Chris Tucker was a comedian before he ever knew he was a comedian. From making his classmates laugh to being the jokester of his family, the award-winning comedian has spent his life being an entertainer. But while his five siblings and classmates knew of his talents, the rest of the world didn’t know until he burst onto the scene in the cult classic, “Friday.”
Tucker went on to become a fan fave with iconic roles in “Rush Hour,” “Money Talks,” “Air,” and more. And if you want to know what’s next for the talented comedian, you’ll have to check out his show when it comes through Houston this weekend. The Legend Tour – a Live Nation presentation – will be at the Bayou Place, November 4 and 5.
Tucker talked with the Defender about his show, and his storied career.
A high-pitched, animated, and over-the-top comedian, Tucker moved to Los Angeles in 1990. Despite being discovered in Hollywood, Tucker has always credited his Atlanta roots for the foundation of his career.
“My upbringing in the church, my mom making us go to church all the time,” he said. “My dad whooping our butts, making us go to work with him. My family, I’m the youngest of six kids so we always had something going on around the house, a lot of fun. People used to come down to our house because we had too much fun, so we didn’t even know we were funny and all that stuff. We was just being ourselves and people just loved to be around us, loved to laugh. So my family, man, I got to say, that really mold me, shaped me. The church, my spirituality, friends, family, all that stuff comes together and makes me who I am today.”
The Legend Tour is a 30-city stand-up show that returns Tucker to the stage and delivers his highly-praised stand-up to sold-out audiences across the nation. As with most comedians, Tucker returns to his foundation while Hollywood strikes. The Lone Star show plans to turn the tour into a movie after releasing his debut stand-up special, Chris Tucker Live, in 2015.
“I might turn into a movie,” said Tucker. “It’s evolving now, but I’m probably going to make it a movie, and then wherever it goes from there, we will see. Because I’ve got some great stuff I’m thinking about showing in this show, more than just the standup. Yeah, it’s going to be pretty good so I can’t wait for the people to see it, so it is going to be awesome.”
The Legend Tour has been a huge success for Tucker and Live Nation, which has the comedian, actor, and producer already preparing for a follow-up tour in 2024. “I’m already planning on next year to come back to each city and do it again, so yeah, I’m never going to stop,” Tucker says. “Never going to stop doing standup, never going to stop acting, trying to get great roles, good movie roles, and yeah, just keep at it, man. And then other stuff too, producing, directing one day. So yeah, man, we’re just going to have some fun with it.”
After 33 years of stand-up, Tucker says his comedy remains fresh because he’s constantly evolving. “It keeps evolving,” he said. “It’s constant evolution in your stand-up, you just keep working at it and stuff happens every day. Once you’re in the groove of things, it gets easier and then it’s like riding a bike and you just have fun with it. But when you’re a pro, you know how to do it and you just do it.”
