Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes on the cost of fame and how that relates to ‘True Story’

True Story stars Kevin Hart and Wesley Snipes and series creator Eric Newman talk with Kevin Polowy about the how the series came to be and what it says about fame.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC - THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH, "SMILING FACES SOMETIMES"]

WESLEY SNIPES: This is a toast to my little brother. Always got my back.

- Must be nice to be a celebrity.

THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH: (SINGING) Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within.

KEVIN POLOWY: I get a feeling this is not actually a true story, though, or Kev, have you got some explaining to do?

KEVIN HART: Well if this was a true story, I mean, I just did a good job of incriminating myself. It's an amazing mind melt to an audience. We're playing a game of how much is Kevin's life and how much is embellished, right? And the introduction to this world was done through the lens of what you may coincide with Kevin Hart, but that's just to get you to go, Huh, and then after I get you to sit up, well then there's a break off when you get to see this as something completely different that you would never expect Kevin Hart to do.

KEVIN POLOWY: Eric, from your vantage point as creator, what can you say about the origin of the story, and also how you landed on Kevin for the lead, because it is very unexpected.

ERIC NEWMAN: Well, Kevin landed on me, frankly. He called me one day, and he said I want to do something different. I want to do something dark. I did a little bit of research into the path his career is taken, how hard he works. And I was able to propose a story, a very basic-- you are you, and something happens, and you're willing to go all the way to protect what you have.

And he instantly dug it, and we dug in together. I'm incredibly grateful to him for choosing me, and I love the show we made.

KEVIN HART: Now I got a lot more to lose than just my career.

WESLEY SNIPES: Your next move better be a smart one.

KEVIN POLOWY: Do you look at this story as an opportunity to say Fame is not all it's cracked up to be, or at least it comes with some major pratfalls.

KEVIN HART: Absolutely. I think that's the code that we crack. It's easy to get to the danger. But what's not easy is the reason. What you discover within fame especially in today's time it's not what most think, although it has its perks and its bonuses . Granted it does. But it does come with a plethora of disadvantages as well. So those disadvantages aren't highlighted, and they're not talked about, because if you do, how dare you? Woe is me. You know the person with the perception of having everything or having the world at his fingertips, well you can't have a problem.

So I think that's the game that we were able to play with Kid, the development that we put into the character. Like you said in those beginning stages of showing what he was dealing with, showing the frustration.

ERIC NEWMAN: Lack of boundaries.

KEVIN HART: Exactly.

ERIC NEWMAN: The fame-- the scale of it is so massive. And you see it when I'm in the street with Kevin, there's a relationship that exists between fans and stars that is, I believe to many of the fans, proprietary. You know, Kevin-- I can go up to Kevin in a restaurant and introduce myself and can take a picture with him. And Kevin you know is a great sport about it, but it is-- you can't turn it off.

KEVIN HART: Everything I worked hard for is over.

WESLEY SNIPES: It might be another way. I got this.

KEVIN HART: Why is it every time you tell me you got it, I feel like I get in more trouble?

WESLEY SNIPES: Fame and celebrity is magnificent. The problem I think is-- the challenge is that there's not enough teachers and not enough sages as we would say to teach the young people who come into fame and fortune how to live it, how to manage it. The expectations that come with it. We don't really have that. At least I know in the African American community, it's not prevalent, a training program and a school would teach you how to deal with your fame and fortune. Whole lot of schools that teach you how to get there. Not very many to teach you what to do once you get there.

KEVIN POLOWY: So Dolemite, Coming 2 America, now True Story of Kevin Hart. It feels like we're seeing a lot more these days. And your fans are very excited about this. Are you feeling like new momentum these days, or-- don't call it a comeback.

WESLEY SNIPES: Definitely not calling it a comeback. You know I've been doing other things. Heavy into technology. Doing some great humanitarian work, building platforms and systems, doing some wonderful things in AR and VR.

So outlook was to do to, build a foundation so that I'm not dependent upon making movies for my family to be wealthy and well taken care of, have a great quality of life, you know, you put a lot of things in place. And now it gives you the opportunity to go back and you know live like Daniel Day-Lewis.

KEVIN POLOWY: That the dream? To just go off and do woodworking in Switzerland or somewhere?

WESLEY SNIPES: Yeah then come back and devote three months, four months into playing a character? Oh, what? Absolutely. Nothing else to do but that? Ah. And not have to worry about eating? 1,000%, man, 1,000.