Feature: Kevin Hart

Staying true to his statement that no topic is safe from comical scrutiny, the jokester doesn’t shy away from talk about personal pitfalls and inadequacies in the bedroom. But that doesn’t stop him from publicly proclaiming himself a sex symbol and giving advice to those who may find themselves in the same dejecting situation.

“When it comes to sex, my personality plays a big part in my sex life. I mean, if you can make a woman laugh but you’re bad [in bed], you’re personality can cover it up – that’s what I’ve found. If you’re horrible at sex but you can make a woman laugh, there’s a chance she might forgive you and give you another chance… So if you’ve got a personality don’t lose it.”

While it doesn’t look like Hart will forget his comedic roots any time soon, he also won’t be tied down to comedy club stages. He has been popping up on the big screen for years after Damon Dash discovered him one night during an N.Y.C. stand-up routine, resulting in his first feature film, Paper Soldiers. Using that opportunity to score himself a manager and take his skills to the Hollywood level, Hart went on to appear in Soul Plane, Along Came Polly, Scary Movie 3, Death at a Funeral and Little Fockers, to name a few. Moving into 2012, Hart will become a familiar face to an even wider audience as he branches out with a role in the multi-award-winning Modern Family TV series as Phil’s next-door neighbor. He will also return to the theater in the Judd Apatow-produced comedy, The Five-Year Engagement, alongside Jason Segel and Emily Blunt as a graduate student studying theories and philosophies of the brain, as well as joins an all-star cast in the anticipated Think Like a Man adaptation of Steve Harvey’s self-help book.

“It’s a long road for a lot of comedians,” Harts speaks on the respect of his craft in Hollywood. “Our grind is so much harder than an actor’s or an actress’s. We’re in bars; we’re in bowling alleys performing… I remember when I was in New York, I was performing at comedy clubs for food. So the grind of a comedian is ridiculous, and that’s why the rewards for us are so amazing – ‘cause of all that we went through. To go from there to get to where we can potentially be not only successful, but wealthy, is an amazing thing.”

Acting turned out to be a natural progression for Hart, and while he has no problem taking someone else’s written material and making it his own, he knows just what type of character he’d write for himself given the chance.

“In Goodfellas I think the best character in that movie was Joe Pesci. He was ridiculous. So if I could have a character similar to Joe Pesci or similar to what he did, that mafia style because it’s so not me, it’s not me in real life, so just to play the complete opposite of who I am I think would be a really, really good look for me.”

Although he’s had his heart in comedy for years, you could potentially call 2011 Kevin Hart’s breakthrough year. He’s invited you to laugh at his pain on stage and in theaters and has critics wondering if he may just be taking the reins as the new king of comedy. Among all his ventures for next year, a new comedy tour, “Let Me Explain,” is in the works for fall 2012, and besides wanting people to know, “I’m real tall and almost sexy,” the comedian is looking forward to big things in the new year.