Kevin Hart
Birthdate: Jul 6, 1979
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
One of the most successful stand-up comics-turned-movie stars of his generation, Kevin Hart (birthname: Kevin Darnell Hart) has used his short stature as a superpower, playing against expectations in action comedies like Central Intelligence (2016) and the Jumanji series with his favorite movie partner, the big-statured Dwayne Johnson, with whom he also co-starred (via vocal performance) in Warner Animated’s 2022 DC League of Super-Pets.
While establishing himself as a stand-up comedian on stage and on the web, Kevin Hart branched out to the movies in the early 2000s in mostly minor roles (as in Judd Apatow/Steve Carell’s The 40-year-Old Virgin (2005)), along with the repeating role of CJ in Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Scary Movie 4 (2006). Kevin Hart’s first movie in which his name was above the credits with his fellow cast was Russ Parr’s 35 & Ticking (2011), with Tamala Jones and Nicole Ari Parker.
His first starring role was Leslie Small’s and Tim Story’s film of Hart’s live act, Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain (2011), shot at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. The story then cast Hart as a co-star in the hit comedy, Think Like a Man (2012), with Regina Hall and Taraji P. Henson, followed by the sequel, Think Like a Man Too (2014). Hart rejoined the team of Small and Story for another stand-up film, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain (2013).
Hart earned a major supporting role opposite Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro as aging boxers in Peter Segal’s Grudge Match (2013). Story’s comedy, Ride Along (2014), co-starring Ice Cube, gave Hart his first significant starring role in a narrative feature and was enough of a hit to generate a 2016 sequel, Ride Along 2, again with Ice Cube. Hart was part of the ensemble, including Regina Hall and Michael Ealy, of Steve Pink’s Los Angeles-set remake of About Last Night (2014). By 2015, Hart was a confirmed star, toplining Jeremy Garelick’s The Wedding Ringer, with Josh Gad and Mimi Rogers.
Kevin Hart began to co-star in a string of buddy (or non-buddy) comedies with Get Hard (2015), co-starring Will Ferrell. Hart’s first partnership with Johnson came with Rawson Marshall Thurber’s Central Intelligence (2016). Hart co-starred in another hit series, this time as the voice of Snowball in the animated The Secret Life of Pets (2016) and The Secret Life of Pets 2 (2019). Co-directors Small and Story reunited again with Hart for a third stand-up concert film, Kevin Hart: What Now? (2016).
Hart co-starred with Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman in Neil Burger’s The Upside (2017), the English-language remake of the hit French drama-comedy, Intouchables. Hart partnered again with Johnson in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017), with Jack Black and Karen Gillan, which was followed up with Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), both directed by Jake Kasdan and taking in a combined worldwide gross exceeding $1.7 billion.
Kevin Hart parlayed his growing movie success into the role of producer and writer in Malcolm D. Lee’s Night School (2018), with Tiffany Haddish. Hart also served as star producer in Paul Weitz’s Fatherhood (2021), one of his first drama-leaning films, released on Netflix and featuring Melody Hurd and Alfre Woodard. As a tribute to one of his stand-up mentors, Kevin Hart executive-produced Andre Gaines’ thoughtful documentary portrait of comedian-activist Dick Gregory, The One and Only Dick Gregory (2021).
Again on Netflix (as part of his ongoing first-look deal with the streamer), Hart co-starred with Woody Harrelson in the action comedy, The Man from Toronto (2022), then returned to vocal acting and working alongside fellow star Dwayne Johnson (again!) in DC League of Super-Pets (2022).
Hart joined the large ensemble of the Chris Spencer-directed and written comedy, Back on the Strip (2023), starring and produced by Wesley Snipes and Tiffany Haddish, and co-starring JB Smoove, Gary Owen, Bill Bellamy, Spence Moore, Faizon Love, and Caryn Ward, and released by GVN Releasing.
Hart’s first foray into science fiction was the Eli Roth action comedy, Borderlands (2024), with Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, and Jamie Lee Curtis. Hart co-starred with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jean Reno, and Vincent D’Onofrio in F. Gary Gray’s airborne caper movie Lift (2024). Hart and his longtime directing partner, Tim Story, returned in the spy comedy, My Own Worst Enemy (date to be announced).
Hart co-starred and produced with Will Smith in writer-director Ayesha Carr’s remake of the 1987 comedy, Planes, Trains & Automobiles (date to be announced), produced via Paramount Pictures.
Personal Details
The parents of Philadelphia-born Kevin Hart were Nancy and Henry Hart, but it was Nancy who raised Kevin Hart and his older brother Robert. Henry finally overcame his battle with cocaine addiction, and reconciled with his son Kevin. He graduated from George Washington High School, attending Community College of Philadelphia until he dropped out.
He lived and worked in New York City and Massachusetts as a struggling stand-up comic. Hart was married to Torrei Hart from 2003 to 2011 when they divorced; Hart married again in 2016, to model Eniko Parrish. Hart has four children, including Hendrix, Kenzo, and Heaven. His height is 5’ 2½”. Hart’s net worth is $450 million.
Filmography
actor
Previous (19)
- 2024 | BorderlandsasRoland
Borderlands
Based on the best-selling videogame, this all-star action-adventure follows a ragtag team of misfits on a mission to save a missing girl who holds the key to unimaginable power.
- 2022 | The Man From Toronto
The Man From Toronto
The world's deadliest assassin and New York's biggest screw-up are mistaken for each other at an Airbnb rental.
- 2022 | DC League of Super-PetsasAce
DC League of Super-Pets
Krypto the Super-Dog and Superman are inseparable best friends, sharing the same superpowers and fighting crime side by side in Metropolis. However, Krypto must master his own powers for a rescue mission when Superman is kidnapped.
- 2019 | Jumanji: The Next LevelasMouse
Jumanji: The Next Level
In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world's most danger...
- 2019 | The Secret Life of Pets 2asSnowball
The Secret Life of Pets 2
Continuing the story of Max and his pet friends, following their secret lives after their owners leave them for work or school each day.
- 2019 | The UpsideasDell Scott
The Upside
A comedic look at the relationship between a wealthy man with quadriplegia and an unemployed man with a criminal record who's hired to help him.
- 2017 | Jumanji: Welcome to the JungleasFridge
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Four teenagers are sucked into a magical video game, and the only way they can escape is to work together to finish the game.
- 2016 | Night SchoolasTeddy
Night School
A documentary about three students determined to graduate from their high school in Indianapolis, despite the fact that the institution has one of the lowest graduation rates in the country.
- 2017 | Captain Underpants: The First Epic MovieasGeorge
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
Two overly imaginative pranksters named George and Harold hypnotize their principal into thinking he's a ridiculously enthusiastic, incredibly dimwitted superhero named Captain Underpants.
- 2016 | Kevin Hart: What Now?asSelf
Kevin Hart: What Now?
Comedian Kevin Hart performs in front of a crowd of 53,000 people at Philadelphia's outdoor venue, Lincoln Financial Field.
- 2016 | The Secret Life of PetsasSnowball
The Secret Life of Pets
The quiet life of a terrier named Max is upended when his owner takes in Duke, a stray whom Max instantly dislikes.
- 2016 | Central IntelligenceasCalvin Joyner
Central Intelligence
After he reconnects with an awkward pal from high school through Facebook, a mild-mannered accountant is lured into the world of international espionage.
- 2016 | Ride Along 2asBen Barber
Ride Along 2
As his wedding day approaches, Ben heads to Miami with his soon-to-be brother-in-law James to bring down a drug dealer who's supplying the dealers of Atlanta with product.
- 2015 |
- 2015 | The Wedding RingerasJimmy Callahan/Bic
The Wedding Ringer
Two weeks shy of his wedding, a socially awkward guy enters into a charade by hiring the owner of a company that provides best men for grooms in need.
- 2014 | Think Like a Man TooasCedric
Think Like a Man Too
All the couples are back for a wedding in Las Vegas, but plans for a romantic weekend go awry when their various misadventures get them into some compromising situations that threaten to derail the big event.
- 2014 | About Last NightasBernie
About Last Night
Follow two couples as they journey from the bar to the bedroom and are eventually put to the test in the real world.
- 2014 | Ride AlongasBen Barber
Ride Along
Security guard Ben must prove himself to his girlfriend's brother, top police officer James. He rides along James on a 24-hour patrol of Atlanta.
- 2012 | Think Like a ManasCedric
Think Like a Man
Four friends conspire to turn the tables on their women when they discover the ladies have been using Steve Harvey's relationship advice against them.
Some Facts About Kevin Hart
AKA: One of Kevin Hart’s nicknames is “Chocolate Droppa,” his recording alias name for Motown Records.
Poker Ace: Hart is a successful poker player, playing in such major tourneys as The World Series of Poker, and serving as brand ambassador for PokerStars, the world’s largest online real money poker site.
Media Mogul: Kevin Hart is the majority owner of Laugh Out Loud, which produces, TV, streaming, and online comedy shows geared to support comedians of color.
