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Christopher Tucker (born August 31, 1973) is an American actor and comedian most widely known for his role as James Carter in the Rush Hour trilogy. Well-known for his trademark rapid-fire wisecracks, actor-comedian Chris Tucker broke into movies in the mid-1990s, following a successful career in stand-up. After his scene-stealing turn in director F. Gary Gray’s 1995 cult comedy hit “Friday,” Tucker took on the role of his career as Jackie Chan’s comic foil and partner in the action-comedy, “Rush Hour” (1998). Thanks to the worldwide success of “Rush Hour,” Tucker became the fastest actor ever to make Hollywood’s elite “$20 Million Club” – a princely sum he received for appearing in the 2001 sequel. Despite wracking up a prolific flurry of credits at the start of his career, Tucker’s output slowed to a trickle by the early 2000s, limiting his film roles strictly to the “Rush Hour” franchise. Nevertheless, the comedian’s star power remained significant enough to once again command a $20 million payday – against 20% of the gross – for his next film, the inevitable “Rush Hour 3” (2007). The youngest of six children born to janitorial business owner Norris Tucker, Christopher Tucker was born in Decatur, GA on Aug. 31, 1972. An incorrigible class clown, Tucker first displayed his gifts in a school talent show, where he proved a roaring success. Heavily influenced by Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy, Tucker wasted no time kicking off his comedy career. Moving to L.A. right out of high school, Tucker quickly gained a following on the comedy club circuit for his high-pitched delivery and manic energy. The young comic’s on-stage act eventually led him to an appearance on “Def Comedy Jam” (HBO, 1992-97), a cable showcase for rising young black comics. Tucker was raised in Decatur, Georgia. After graduating from Columbia High School, he moved to Los Angeles in order to pursue a career in comedy but he knew he had to get producers to put him in a movie so he did it to get a movie career. Through DNA tests (as aired on the 2006 PBS documentary African American Lives), his paternal ancestry was traced back to the Mbundu ethnic group of Angola and his mother's to Cameroon; Tucker has also managed to trace his family tree back to the 1830s. The test also showed that Tucker's ancestry is 83 percent Sub-Saharan African, 10 percent Native American, and 7 percent European. Tucker traveled to Angola and Cameroon, the birthplace of his ancestors, with the program's host, Henry Louis Gates. Tucker made his feature debut in 1993 with a small role in “House Party 3,” but it was his co-starring turn in “Friday” which made his career. Cast in the role of the dope-smoking, underachieving sidekick, Smokey, Tucker completely stole the film out from under its star, Ice Cube. Lensed mostly on location in South Central Los Angeles, the film followed 16 hours in the lives of two friends – Tucker and Cube – as they waste the day away, cracking wise and making observations. A sleeper hit, “Friday” took in over $27 million at the box office and spawned two sequels – neither of which Tucker returned for. That same year, Tucker also had a supporting role in the Hughes Brothers’ urban action-thriller “Dead Presidents.” Tucker's first major movie role was alongside rapper Ice Cube in the 1995 cult favorite Friday. He also starred with Charlie Sheen in 1997's Money Talks and alongside Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element in the same year. He later starred in the 1998 martial arts action comedy Rush Hour and its sequels, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3, in which he played James Carter, an abrasive, wise-cracking detective. Realizing the success of the first Rush Hour film, Tucker held out from studio bosses until they paid his price tag of $20 million for Rush Hour 2,; the film became an enormous success. The other star, Jackie Chan, received $15 million and gross points. Tucker's last two films were Rush Hour and its sequel. His latest appearance was the third film in the hit franchise, which was released on August 10, 2007. Despite a flurry at the start of his career, he has only made three film appearances since 1998, all as Detective James Carter. Tucker's career trajectory is unusual in that, while he has made such a relatively small number of films, he has already become a member of the unofficial "20 million per film" club, joining such actors as Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Tom Cruise and Will Smith. The year 1997 proved to be a banner year for Tucker as an actor. In Quentin Tarantino’s “Jackie Brown,” Tucker had a small but pivotal role as Beaumont Livingston, a minor associate of Samuel L. Jackson’s charming gun-runner, Ordell Robbie. Tucker then followed-up with another scene-stealing turn as a futuristic D.J. named Ruby Rhod in director Luc Besson’s $80 million sci-fi/action spectacle, “The Fifth Element.” Hot on a roll, the comedian-turned-actor subsequently signed on to appear in the appropriately titled “Money Talks,” an anemic, derivative comedy co-starring Charlie Sheen. Continuing his success the following year, Tucker broke the bank in 1998 when he was paired with international action star Jackie Chan in “Rush Hour” – the first of director Brett Ratner’s highly profitable East-meets-West action-comedies. Par for the course, Tucker’s character – the fast-talking, motor-mouthed Detective James Carter – was not much of a departure for the comedian, who essentially played it as another version of his Smokey character. While some criticized the movie for being a “Lethal Weapon” rip-off, “Rush Hour” was a major hit, raking in over $140 million domestically – and nearly double that overseas. Not bad for a flick that only cost New Line Cinema a relatively paltry $35 million. Tucker signed a two movie contract with New Line Cinema for 40 million dollars to star in Rush Hour 3 and another unnamed film. He is also to receive 20% of the gross against his salary from the 3rd Rush Hour film. Tucker continues to perform stand-up comedy. He also appears occasionally at charity concerts and functions and is dedicated to helping bring attention to African poverty and hunger issues in the U.S. Surprisingly, just as he was the peak of his box office popularity, Tucker retreated from moviemaking altogether. After turning down several film offers, Tucker finally returned in 2001 for “Rush Hour 2.” Despite a four-year absence from the big screen, Tucker received a much publicized $20 million payday for the sequel. Following the huge success of “Rush Hour 2,” Tucker once again dropped off the radar; this time, for a full six years. While his two self-imposed exiles likely did not help further his career, neither did they particularly hurt it. In fact, to hear Tucker tell it, the sabbaticals may have been just what the comedian needed to keep his grounding. Revealed Tucker in a candid 2003 interview: "When I started traveling, I started finding out around the world [that] people don’t have clean water, how much we’re so spoiled in America because we have so much. It made me stop thinking about myself as much." Traveling to Africa, Tucker saw first-hand the devastation that poverty, AIDS and hunger could inflict. The experience proved life-changing for the actor, who later set up a foundation in his name to help children in Africa attain the basic necessities of life. Thankfully for fans of the Chan-Tucker franchise, in 2007, Tucker returned to reprise his signature role in “Rush Hour 3.” Released in the U.S. on Aug. 10, 2007, the third installment opened at #1, taking in $50.2 million in its opening weekend. Tucker is real life friends with Rush Hour co-star Jackie Chan, as well as singer Michael Jackson, and appeared in Jackson's video "You Rock My World" (2001) and on the intro of the track on the album Invincible. He also appeared at the beginning of the music video for "California Love" by Tupac Shakur. A friend of Bill Clinton, Tucker has travelled with the former President overseas, though he endorsed Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries. He also has a son named Destin Christopher Tucker, who is 8 years old and lives with his mother in Los Angeles. Tucker is a fan of his hometown Atlanta Braves and maintains a home in Atlanta. He is also said to be a long time fan of the Boston Celtics. |
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