Chris Tucker is one of the most well-known actors and comedians in Hollywood. From his work in the Rush Hour franchise to movies like Friday, The Fifth Element, and most recently, Air, he has made a name for himself as an incredibly funny and interesting performer and actor.
Tucker was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood until he quit acting. So, it is quite interesting to find out that he also faced serious loss due to a dicey investment into a Comedy Club.
Chris Tucker Talks About Owning and Shutting Down A Comedy Club
During an interview with Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host asked Chris Tucker to advise him on opening a comedy club as he has experience owning one. The comedian started off by quipping that one should not let their family work for them. He mentioned that after opening the club, there was very little profit but his family had made expensive purchases like cars. He also added jokingly that his brother would drink all of the alcohol.
“Don’t have your family working for you in the Comedy Club. My family worked for me at my comedy club and I went there. The club wasn’t making any money but everybody had new cars.” he mentioned, “My brother was drinking up all the inventory. ‘I gotta try this stuff and make sure it is strong.'” When asked how long this lasted, the comedian said, “About a year, that was it. I did (make the call to shut it down). I was like ‘This is over. I’m not making any money, This was gonna mess up my movie money.'”
Tucker eventually ended up shutting the establishment down after being in business for a year. He mentioned that he had to close down as the club was tampering with his film career and that would not do. He added that his father, who was the cook, was quite upset by this.
Chris Tucker Quit Acting Despite Being The Highest Paid Actor in Hollywood Once
Chris Tucker was one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood at one time. The actor made around $50 million from his work in the Rush Hour franchise itself. Despite being at these heights of success, why did Tucker walk away from acting? The actor mentioned that it was this exact success that made him wary of acting. He stated that because his career was as high as it could go, he couldn’t grow more, adding that it felt like he was stuck under a ceiling and couldn’t go any higher.
“The way I kind of stepped back from Hollywood, at one point being the highest paid actor in Hollywood, I felt like you know it was a ceiling right there. I wanted more — it wasn’t enough. So, I stepped back, lived a little bit, traveled the world, and did a lot of humanitarian stuff that really broadened my perspective of the world,” said Tucker in an interview. “That, you know, it ain’t just about me being the biggest comic or actor in the world, it’s about becoming somebody to give to the world — to inspire in some kind of way, hopefully. So, I like that I did that.”
Due to this reason, the actor chose to take a step back and focus more on traveling, and broadening his perspective of the world. He mentioned that doing this has made him realize that life was not about being the biggest actor or comedian, but about becoming someone who can be of use to the world in a positive sense.
Source: Youtube
