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- Chris Rock is undoubtedly one of the funniest
and most popular comedians of his generation.
A talented all rounder with vast experience
in the entertainment industry,
Chris Rock, besides standup and acting,
is also a producer, writer, and director.
- What was my best line? I don't know.
My jokes are like my children.
I have no favorites.
- From an early age,
He projected a great interest in love for comedy.
Jumping into the New York club circuit
during his adolescence, his drive and persistence
established him as a seasoned veteran by his late teens.
- I wanna do good work, you know what I mean?
I just wanna do good work.
And if I got the right offer,
if the creators of "The Simpsons" called me up tomorrow
or if Larry David called me up tomorrow
and said he had a great idea, I'd be open.
I get laughs, so I'll mix it up.
Comedy, drama, not totally drama.
I'm not gonna play Hannibal Lecter or anything,
but I can do stuff like this.
Yeah, I'm always trying to get laughs, I'll say that.
- From the time when?
From the time you were like four?
- From the time the doctor smacked me on my ass
and I said, "Give me another one."
Then I go, "Hey, didn't we just meet?"
- Have you ever bombed onstage
in real life? - Yeah,
I bomb all the time. - Really?
When I started out, yeah.
If they paid me for jokes that didn't work,
yeah, I'd be richer than Bill Gates.
- His characters in movies
and standup leave lasting impressions
in the minds of his fans.
With standup comedy being his first love,
Chris always returns to his roots
and what he does best, making people laugh.
- I was blessed to have a father in my life.
True, true.
I had two parent, family, in the hood in Bed-Stuy.
Yup. Yup.
People would come around, look at my father
like it was a science project or something,
like put him in a glass case someday and charge people.
Christopher Julius Rock was born
in Andrew, South Carolina on February 7th, 1965.
Shortly after his birth, his parents relocated
to the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.
His mother, Rosalie, was a teacher and social worker,
and his father, Julius, was a truck driver
and newspaper delivery man.
Chris is the oldest of his siblings
and has three younger brothers who followed
in his footsteps in the entertainment industry.
He has often spoken about his main influence coming
from his paternal grandfather, Allen Rock,
who worked as a preacher.
In the late 60s, early 70s,
Brooklyn's neighborhoods were mostly populated
by white families.
Chris has spoken about the racial discrimination he faced
because of his skin color during his school years.
He was regularly beaten up
and eventually stopped attending high school for good
but still received a general education diploma.
His bitter experience with racism during his school years
had a large influence on his career as a comedian.
- I'm always trying to get laughs, I'll say that.
- From the time when?
From the time you were like four?
- From the time the doctor smacked me on my ass
and I said, "Give me another one."
Then I go, "Hey, didn't we just meet?"
- After dropping out of school,
Chris did odd jobs at several fast food joints
and cafeterias to make ends meet.
He laid the foundations of his standup career in 1984
by performing in the nightclubs
and comedy clubs of New York City.
In 1985, he was in line to buy tickets
to an Eddie Murphy standup performance
at Radio City Music Hall when he saw an ad in the newspaper
for an open mic night at the club Catch a Rising Star.
He auditioned and scored his first gig.
Catch a Rising Star was
where many other celebrated comedians
had showed off their skills, names such as Eddie Murphy,
Adam Sandler, and Jerry Seinfeld.
Chris Rock cleaned tables at the Comic Strip Live,
the oldest comedy club in New York City.
He did this in order to gain some extra onstage time.
The acclaimed comedian and actor Eddie Murphy
spotted Chris performing at the Comic Strip,
and being impressed by his performance,
he offered him the part of Playboy mansion valet
in the 1987 film "Beverly Hills Cop II."
This was his debut movie role.
- Yo, yo, yo, what the is up, man? Check this out.
I get $10 for cars. I get $20 for limos.
What the hell is is?
- My truck. Here's $50.
Put it next to the limo.
- In 1990, after gaining popularity,
he was selected to join "Saturday Night Live,"
the hugely popular comedy series that put him on par
with other newly recruited members.
Himself, along with Adam Sandler, David Spade,
Rob Schneider, and Chris Farley became known
as the bad boys of SNL.
The following year, he came up
with his first comedy album titled "Born Suspect."
He appeared in a total of 59 episodes
of "Saturday Night Live" from 1990 to 1993,
and in these three years, he earned a nationwide fame
and recognition as a comedian.
His striking and evocative portrayal of Pookie,
a cocaine addict in the movie "New Jack City,"
was lauded by his fans and film critics.
Chris was quietly planning to quit "SNL" following the end
of the 1992-93 season, but he was laid off
and dropped unceremoniously much
before the season came to an end.
He was then featured as a guest actor in a total
of six episodes in the 1993-94 season
of the comedy series "In Living Color,"
but the serial's broadcasting
was discontinued shortly after.
In 1993, Chris Rock scripted
and co-produced the comedy film "CB4,"
as well as played a double role in the movie.
The movie was about a guy who makes a documentary
on a rap group called CB4.
- Now CB4 is one of the hottest hip hop groups
to come on the scene in a very, very long time.
I'm MC Gusto, but in prison, I'm known as 97-KY.
- "CB4," which was made on a shoestring budget,
was a modest blockbuster, earning revenues
nearly three times the movie budget.
Chris went on to appear in a string
of comedy specials endorsed by HBO from 1994 to 2008
that brought him unprecedented success
and made him a household name in the entertainment industry.
He first appeared in the HBO-sponsored comedy special,
"Big Ass Jokes," in 1994 followed by the special,
"Bring the Pain," in 1996.
- I'm just at another point in my life.
Time to settle down. Time to settle down.
That's what time it is, time to settle down.
Women always ready to settle down.
And see, a woman go and your date.
She's like, "Why are we ?
What are you waiting for?"
Men never ready to settle down.
Men don't settle down. We surrender.
"All right, I'll marry your ass, all right?"
- His moving performance
in "Bring the Pain" merited him two Emmy awards
and established him as one
of the most accomplished satirists in the US comedy circuit.
He won two Emmy awards for the special
and gained large critical acclaim.
- What does it say about the Emmy?
I would say they really listen.
They really watched it carefully,
and I think they really listened,
and they weren't swayed by profanity or anything.
They just really got into the content
of what I was trying to say.
It was just me. It wasn't a big show or anything.
It was just me and a microphone,
and I didn't beat, but they chose me over huge productions
and the Oscars and the Bette Midler thing.
And a lot of people don't respect standup comedy
as something hard.
I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be up here
with two Emmy awards, even get nominated for an Emmy.
- Adding to his popularity
was his much publicized role as a commentator
for Comedy Central's "Politically Incorrect"
during the 1996 presidential elections,
for which he earned another Emmy nomination.
Chris also was the voice for the Little Penny puppet
who was the alter ego to basketball star Penny Hardaway
in a series of Nike shoe commercials from 1994 to 1998.
- Game last night. Let me just put it this way.
You're the best player in the NBA.
Those spin moves and the dunks, oh!
Ooh, swish, slam the glass side,
and do some Tai Chi to calm himself down.
- Man, you are having a party.
I swear, if you and your sloppy friends messing up my house-
- Ah, thanks, baby. Meet me by the pool.
- Hello? - Hey, hey! I can't talk now.
I driving through a tunnel. - Hello?
- In 1996,
Chris married his longtime girlfriend, Malaak Compton.
The couple lived together in Alpine, New Jersey.
Malaak gave birth to his first daughter, Lola Simone,
in 2002, and their second daughter,
Zahra Savannah, was born in 2004.
- I think I said this before with the black shows.
I was raised in an era to believe if you're black,
you have to do things twice as good
as the white man in order to succeed.
And the shows that are on now, like when "Sanford and Son"
was on, it's way better than every white show that was on
at the time and "The Jeffersons" and everything.
And right now, some brothers are submitting shows
that are as good as white people's,
and you gotta you gotta be better.
This show's better than "Mr. Show."
If it was as good, I wouldn't win.
Chris Rock's immense success as a standup comedian
towards the end of the 1990s helped him
to bag crucial roles in feature films,
many of which went on to become blockbusters.
Initially, he fulfilled supporting parts in movies
like "Beverly Hills Ninja," "Lethal weapon 4,"
"Nurse Betty," "Sgt. Bilko," and "The Immortals."
"Lethal Weapon 4" was one
of his most recognizable early roles,
as it was already a larger franchise.
- The guy you chased through Chinatown?
- Yeah.
- The gun he dropped match slugs on the body on the boat.
That's your shooter.
- Son of a bitch that got away from me.
- Oh, he didn't get too far.
They found him on a rooftop nearby, strangled.
And get this, pigeons ate his eyeballs.
- Chris later had two more HBO comedy specials,
"Bigger and Blacker" in 1999 and "Never Scared" in 2004.
Articles relating to both specials
called Chris "the funniest man in America"
in "Time" Magazine and "Entertainment Weekly."
- Oh, I am not the funniest man alive, not by a long shot.
I think Adam Sandler's got receipts
that prove he's a little funnier.
- Eddie Murphy? - Eddie Murphy,
Will Smith, when he wants to make people laugh,
can really do it well.
I'm just the funniest guy that showed up
to talk to you today.
- Brilliant. Well, thank you very much.
- HBO also aired his talk show,
"The Chris Rock Show," which gained critical acclaim
for his interviews with celebrities and politicians.
The show won an Emmy for writing.
His television work has won him a total
of three Emmy awards and 15 nominations.
By the end of the decade, Rock was established
as one of the preeminent standup comedians
and comic minds of his generation.
During this time, Rock also translated his comedy
into print form in the book "Rock This!"
and release the Grammy award-winning comedy albums,
"Roll with the New," "Bigger and Blacker,"
and "Never Scared."
His fifth HBO special, "Kill the Messenger,"
premiered on September 27th, 2008, and won him another Emmy
for outstanding writing for a variety or music program.
Chris Rock also hosted the 77th Academy Awards ceremony
in 2005.
The decision to have Chris host the awards was seen by some
as a change to bring some edge to the ceremony
and make it more appealing to younger audiences.
The older Oscar officials were reportedly displeased
with Chris's performance, as he chose to make jokes
towards A-list actors before turning the jokes on himself.
- The controversy never really affected me.
I didn't really think about it.
I don't know. It seemed made up, put it that way.
I tour the country, and I'm out
across America more than most writers,
as much as you guys, anyway, and I'm in the whole country.
So my fans are black and white and gay and straight,
and I didn't feel like there was any controversy at all.
- Part
of this whole Oscar experience for you?
- The hardest part.
Just getting the material ready
without the press putting every joke
in a magazine or on the internet, yeah.
- And also, do I have a good luck charm?
- Do I have a good luck charm?
I keep my dad's picture and close by, stuff like that, but.
- 36.
- 267. - Stephanie for BET.
- Hey, Stephanie.
- what did you feel
was your best line of the night,
and how'd you feel seeing all that color in the room?
- What was my best line? I don't know.
My jokes are like my children.
I have no favorites,
but I like the the Sean Penn comeback.
I just like anytime you can get something funny
that we didn't have coming into the show,
you take a little more pride in that.
Always feels good to see some color in the room
that don't have mops, so it's good.
- 267.
- Chris, over here on your right.
You had said before this that it's a room
like any other room and that, in fact,
you've played bigger arenas.
- I have. - But having been out there
in front of them and been part of it,
what is different about this audience?
- What's different?
You know what the only difference is?
It's the lighting and the dresses and all that stuff.
When I play LA, it's almost like that,
last time I played, anyway, at the amphitheater.
You get a lot of famous people, and I don't know,
it's TV, and you can't curse.
The audience is an audience.
It's just what you're allowed to do to the audience,
so there were some language restrictions
that were placed on me, but everything worked out,
Five seconds before I went on air.
- 10, okay. - I don't know.
You try to approach it like another show
'cause the things that'll make you suck doing this
are the same things that'll make you suck
when you do a normal concert.
So you go there and you say,
"Okay, I've been working on this for a long time.
I know my lines. Let's bring it."
It's like you talk to yourself next to yourself.
"Hey, let's do, all right?"
And you get up there.
- It was not until the success
of his standup in the late 1990s
that Chris Rock began receiving leading man status in films.
He had made his onscreen debut with supporting roles
in previous films but went on to star in films such
as "Bad Company" in 2002 and "The Longest Yard" in 2005.
Chris also worked increasingly behind the camera, too,
as a writer and director for "Head of State" in 2003
and "I Think I Love My Wife" in 2007.
2005 was a successful year for Chris Rock.
He took on the part of Marty the zebra
in the Dreamworks animated film, "Madagascar."
The plot follows a group of zoo animals
who find themselves washed up on the island
of Madagascar after a series of unfortunate events.
- We've been ratted out, boys.
- Good evening officers.
- Now they're being set way out of town.
- Oh great. This is just great.
- This could be the best thing that's ever happened to us.
- No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
- His voice acting was instantly recognizable,
and he brought his own comedy flare to the role.
- You have to use your voice a lot,
so sometimes you can like work too much
and then you can't talk and you get laryngitis and stuff
like that, especially a lot of the screaming stuff.
You gotta scream over and over and over again.
Hey, what am I complaining for?
- The film received mixed reviews from critics
but was a success at the box office
and was one of the highest grossing films of 2005.
Also in 2005, UPN TV network premiered a comedy series
called "Everybody Hates Chris,"
loosely based on Chris Rock's school days.
He was the executive producer and narrator.
- Show is like a "Wonder Year."
It's like a "Malcolm X in the Middle."
- And you're narrating? - Yes.
- "Everybody Hates Chris" was a parody take
of the popular sitcom series "Everybody Loves Raymond."
- Hey, you need a VCR? - I got one already.
- Fell off the truck this morning.
- Really? I'll take two.
- I never realized the only stuff that sold
on the street in my neighborhood was stolen stuff.
- Cookies! Cookies for sale.
Chocolate chip! Peanut butter Do Si Do!
Chocolate mint? - I got cookies.
- They just fell off the truck this morning.
- Why didn't you say so? Give me two boxes!
- The show garnered both critical
and ratings success.
The series was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in 2006
for best TV series, musical, or comedy
and also received nominations
for People's Choice awards and two Emmy awards.
In 200, due to the popularity of the first film,
"Madagascar 2: Escape to Africa" was released
with Chris reprising his role as Marty.
- New Madagascar. - What can we expect?
'Cause I'm excited. - So good, best "Madagascar."
I'm not making that up. It's the best "Madagascar."
It looks amazing. We buy a circus.
We join a Russian circus.
When you see it, you're not gonna believe how good it looks.
It's like a David LaChapelle portrait
or something like, you know what I mean?
Like Salvador Dalí did it or something. It's amazing.
- Well, I think we got a better movie this time
than the last, and that's saying something.
The last one was pretty great, but the cast is all back,
we've got some new people in it and it's a lot of fun.
Great for the whole family.
- Now, how does the whole team work?
Do the actors get more involved in the parts-
- Well, they do 'cause now they know the characters so well,
and I think Ben and Chris had some great chemistry going,
and they got into the studio together a little bit this time
which is unusual.
They did great work.
- Do you think it gets bigger
and better an experience?
- Yeah, sometimes.
The right scenes, they can really play off of one another
now that they know the characters so well.
- Me and Ben actually recorded some
of it together, which was pretty cool.
So when you get to work with another comedian,
it's always good.
- Yeah, we did that one day, which was really fun
'cause he's so good, and to see him improvise,
it was very inspiring and a little bit intimidating
'cause he comes up with a lot of funny lines.
His ratio of funny lines that he comes up with
is much more than mine.
- Have a lot people said
that the second one is better than the first one.
- It's a lot better than the first one,
and it's not like the first one was bad.
I don't know.
Scripts are a little tighter, less guesswork.
- The film mostly continues on
from the first installment,
following the same characters that audiences love.
The franchise was a family favorite.
- Well, we make these films for ourselves to make us laugh,
and we're probably pretty juvenile at heart.
But the goal is so parents can take their kids to a movie
and not be bored and wait for it to be done
so they can take the kids home,
but everyone can go and enjoy it together.
That's always the goal with "Madagascar" movies.
- Now, as far as the cast, normally,
they just go into the studio and read their lines.
I hear that they have a bit more involvement this time.
- Oh, yeah. Yeah. - How does that work?
- Well, that's what's great about working with these guys.
They are incredible comedians, actors,
improvisers, even filmmakers, directors.
And so to collaborate with these guys,
which is really what we do when we're
in the recording studio with them,
is just a great opportunity to make the movie better.
And you get Sasha Baron Cohen in a room,
and he starts improvising in front of the microphone.
Ben Stiller and Chris Rock we brought together
so they could play off one another
and work off the page and go beyond the page,
and so it's just better for the film all the way around.
- We have the best seats in the house, too,
when it comes to these comedians.
We're sitting in the booth just cracking up most
of the time.
- They're a whole lot of fun, and it's for the kids.
- Yeah. - How about both?
- It is both, actually, isn't it?
- Yeah, yeah. - It's a lot of fun.
- It's fun to do something that you are a part of the whole
- You're part of a - process.
- winning team. - Yeah.
- It was released on November 7th, 2008
and was the sixth-highest grossing film of that year.
In 2010, Chris Rock starred in "Death at a Funeral,"
a comedy about a funeral ceremony that turns into a debacle
of exposed family secrets and misplaced bodies.
- So sorry to hear about your dad.
- Were you guys friends? - Something like that.
- You're telling me our father was on the down low?
- Way down.
Now the guy wants $30,000 or he's
gonna start showing pictures of them doing stuff.
- Nah, nah, I don't believe that.
- Oh! Daddy!
- The film is a remake
of a 2007 British film of the same name.
- It was a British film to start with,
and so how did you change it for the American cast
and for American audiences?
- We don't talk about tea as much.
We took out all mention of darts. Nobody says pavement.
- Making the film and changing it for the Americans,
did you think it made it more obvious the differences
between British and American humor?
- It's weird.
Me personally, I don't find a big difference
between British and American humor.
When I was over here doing on tour as a standup,
I didn't really have to change anything.
I thought everybody got everything.
- 'Cause some people say that Americans
are slightly more crude than the English.
Do you think that's fair? - Americans
are slightly more crude than the.
the English.
The English are more literate people.
You guys read a little more.
- Yeah, and we don't talk about toilet humor
in quite the same way,
I don't think maybe. - Not quite the same way, no.
- It is totally over the top,
but it does show that all families,
most families are completely bonkers, aren't they?
- Yes! - So everyone
can relate to something in it.
- Yes, you will see your family in this funeral.
It's a family movie, actually.
It's so weird that it is, but it is.
It's a movie for the whole family.
- Who would have thought funerals would be so funny?
- Funerals are hysterical.
Don't you always find yourself giggling at a funeral?
- Do you? - It was difficult.
It was difficult, especially like when you're around a guy
like Tracy Morgan that it's not really a big difference
between what he does on the screen and off the screen,
and he's always funny, so yeah, it was really hard.
- When you have that level of comedians,
is there a rivalry between you?
Do you say, "Oh, you had more jokes in your scene"?
- No, we don't really have rivalry.
Now when we were younger, there was a rivalry.
Now we're just glad to be working.
We've seen so many guys fall off.
We're like, "Ooh."
- "Death at a Funeral"
received mostly positive reviews on critic sites.
2010 saw an appearance in the film "Grown Ups"
alongside his friend, Adam Sandler.
- Guys, congratulations,
first of all, on the movie.
- Yeah! - I laughed my head off
when I saw it last week.
It was brilliant. - Okay.
- Really, really good fun.
I imagine for you, it was a very tough call
of whether to be involved in this film,
hanging out for the summer, sunshine with your friends.
What was that call like when Adam calls you
and says, "Come and be a part of this"?
- I thought he was lying.
- He does that to me, teases me every six months,
offers me a movie, and then goes, "Psych!"
- "Hey, you wanna be in 'Click'?"
Nah. - Nah.
"What you doing?" "Nothing."
"Ooh, you're not working, are you?"
"No, not working at all."
- I felt by saying no to all the other movies he asked me
that - You had to do this.
- I felt stupid. Now it's starting to get weird.
- Was it good fun on the set
'cause all your families were there as well, weren't they?
Your children and- - Yes, yes, absolutely.
We had a great time with everybody's family.
All the kids got to know each other pretty good.
David, we kept him off meth for two months straight.
- Two months. - It was fun to see that.
- Then I was right back. - That's good. That's fine.
I knew you'd- - It was a good fun thing
'cause you keep the trailers together.
So it's still work. It's still hard.
You have to get up at five, but it was nice to know people
around there to make the days go a little quicker.
You always had someone to talk to.
Selma was there. These guys were there.
If they're working, then-
- It was like a summer camp for overpaid actors.
- Sounds good fun to be a part of.
And with so many comedians on set,
do you have moments where you're trying
to outdo each other's jokes so you can be the funniest?
- Yes. - Have competitions?
- Except Adam's 'cause he'll cut you out.
- Or take what you said. - Or take what you said.
- Let's do it one more time
where I say what Rock just says.
- Let's try one that way. - Exactly.
- Makes more sense to the story.
- We'll see what it looks like.
- In 2011, Chris Rock appeared on Broadway
in the play "The Mother with the Hat,"
which saw him nominated for a Drama League award based
on his performance.
In an interview with "Vibe" Magazine,
Chris stated that he chose to do Broadway
because he wanted more people to see him really act.
- What's it like being on Broadway? Come on.
- It's nice.
It's like being on 29th Street, but it's Broadway.
- What is it like to be honored by the Tonys,
all these nominations?
- Hey, man, it's a good play.
The most important thing is that people like it.
- Then in 2012, Chris Rock starred
in "Two Days in New York" alongside actress Julie Delpy,
which was a sequel to her film, "Two Days in Paris."
- Me, I play a guy named Mingus.
I'm a writer, a columnist, a disc jockey.
I live with the lovely Julie Delpy, my French woman,
and my in-laws are coming for the week,
and then hilarity ensues.
There you go.
- I said I wasn't gonna get mad.
- What the heck's
going on with you? - Okay, you know what?
- Ever since your family got here,
you've become another person.
- Mingus family!
- You gotta kiss him, or he gets mad.
That's my mother. No tongue.
- Has your dad ever keyed a car?
- Of course not.
- Well, there's gonna be an angry limo driver outside
that wants to press charges. - Well that's a, really?
- The character was better written,
even than the movies I write for myself.
I learned a lot, like, "Oh, okay."
The character's a real person,
a real grownup who's been married
and divorced and has children,
and so it was fun to play a grownup.
- It's very funny.
I think the film is not like indie
in a sense of hard to get into.
The jokes are very straightforward, you know what I mean?
It could be a broader comedy.
It just happens to be an indie comedy
because of this financial setup,
but it's actually not not funny, you know what I mean?
The whole film is comedy
from beginning to end. - It's really funny.
It's so much funnier than "The Avengers."
- It's funnier than "Battleship."
- Rihanna's asked that.
- I'm not sure about that, yeah.
- You sure? - Yeah.
- Oh, Rihanna's asked. - I'm not sure
- Is her ass in "Battleship"? - "Battleship" .
- No, they don't. It's .
- Oh, see? They couldn't blow that up.
It worked. It worked.
I had a good time. She was good.
She had to give me a little extra, whatever,
attention 'cause I didn't speak any French,
so she had to explain a lot to me.
- Was it funny working with her
and her dad on the set?
- Yeah, yeah 'cause they would have real fights,
like real father-daughter fights in French,
so that was fun to watch.
- And what do you want audiences to take away?
- I just want audiences to realize this is a comedy.
A lot of people, it's like, "Ugh, you're in an art movie."
I'm like, "Yeah, I guess you can say that,"
but it's really funny.
It's funnier than you think, so.
- Thanks, Chris. - Take care.
- In this year, he also starred
in the third film in the "Madagascar" franchise,
"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted."
- I think Alex has sort of been trying to figure out
through all the movies, and he, again,
gets in this situation with Gia
where he's saying he's something that he isn't
or someone that he isn't.
And I feel like the the theme of the films
is really about finding out, for Alex,
finding out who he is and also the friendship
of everybody there being there for each other.
And when we finally get to New York,
we realize that we're not the people who we thought we were,
and then we get trapped in the zoo again.
And there's something, I guess,
in the story about how we're always there for each other,
and that, to me, is the thing that Alex gets
is that his friends are there for him.
He's there for his friends, and.
- Just like the others in the franchise,
the film did really well at the box office,
as it was the eighth top grossing film in 2012.
- They enjoy the movies,
but it's really fun to have that to share
with them. - Oh, it's amazing.
The first movie I ever took my youngest daughter Zahra
to see was "Madagascar 2," I believe, no, one.
And I remember we watched it at the Dreamworks campus,
and she turns to me and goes, "Daddy, is that you?"
And it was just such a great day.
The script's great, but as a director,
I always like people that are too big
'cause it's so much easier to get 'em down
than to get somebody who is too small up.
That's like, oh, that's the most frustrating thing
in the world.
So I improv all the freaking time
until they tell me to stop, and they go,
"Okay, we gotta get this line.
You gotta say circus."
And I make sure, after a lot of improvs,
that I see exactly what they want me to say, but I try to.
- "Grown Ups" also got a sequel, "Grown Ups 2,"
which premiered in 2013.
The film received some negative reviews compared
to the first in the franchise.
In 2014, Chris filed for divorce
from his wife Malaak Compton Rock.
Chris admitted to infidelity in the marriage
as well as addiction issues.
Their divorce was finalized on August 22nd, 2016.
On October 21st, 2015,
the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
announced Rock would host the 88th Academy Awards.
When the subsequent acting nominations turned out
to include no racial minorities, Chris was called upon
to join a boycott of the ceremony.
However, he declined, stating at the ceremony
that it would have accomplished little since the show
would have proceeded anyway with him simply replaced.
- No black nominees, and people are like,
"Chris, you should boycott.
Chris, you should quit. You should quit."
How come it's only unemployed people
that tell you to quit something, huh?
No one with a job ever tells you to quit.
So I thought about quitting.
I thought about it real hard,
but I realized they're gonna have the Oscars anyway.
They're not gonna cancel the Oscars because I quit.
And the last thing I need is
to lose another job to Kevin Hart, okay?
Instead, Rock spoke of his concerns about the lack
of diversity in AMPAS at various times during the show,
closing by saying, "Black lives matter."
- I don't know. Chris got his message across.
It was all good.
Everybody understood what he was saying
and how he was saying it, and it was fun.
- And what more do you want the Academy
and the industry to do about diversity?
- I don't think the Academy can do any more.
Let's see what everybody's talking about
in a month and a half, see if it's still in the zeitgeist,
and then we'll know if we have something there.
If nobody's talking about it in a month,
I'll see you here next year, talking the the same stuff.
- 'Cause it's more about the industry making a stand
than the Academy.
It's gotta come from the bottom, hasn't it?
- Well, it has to come from the people who cast,
and it's not just casting black actors.
It's Asian actors and Hispanic actors.
It's not just one thing.
It's that a change has to happen,
and it either will or it won't.
We'll see. - So much, thank you.
Now generally, his discussions about diversity,
do you think it went down well in the hold?
- It's very complex in the middle of a ceremony
that is a celebration that is not a meeting,
to do what he has done.
He didn't have it easy here.
He's being spicy in some moments.
He be kicking around.
Some people have maybe hurt by what he said
and put the finger in the wound.
Eventually, he made us laugh eventually.
Sometimes everybody was like,
"Oh my God, is he going too far?"
But in the overall, I think it's all very well situation.
It was not easy, yeah.
- Thank you. Enjoy your evening.
- Thank you.
During the years 2015 to 2018,
Chris Rock made many different appearances
and television shows as himself,
not really starring in anything in particular.
He was taking a break from the spotlight.
On October 30th, 2016, Netflix announced they
would be releasing two new standup comedy specials
from Chris Rock.
The first special, "Chris Rock: Tambourine,"
was released on Netflix on February 14th, 2018.
The specials marked the comedian's first concert specials
released in 10 years.
Then in 2018, Chris Rock start in "The Week Of"
alongside longtime friend, Adam Sandler.
- Got a big one, Dr. C?
- Another day, another life.
Hello? - Father of the groom!
You got a sec?
- Yeah.
Its gotta be a decent hotel, like a-
- Oh, I thought we talked about this.
I told you we can handle it, - It's just that we
, pal. - Let me get the phone.
- Dr. Cordice, I got The Plaza.
- We can cancel that. Thanks for all your help.
- I don't sound like that!
- You do a little.
- The movie was made as part
of Adam Sandler's deal with Netflix.
The film was about two fathers
with opposing personalities coming together
to celebrate the wedding of their children.
- It's an amazing comedy about two families coming together,
a father trying to pay for his daughter's wedding
without any help, and the lengths he'll go
to pay for it all by himself without the help
of Chris Rock's character, the groom's father.
And it explorers family relationships,
two wildly different families are coming together
and meshing together so beautifully,
and also the dynamics of a father-daughter relationship
and how loving that is and what's really important
at the end of the day, which I don't think is money at all,
so. - Oh, okay, awesome.
- I'm gonna be honest. The anticipation was worse.
When I met them, they're all so down to earth,
really, really funny.
Adam and I would sing a lot on a set together.
He's a musical theater fan,
and I started my career on Broadway.
Steve Buscemi taught me so many lessons.
He's such a grounding presence.
Chris Rock is so elegant, comical, always telling jokes.
Rachel Dratch is beautiful, kind.
- He brings the most comedy genius.
It's his movie. I'm there.
I'm just helping out, setting picks.
Adam's the lead. I play tambourine.
I play a mean tambourine, though.
I get a solo and everything.
- Of course, you just get jittery here a couple of days
before it comes out, but we like it.
We like it.
Hopefully, people connect with it and that's why you do it.
- The film received mixed reviews
and didn't make it up there with some of Chris's best work.
In 2019, Chris Rock starred in "Dolemite is My Name"
alongside former mentor and longtime friend, Eddie Murphy.
- Uniquely inspirational story.
There's nobody else like him. Nobody else did it like him.
This one came together when I was finished resting.
This was came together,
and that's why we wound up doing it.
- We've got a little secret weapon
that's suddenly gonna be unleashed,
in that weapon is a big, ol' missile
of excitement called Rudy Ray Moore.
I think everybody that sees the movie,
they get excited about his story,
and I think it's just extra special
because it's Eddie Murphy telling his story.
Everyday was a joy to come to work.
Everybody wanted to be there.
They all felt this purpose to tell this story.
But also, I think it was just you get that many funny people
together that have been doing the comedy circuit that long.
They're gonna be talking about old stories,
talking about people in clubs
that they remember back in the day.
- The film surrounds the real life legend,
Rudy Ray Moore, a comedy and rap pioneer.
The film received positive reviews
and was praised by critics.
In 2020, Chris voiced a character and was the narrator
in the remake of the classic film "The Witches."
The film was a success at the box office
and was praised for its remake.
2020 also saw a change in characteristic for Chris Rock
as he took on a more serious role in season four of "Fargo."
He plays Loy Cannon, a Kansas city crime boss,
a more serious role than he's used to
but still manages to give a stellar performance.
- You sure about this?
You remember what happened to the Irish?
- Italians, they're the past.
We're the future. They just don't know it yet.
- We're the goddamn Roman Empire.
- Critics praised him
for playing against his normal type,
and he is tipped to win an Emmy award
for his performance in the series.
On September 18th, 2020, Chris publicly revealed
that he has been diagnosed
with a nonverbal learning disorder,
something he wants to raise awareness for in the future.
In October, 2020, Chris returned to "Saturday Night Live"
to host a show once again.
Fans were happy to see him back on their screens
with another set of topical jokes relevant
to today's society.
- The world is insane right now,
but one thing we can agree upon, COVID has ruined our plans.
We all used to have plans before COVID.
Remember you used to be able to plan stuff?
Man, my sister was getting married, man, getting.
I paid Bell Biv DeVoe $80,000, man,
and I can't get it back.
I had tickets to Coachella, man.
I know 200,000 Americans are dead,
but I'm not seeing Rage Against the Machine this year, man.
- Chris Rock has been making roomfuls
of people laugh for more than three decades,
something he still does best.
One of the most hardworking entertainers today,
his standup routines never disappoint
and have kept his fans interested
in his career and life for many years
and will continue to do so for many years to come.
From showing his serious side with the role in "Fargo"
to developing new standup routines,
Chris Rock continues to rise to the top
of American comedians and has teased
that he doesn't intend on disappearing anytime soon.