Kevin Hart revealed in an interview that he turned down the role of Alpa Chino in 2008’s Tropic Thunder due to the character’s closeted nature. The part eventually went to Brandon T. Jackson, and the movie ended up becoming a massive critical and commercial hit.
Tropic Thunder also starred Robert Downey Jr., Ben Stiller, and Jack Black. Hart admitted that when he read the script for the first time, he was not impressed by the things the character does in the story.
Kevin Hart Won’t Play Gay Roles Until Further Notice
During his interview with Power 105.1’s The Breakfast Club via ET Online, actor Kevin Hart explained why he would not play a gay character:
“In my defense – first of all, before I say this, I’m politically correct. To the gay community, I respect and appreciate you for everything y’all do, and as people, I love you – the part was way more. In the beginning, the dude was doing a lot of stuff in the draft that I read. I’m not saying it. It was real flagrant. It was a lot of stuff, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’ ”
The version of Alpa Chino in the released film was pretty much okay, and only revealed that he was in a relationship with singer Lance Bass. When asked if he will ever play a gay role in the near future, Hart responded:
“No – not because I have any ill will or disrespect. It’s because I don’t think I’m really going to dive into that role 100 percent because of insecurities about myself trying to play that part. Does that make sense? Like, what I think people are going to think while I’m trying to do this is going to stop me from playing that part the way that I’m supposed to.”
Still, Hart hopes he will be able to pull it off someday, perhaps when he has more knowledge and awareness about gay roles:
“I’m not at that acting point in my career. Now seven years later? When I’ve done this part, and you say, ‘Hey Kevin, I thought you said you’d never do it?’ I’m at the point when I want to take a chance. This role made sense. The story made sense. I may do it. You don’t know what tomorrow holds. Right now, it’s not on the drawing board.”
As an actor, the Jumanji star wants to fully embody the character he will be portraying on the screen, and it has to be sincere.
Will Smith Refused To Kiss His Male Co-Star
Will Smith, on the other hand, would not kiss a man in his first major movie role in Six Degrees of Separation, and he got the flak for it. The director was forced to use stand-ins and only showed the backs of the actors. He told Entertainment Weekly:
“It was very immature on my part. I was thinking, ‘How are my friends in Philly going to think about this?’ I wasn’t emotionally stable enough to artistically commit to that aspect of the film.”
The Emancipation star learned his lesson and vowed to do better in his acting career. He further added:
“In a movie with actors and a director and writer of this caliber, for me to be the one bringing something cheesy to it… This was a valuable lesson for me. Either you do it, or you don’t.”
Smith and Hart have different views on playing gay characters, and to be fair, the role is absolutely a challenging job. It all boils down to the actor’s commitment and his willingness to explore avenues he has never driven down before.
