If you haven't heard of US comedian Kevin Hart yet, you will soon. Fresh from hosting the 2013 VMAs (in which Miley Cyrus' twerking antics stole the show), he's in London for the premiere of his hit film, Let Me Explain.
Largely drawing from experiences in his own life, Let Me Explain took over $40 Million at the US box office when it was released earlier this summer.
In addition to appearing in numerous films, he's a fixture in spoof reality show, Real Husbands of Hollywood. MSN sat down with Kevin to chat about his new movie.
How would you describe the brand of comedy in Let Me Explain?
I'm a storyteller with an edge. The reason I say that is because I cuss. Yes, I cuss but I'm not vulgar to the point where you can't stand what I'm saying. But I do use profanity. For the most part, all my comedy is self-deprecating. It stems from my point of view and it's a journey: it's a beginning, it's a middle and it's an end. But it's all about me, what I'm going through - my trials and tribulations.
I read that in your early stand-up days, you had a piece of chicken thrown at you. Is that true?
Yes! It's true. That happened at the beginning of my career before I was good. Someone was so frustrated with the joke I was telling, they decided to throw a buffalo wing at me. One of the many bumps along the road to success. A very true story.
People watching your act may end up comparing you to comedians like Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy. How do you feel about that?
Those are amazing comparisons. I don't think I'm worthy of it because those men stand on a pedal stool of their own. They have accomplished so many things, it's kind of hard to compare anybody to them. Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Bill Cosby - that's just to name a few - these are some of the men who opened up doors so that I'm able to do what I do now.
At the end of the day, I'm trying to be myself. I'm trying to create a name for myself to where people can put me in the same conversation as some of the greats. But to be compared to those guys? I don't think it's fair to them. They're legends already; I'm still trying to work to get to a certain status in my career.
How do you know which topics will be funny to an audience when you do stand-up?
You have to trust in your vision and your overall opinion, your perspective and your point of view. It's my job to paint a picture to the audience and get them to see what it is I'm trying to get them to laugh at. I'm very confident in my craft and what I do; I can spit this piece of information out and you guys are going to be able to receive it and understand that it's funny.
Oprah Winfrey said if anyone uses the n-word, they're no friend of hers. Are you a friend of Oprah's?
I'm a fan of hers, but I'm yet to meet her. Hopefully I'm not judged too much by the use of my language. If I am, I think that's sad because it means you're not getting to know me as a person. You're judging the book by its cover without turning any pages.
My use of the n-word is harmless in the way that it's done. Does that mean it's necessarily right? No. It's what I've done, it's what I do. If it's not broke I'm not going to try and fix it. I'm yet to have any trouble or backlash from it so I'm not annoying the wrong people.
What do you want people to take away from Let Me Explain?
If people watch my film, you'll understand that I'm human - regardless of my success and where I am in my career, I'm a real person. I have problems just like everyone else and I put my problems out there.
I'm an open book to my fan base and I think that's why I've got the respect and love that I've received so far - and it's not going to change. Whatever I go through, whether it's positive or negative I'm always going to talk about it and put it out there. That's the beauty of being a comedian.
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