In the new Netflix limited series True Story, Kevin Hart plays a slightly elevated version of himself named Kid: a standup comedian-turned-A-list movie star who returns to his hometown of Philadelphia for a series of sold-out shows.
The dark drama, created by Narcos showrunner Eric Newman, is clearly not based on a true storey, or else, as Hart stated in a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, he would be incriminating himself for some heinous crimes committed by his character if it were.
However, it’s clear from the first few minutes of the seven-part series that, in addition to allowing the comedic actor to show off his dramatic chops after projects like Fatherhood and The Upside, it’s also a heavy commentary on the downsides of fame and celebrity.
Hart’s Kid has to deal with rabid fans (including a white man sitting next to him in first class who casually drops the n-word while quoting his routine), a swarming paparazzi, and a problematic brother (Wesley Snipes) who takes advantage of his celebrity relative.”I believe that’s the code we cracked,” Hart said.
“What you discover within fame, especially in today’s time, is that it isn’t what most people believe [it is].” It does, after all, have its benefits and bonuses. However, it is not without its drawbacks.
“Those disadvantages aren’t highlighted or discussed because, if you do, [the response is] ‘How dare you?’ ‘Woe betide me,’ you know? There’s the impression that he has everything, or that he has the entire world at his fingertips. ‘Well, you can’t have a problem, can you?’ So I believe that was the game we were able to play with Kid… showing what he was going through, showing his frustration.
“Snipes, the veteran Blade and New Jack City star who has recently been on a roll with critically acclaimed performances in films like Dolemite Is My Name and Coming 2 America, agreed there are pratfalls.
“Fame and celebrity are wonderful,” he said. “I think the challenge is that there aren’t enough teachers and sages, as we’d call them, to teach the young people who come into fame and fortune how to live it, how to manage it, and how to deal with the expectations that come with it.””We don’t have anything like that. At the very least, I am aware of it in the African-American community.
A training program and a school to teach you how to deal with your fame and fortune are uncommon. There are numerous schools that teach you how to get there. There aren’t many to teach you what to do once you arrive.”
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