Christopher Tucker is an American comedian and actor. Tucker made his debut in 1992 as a stand-up performer on the HBO comedy series Def Comedy Jam, frequently appearing on the show during the 1990s. He appeared in the films Friday, The Fifth Element, Money Talks, and Jackie Brown, and later gained fame for playing Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour series, for which he received several accolades.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Tucker grew up in Decatur, Georgia, and after graduating from Columbia High School, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy career. His comedy influences were Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, and Tucker was known by his teachers and high school classmates for making people laugh by doing impressions of Murphy, Michael Jackson, and others.
Career[]
Tucker made his film debut in House Party 3 (1994), along side stars such as Bernie Mac, Marques Houston, and Khandi Alexander. In 1995 Tucker appeared in one of his most notable and hilarious films, Friday (1995), alongside Ice Cube. Tucker's character, Smokey, was a drug addict who was an energetic and outlandish person. Films such as Friday (1995) showed Tucker's television-comedy styling was very different from his stand-up. In 1995, Tucker also appeared in in another film, Dead Presidents (1995).
In 1997 was the busiest year of Tucker's career. He starred in three hit movies all in the same year: The Fifth Element , Money Talks , and Jackie Brown .
In 1998, Tucker got a role to star along-side Jackie Chan. The movie was Rush Hour (1998) and it grossed more than 200 million dollars worldwide. This resulted in two additional sequels, Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007). In 2006, Tucker got a deal on his Rush Hour 3 (2007) contract that paid 25 million dollars, making him the highest paid actor in Hollywood at that time.
Friendship with Michael[]
“Michael called me on the phone. He said, ‘Is this Chris Tucker? … This is Michael Jackson,'” he claimed, mimicking the singer’s soft voice. “I said, ‘What’s up, Mike?’ He said, ‘I just wanna call you and tell you, I seen your movie Rush Hour 2… and you’re kicking with the wrong leg. Stop making me look bad.”-Chris Tucker
Jackson and Tucker were very good friends and their friendship is well-document. Tucker mostly spent time and hung out with Jackson at the Neverland Ranch.
The sequel to 1998’s Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2 is a buddy-cop film that follows mismatched detectives Lee (Jackie Chan) and James Carter (Chris Tucker) as they set out to stop an international crime ring.
You Rock My World
Though it wasn’t as successful as its predecessor, it was still an enjoyable movie that cinched several award nominations and ultimately grossed over $300 million against a $90 million budget
In the film, Lee and Carter stop at a bar, where a man is putting on a poor rendition of Jackson’s 1979 hit Dont Stop Til you Get Enough. “What in the world is going on in here?” Carter asks, clearly annoyed. “Am I the only one listening to this? This man’s destroying a classic!”
He grows increasingly irritated with the man’s singing before rushing the stage and taking over, delivering a performance where he attempted some of Jackson’s signature moves — including his iconic high kick. Except Tucker used the wrong leg, kicking with his left instead of his right.
At the 30th Anniversary Celebration shows Tucker took the stage to introduce Jackson, he spoke about their friendship and joked about a phone call he received after the release of Rush Hour 2 Tucker quipped about Jackson’s alleged reaction to the club scene.
30th Anniversary Special
He then welcomed Jackson on to the stage, who performed "The Way You Make Me Feel.” At the end of the show, Tucker, alongside singer Usher, returned to the stage, joining him in dance. Jackson and Usher burst into laughter as Tucker, once again, kicked with the wrong leg, which cause Jackson to fall on the floor laughing.
Around the same time, tucker also made a guest appearance in Jackson's music video for "You Rock My World". Behind the scene footage shows Jackson and Tucker joking and the latter making the former laugh hysterically.
Tucker also has presented Jackson with several awards including Artist of the Century Award and the Billboard Music Awards.
Videos[]
