild journey with his friend after finding a much-longed-for free weekend. In January 2024, Hart starred (alongside Úrsula Corberó from Money Heist'' and
Vincent D'Onofrio) as a master thief in the Netflix
comedy heist film Lift, directed by
F. Gary Gray. A month later, he competed in
season eleven of
The Masked Singer as "Book". He purposely unmasked himself in the season eleven premiere as part of a prank on host
Nick Cannon.
Upcoming projects In 2019, Hart signed on to star in and produce
Monopoly. ,
Monopoly is still in development.
Laugh Out Loud Productions In 2017, Hart founded
Laugh Out Loud (LOL), a global media and production company to provide opportunities for top comedic talent of all ethnicities worldwide. Originally partnered with
Lionsgate, Hart became majority owner in 2019 after buying out most of Lionsgate's stake. LOL spans the full range of media channels, including digital, audio, linear and experiential, with four divisions: LOL Network, LOL Studios, LOL Audio and LOL X! Hart has aggressively expanded LOL's reach since its founding, securing partnership deals with
PlutoTV,
Roku,
Snap,
Facebook,
Peacock, and
YouTube. In 2020, he extended his company's agreement with
Sirius XM. LOL has won numerous accolades, including nominations and awards from the
Producers Guild of America,
Critics' Choice Movie Awards, Realscreen,
Streamy, and
Webby. Known for content such as
Cold As Balls,
What the Fit,
Die Hart, and more, LOL has amassed more than 1 billion video views across its digital platforms, and has worked with brand partners such as
AT&T,
Headspace,
Lyft,
Old Spice,
P&G, and
Viacom.
Hosting In addition to acting, Hart has also hosted various ceremonies. Hart first hosted the
2011 BET Awards. Hart then hosted the
2012 MTV Video Music Awards, after his longtime friend
Judd Apatow, the director who gave him his first big on-screen break in the TV series
Undeclared, recommended him for the position. Hart hoped this would project him into a side career as an
emcee, stating, "Hopefully after MTV, of course we're talking
Emmys,
Oscars, whatever." In 2015, Hart hosted the
Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber. In 2016, Hart co-hosted the
2016 MTV Movie Awards with
Dwayne Johnson. In September 2018 Hart hosted
HQ Trivia with
Scott Rogowsky and gave away $100,000 to one person. On December 4, 2018, Hart was announced as the host of the
2019 Academy Awards. Two days later, however, he withdrew from hosting duties in the wake of backlash against him over several
homophobic tweets he had posted between 2010 and 2011. He characterized the protest as unconstructive and argued, "If you don't believe people change, grow as they get older, I don't know what to tell you". On December 7, he tweeted an apology to the
LGBTQ community following criticism for not issuing one the previous day. On January 3, 2019, Hart stated that he was going to reconsider stepping down as host, after openly lesbian comedian
Ellen DeGeneres, who has hosted the Academy Awards multiple times, expressed support for him to do so and said she had contacted the Academy to ask if Hart would be able to reverse his decision if he wished and, according to DeGeneres, they said he would be able to do so. On January 8, following backlash for what was perceived as an insincere apology by critics, Hart confirmed that he would not be hosting the Academy Awards. That year's ceremony was ultimately held without a host. In September 2020, executives from the
Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) announced plans to relaunch their
annual MDA telethon and make Hart its new host, taking over duties that had been held from 1966 to 2010 by comedian and former National MDA Chairman
Jerry Lewis. Entitled
The MDA Kevin Hart Kids Telethon, the two-hour telethon was held on October 24, 2020, and was seen exclusively through participating
social media platforms. In 2024, Hart hosted the Netflix special
The Roast of Tom Brady. In December 2025, Hart co-hosted the
2026 FIFA World Cup draw at
the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
Music As Chocolate Droppa, his alias, he signed to
Motown Records and released
Kevin Hart: What Now? (The Mixtape Presents Chocolate Droppa), the soundtrack to his stand-up
film of the same name. He released the singles "Push It On Me" featuring
Trey Songz and "Baller Alert" with
Migos &
T.I.
Modeling In 2017, Hart and
Tommy John appeared in an
underwear commercial for
Macy's.
Hart House In August 2022, Hart debuted a
vegan restaurant, Hart House, to compete with
fast-food chains by "offering flavorful plant-based alternatives". The restaurant opened in
Los Angeles, California, about a mile from
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), with a simple menu of
veggie burgers and
Chick'n products. and a fourth location near the
University of Southern California campus in June 2023. All locations closed down in September 2024. ==Influences==