Interview By: Rocco Passafuime
RoccoPassafuime@TheCinemaSource.com
Martin Lawrence is one of comedy's most profoundly gifted performers. He began his career in the late 1980's as a stand-up comedian with appearances at Hollywood's famed Improv and on TV's Star Search quickly heightening his profile.
After a string of noteworthy early acting roles in films like House Party and the Spike Lee classic Do The Right Thing, Lawrence got his big break when he was personally hand-picked by hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons to be the host of HBO's Def Comedy Jam in 1992.
Around the same time, his popularity began to skyrocket as his sitcom Martin became an enormous success on Fox from 1992 to 1997. Long after Martin ended, the comic's success transited to the world of Hollywood comedy with successful films like Nothing To Lose, Blue Streak, and the Bad Boys and Big Momma's House movies, as well as with his often outrageous stand-up films You So Crazy and Runteldat.
Martin Lawrence's latest role is in the Hollywood comedy Wild Hogs. In the film, Lawrence plays Bobby Davis, a plumber turned struggling writer often subjugated by his wife who goes on a road trip with his suburban biker friends but discovers more trouble than he had bargained for.
'[He's] someone who doesn't have much of a say-so in his life,' he describes of Bobby, 'But this journey gives him a chance to finally let it all out.'
He reunites with Everybody Hates Chris star and longtime friend Tichina Arnold, who's previously co-starred with Lawrence on Martin and in the first Big Momma's House. This time out, Arnold plays alongside Martin as Karen Davis, Bobby's domineering wife.
Despite admitting he never did so much as straddle a bike in his life prior to the film, he says that what particularly motivated him to do Wild Hogs was the idea of joining a 'team' of creative talents, which include Tim Allen, John Travolta, and William H. Macy. Lawrence also adds that he was enthused at the prospect of doing improv again alongside his equally skilled co-stars.
'Working with such an incredible ensemble cast gives you a certain freedom, so you can have even more fun with the role,' he explains.
He said one of his favorite scenes is one where Bobby got to wrangle a bull.
'I also love doing physical comedy, so when the bull scene came up, I knew that was going to be especially fun for me.' Martin recollects, 'I just tried to squeeze as much out of it as I could!'
With Wild Hogs now under his belt, Martin Lawrence was quick to point out what else he had in store for the year. He's the executive producer of the comedy program 1st Amendment Stand-Up which premieres in March on Starz. Also, he plans to begin shooting a comedy film for Universal Pictures called The Better Man, which is about a successful comedian who leaves Hollywood to reunite with his Southern family.
