Famous comedian Chris Tucker recently turned down a film offer worth $10M because it contradicts his beliefs and values.
Chris became famous when he starred with Jackie Chan in ‘Rush Hour.’ His R-rated movie, ‘Friday,’ was a gross-topping one as well. It earned $27M more than two decades ago.
A life-changing encounter with Jesus led him to change his ways, including his stand-up comedy content and the movies he chooses to make.
“I never was a raunchy, raunchy comic, but I didn’t think about what I was saying because I was young,” he said. He now keeps his act clean and wholesome. It may be challenging, but it helps him hone his craft.
“Normally, most comics talk about stuff that’s easy-maybe cussing or saying something raunchy. I have to dig deeper to find something that’s still funny and not raunchy. It’s harder. I like the challenge,” Chris added.
That’s why it was no longer a surprise when he turned down a $10M film offer because it contradicts what he values.
Ice Cube, his co-star from the film ‘Friday,’ approached him about filming ‘Next Friday.’ “We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $10-12M to do Next Friday, but he turned us down for religious reasons,” Ice Cube tweeted. “He didn’t want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore.”
We were ready to pay Chris Tucker $10-12m to do Next Friday but he turned us down for religious reasons. He didn’t want to cuss or smoke weed on camera anymore. https://t.co/1pfo1FHWzp
— Ice Cube (@icecube) December 29, 2021
The comedian stood his ground and chose to honor God instead of gaining millions of dollars. “One of the reasons why I didn’t do the second one [was] because of the weed,” he said. “Because I said, ‘Man, that movie became a phenomenon. … I don’t want everybody smoking weed.’…It probably was good for me [to turn it down] because it kept me moving, you know, to the next phase and next movies. But that was one of the reasons. I said I didn’t want to … get everybody smoking weed.”
This actor certainly knows what his priority is. When he gave his life to Jesus, he knew that it was not just lip service. He knew that it entailed total surrender to a God who loves us without bounds.
Image source: Canadian Film Centre
