When Kevin Hart sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an interview you may have thought he would have talked about his skyrocketing career and not his “days of small beginnings.” Oh no, not this 34-year-old comedian and actor. Hart spoke about the difficulty in his early years as a stand-up comedian, his mother, the Bible, his height, fame and success.
This year, it appears there is a media circus around Kevin Hart. Every TV station, radio station, newspaper and magazine wants to speak with him, including the media guru Oprah Winfrey. Could it be because Hart was awarded “Entertainer of the Year” title by the NAACP Image Awards? It may be because of his packed schedule of sold-out stand-up specials and several hit films
Some may describe Hart’s rise to fame as sudden and very rapid, but Hart says it’s not exactly like that. “Hollywood has a way of making everything seem like an overnight success,” Hart explains. “But I’ve had 18 years in the business. I put in my time. I got dues that have been paid and paid again and paid one more time after that. I stayed true to my dreams and, eventually, they came true.”
Kevin Hart
When Kevin Hart decided to pursue stand-up comedy 18 years ago, his mother told him “I’m not a dream killer.” She said she would support him. She told him he had one year to prove himself. She decided to help out with his rent for one year while he pursued his dream of becoming a comedian, Hart told Oprah during his appearance on “Oprah Prime.”
After a few months in his new career, he said “I’m not really making money, but I’m loving it. I am making great relationships, but I am unable to pay my rent.”
When his rent was due, he went to his mother. He said “I’m like, ‘Mom, the rent. Where’s the rent at?’” Hart says his mother responded with: “Have you been reading your Bible?”
Kevin Hart with his mother Nancy and Brother Robert
Of course, he wasn’t interested in his Bible at that time. He was broke and needed to raise money to pay his rent. After a few weeks, Hart again asked his mother for the rent money. And again, his mum asked the same question. “Have you read your Bible?”
Another month went by, and Hart showed his mum the eviction notice put on his door. “She said, ‘Talk to me when you read your Bible,’” he says. Hart went back home, finally ready to appease his mother and open up his Bible; six rent cheques fell out of the Bible. “She put all my rent cheques in the Bible, for the previous six months and for the rest of the year, they were all there in the Bible.”
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