He's on top of the acting and comedy world these days, however, Kevin Hart will be the first to admit, that wasn't always the case. It took a strong mind and work ethic to reach this point. Hart used the rejection as a positive, similar to his good pal Dwayne Johnson. There's a reason the men are on top of the Hollywood mountain, they refuse to slow down while making the proper adjustments along the way.
Hart could've easily got down on himself during his career. In one case, he could've changed his career earning a spot on 'SNL'. However, things went south in the audition room, so much so that Lorne Michaels wasn't entirely sure who he was impersonating.
We'll discuss that experience along with the adjustments Hart made to his career along the way. Clearly, he isn't losing sleep over the failure and these days, he's laughing about it.
His Career Got Off To A Slow Start
Yes, that's right, even the likes of Kevin Hart went through the struggles of finding success early on. In fact, he was typically booed off stages at the start of his career.
Alongside Route Magazine, Hart admitted that he took those moments as positives, and he used them as valuable experience along the way.
"I mean, look, at that time, you’ve got to understand that it’s all a learning experience. You know, you’re going through the good, the bad and the ugly to get an understanding of just that. Those experiences only make you better. They only make you stronger."
"So, you have to understand that a lot of people quit because [it’s not] easy. Not many stay put and fight through it. The ones that push through are the ones that end up making it because they have the will and ability to stay through it all. That’s my opinion."
Despite the hard times, Hart never considered deviating or changing career paths. He was set on making it in the entertainment industry, despite the rejection early on. Not even a failed audition with 'SNL' hurt his ego, though he did admit years later that it would be hard to watch back.
Lorne Michaels Didn't Understand His Audition
“If you had seen this [audition] tape,” Hart said, “you would know why I didn’t get it.”
His 'SNL' audition was not a success and a lot of it had to do with confusion... according to Hart, those in the room, including Lorne Michaels weren't entirely sure as to who he was trying to portray.
"I did an impression of Avery Johnson. I did an impression of a person that nobody knew."
Hart instantly knew the audition was a failure given Michaels' non-reaction to his skit. "I remember Lorne Michaels looking at me, and he was like, ‘Mmhmm. Okay.’ He didn’t say he didn’t know who that was, but I could tell he definitely didn’t know. And I just said, ‘I’ma pass the ball to David Robinson.’ That was it."
Once again, the failure did not dampen his career and again, he used it as fuel and yet another valuable experience. Moving forward, his auditions got better and soon enough, he was on top of the mountain, becoming the face of comedy.
Hart Changed His Audition Approach And Success Followed
When things aren't working, it is time to change. Hart has great awareness and that helped his audition game. Once he used a relaxed approach, the roles started to fall in place. He would always start off with a joke, ensuring it was a loose atmosphere.
"Going to auditions with the intention of not getting this role, but the next role. To make an impression, I’d pop right away: “Hey, guys, what’s happening? How’s it been going so far? Am I the first black guy you’ve seen?”
Hart revealed that the new mindset almost always would lead to a callback and if it did not, just keeping the right attitude would at least put him in the good books of those in the audition room.
"I almost always got a callback, and to this day, I’m still close with a lot of those people. The leading actors in Hollywood may change, but the players behind the scenes often remain the same. Even though they didn’t give me parts at the time, some of them ended up giving me great roles later,” Hart added.
The valuable lesson everyone can learn, always draw a positive, even from a negative experience, and keep moving forward, while making the necessary changes along the way.