15 Trivia Tidbits About Kevin Hart On His Birthday
Comedian/actor/businessman/restaurateur/we’re running out of slashes here Kevin Darnell Hart celebrates his birthday today. He has come a long way from popping up in Judd Apatow’s 2001 TV show Undeclared, and his bromance with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will go down in the annals of Hollywood as the stuff of legends. To celebrate the guy who loves making fun of his own height, here’s a bunch of trivia about the funny (little?) man, including why he once completely freaked out over a butterfly.
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He Has Crapped His Pants on Stage
Talking to Kelly Clarkson on Hart to Heart, Hart revealed that he soiled himself during a stand-up show in Norway. The comedian explained that he wasn’t feeling very well prior to the gig, spending significant time in the bathroom before going on stage. The show was moving along just fine until the final seven minutes of his set saw his stomach come knocking. Hart then wrapped his trench coat around his waist, pooped his pants and finished his closer like a pro.
He Didn’t Have the Easiest Childhood
Hart and his older brother were primarily raised by their mom, Nancy, due to his father’s troubles with addiction and, subsequently, the law. Hart’s dad, Henry, had a bad cocaine habit, finding himself spending more time in jail than at home. During these challenging periods, Hart developed his knack for comedy as a coping mechanism.
Hart would eventually reconnect with his dad after Henry got his life back on track; sadly, his old man passed away in 2022.
He Attended a Basketball Camp with Kobe Bryant
When Hart was a teen, he dreamed of becoming a basketball star — a dream that was ultimately crushed when he attended a basketball camp alongside Kobe Bryant. Hart once told Jimmy Fallon that seeing Bryant practicing his left-hand play (Kobe was a righty) made him realize he just wasn’t NBA material. “I just wasn’t good,” Hart remembers. “And I was mad at myself because I sold myself this dream, and this dream just wasn’t a reality because this man played left-handed.”
He also said that he realized basketball wouldn’t be for him because he “stopped growing.” Hart still hoops though, winning the NBA Celeb All-Star Game MVP trophy four times in a row.
He Made an App to Make Fun of His Height
In 2011, the 5-foot-2-and-a-half-inch comedian released an iPhone app called “Little Jumpman” that doubled as a game (in which Hart tries to jump) and an interactive platform where fans could connect with him through his embedded social media pages.
He’s Really Scared of Bugs
The actor has been frank about being deathly scared of insects (and some other animals, too). This revelation, of course, played well into the hands of his prankster buddy and favorite on-screen partner, The Rock. “He (The Rock) was pretty out-of-control when we were in Hawaii shooting because he knows I don’t like insects,” Hart said about their time working on Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. “He would plant fake spiders and snakes around me to scare me. I didn’t like that at all. Hopefully, we green screen all of Jumanji 2.”
And it really isn’t just creepy-crawlies Hart’s afraid of. Watch him go bananas over a baby ostrich and a falcon.
He’s the First Comedian with a Nike Endorsement Deal
Hart may not have lived out his professional basketball dreams, but in 2016 he became the first stand-up to sign a deal with Nike. He also has his own line of sneakers and has non-feet-related endorsement deals with Mountain Dew, AT&T, Samsung and Wrangler.
Why He Doesn’t Do Politics
Throughout his career, Hart has insisted that he’s not the type of comedian who wants to joke about politics. “When you jump into that political realm, you’re alienating some of your audience,” he once explained. “The world today, it’s really not a laughing matter. It’s serious. I don’t want to draw attention to things I don’t have nice things to say about.”
He did, however, call out then-president Donald Trump at the VMAs in 2018, taking on a social justice issue by comparing the awards show to a sporting event before saying, “But at this game, you guys can kneel. You can do whatever the hell you want. There’s no old white man that can stop you. You never know what’s going to happen at the VMAs.” He continued this thread later, saying, “I mean beefs pop off, bad language, people sending out crazy tweets. It’s basically like your typical day at the White House. In your face, Trump — suck it!”
He’s a Big ‘Tropic Thunder’ Fan
“I could watch Tropic Thunder over and over,” he once told US Magazine. “It’s the funniest movie ever.”
He’s Become an Internet Meme
Not for any single specific thing he did or said, but literally, just every waking moment captured of Kevin Hart. Apparently, the man’s online images are ripe for any occasion…
…and have since been used accordingly.
He Wants to Remake ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’
In 2020, a reboot of the beloved Steve Martin/John Candy Thanksgiving movie was announced that will supposedly see Hart and Will Smith take on the lead roles. In February 2023, Hart gave an update on the project, saying they were still writing the movie. “Lots of drafts, lots of rewrites, lots of brainstorming,” Hart told ET Canada. “We’ll get it there, and when we do, it will be what it’s supposed to be, which is amazing.”
He Was in a Judd Apatow Show That Never Made It to Broadcast
North Hollywood was a 2001 Apatow sitcom about aspiring actors in L.A. that featured funny folks like Hart, Amy Poehler and Jason Segel. It was Hart’s first big project, and he was sure it would kick off his career, but ABC pulled the plug on the show before anyone could see it. The unaired pilot, however, can be found online (watch it below).
His Old Tweets Controversy
Hart was set to host the 2019 Academy Awards but ultimately stepped down from his duties following the discovery and backlash regarding a bunch of homophobic tweets he made back in 2010 and 2011. Those tweets included risqué jokes like saying a fellow actor looked “like a gay billboard for AIDS,” also one about him telling his son to stop playing with a dollhouse because “that’s gay.” After his initial apology videos were rejected by the public at large (there wasn’t an actual apology to be found in his monologue, only deflection), Hart eventually decided to step down as host of the Oscars and tweet a direct apology.
His Mother Kept Her Illness from Him
Nancy Hart found out that she had terminal cancer in 2007, right around the time her son was cast in Fool’s Gold. Robert Hart, Kevin’s brother, told Variety that their mom swore him to secrecy because she didn’t want Kevin to lose focus. Kevin only learned about her illness a couple of weeks before she passed away that same year. While cleaning up his mom’s house, Kevin came across a box with countless newspaper clippings and videos of interviews and TV appearances he’d done over the years. “Anything I’d ever done, she had it,” Hart said, explaining that she never talked to him about his career. “She never missed anything.”
He Has a Vegan Restaurant in L.A.
Named Hart House, the burger joint boasts a menu that’s “100 percent plant-based” and contains no corn syrup, trans fats or preservatives. It is, without question, the best vegan fast-food eatery owned by a Jumanji cast member.
He Would Love to Do a Road Trip with Will Ferrell
When Route Magazine once asked him which celebrity friend he’d like to join on a road trip, Hart immediately went with Will Ferrell. “One hundred percent, Will Ferrell. Will is funny non-stop,” he said. “You know, he’s a guy that loves bits, loves improv, and I’ve spent a lot of time with him, and after spending time with him, I’ve found our comedy back-and-forth is not just funny, but special. So, the constant playing out or acting out of bits is just — carrying on and on — I feel like if you’re going to be in a car, you’ve got to be in a car with who you laugh with (and) who you’re not going to get tired of, and I don’t think I would get tired of Will at all.”
