Kevin Hart is reflecting on how Soul Plane was supposed to be his splashy entrance into Hollywood, but it didn’t turn out to be.
In an episode of The Underground Lounge podcast, Hart revisited the making of the 2004 film while explaining that the beginning of his career was different than he expected.
“Soul Plane was a dope ass movie because it was simply a bullied movie,” he explained around the 19-minute mark in the video below. “We didn’t have fucking permits. We didn’t have the right to shoot. We guerilla’d. The fucking movie that came out became a hood classic.”
Hart continued on, explaining that Soul Plane was supposed to “be my mainstream hit” since the film had a $25 million budget. But because it leaked months before its release, the movie underperformed at the box office.
“I’m not getting any calls to do any more movies,” he said about the period after Soul Plane. “Nobody is giving me more opportunities to star in anything. The TV show got canceled right after. I’m like, ‘Welp, I guess that’s it.’”
The comedian then explained that his standup shows were what ended up fueling his career, regardless of what happened with the film.
“All the comedy shows started selling out,” Hart said.
After more than two decades in show business, the comedian announced a new audiobook called Kids Make Me Angry earlier this month.
The project, releasing on Audible, is set to cover the eight phases of fatherhood that Hart has experienced over the past two decades.
"I had no blueprint for being a dad, so I had to figure it out on my own," Hart said in a statement. "And let me tell you, I wasn’t always perfect, but I showed up 100 percent of the time.”
Kids Make Me Angry releases on June 4.
