Kevin Hart talks Hollywood's resistance to him as an action star, sends love to grieving 'Die Hart' co-star John Travolta
In his new Quibi series Die Hart, Kevin Hart plays a famous comedy star who often works with Dwayne Johnson, spouts off one-liners and has ambitions to be a leading action man, but is generally relegated to comic relief ‘sidekick’ status. In other words, and as the title implies, he essentially plays himself.
And as Hart (Ride Along, Jumanji) tells Yahoo Entertainment during the show’s recent virtual press junket (watch above), for all its laughs, Die Hart could indeed be a considered a plea for the industry — and the world — to take him more seriously as an action man.
“I think it’s definitely a problem in Hollywood,” says Hart, who was joined by co-star Nathalie Emmanuel (Game of Thrones, Fast and Furious). “The people, ultimately you want to give them what they want. For me, it’s a piece of me like you’ve never seen, and just showing that I’m more than capable of doing certain things.
Watch the trailer:
“Die Hart was my first step into the space of real action, which is why I deliver at the level that I do. But of course I can’t take the credit. You need amazing co-stars, and people that can help set you up. And Nathalie does a good job of matching the energy that I gave.”
Among their other notable co-stars is John Travolta, who plays the highly unstable proprietor of a boot camp for actors training for action movies, and puts Hart and Emmanuel through a series of increasingly rigorous and dangerous stunt drills. The famed screen vet is grieving the death of his wife, actress Kelly Preston, who died July 12 after a two-year battle with breast cancer.
“I’ve known John for a while, this is my first time working with him. We’re extremely lucky to have John Travolta be a part of this project. The man is a legend and anything he touches is gold. So for us to be able to say that we worked with him in general in our career is a massive moment,” Hart says. “Our hearts go out to him and his family. At this time I think it’s about him and his space and the time with his loved ones.”
“We send lots of love to him and his family,” Emmanuel adds.
Die Hart is now streaming on Quibi.
— Video produced by Jen Kucsak
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