Kevin Hart accepts Mark Twain Prize for humor, says committing to comedy was a 'gamble'

Kevin Hart got emotional when accepting one of comedy's highest honors: the Mark Twain Prize for humor.

The 44-year-old comedian and actor accepted the award from the Kennedy Center with friends and peers in attendance, including Chris Rock — who teamed up with Hart on the 2022 co-headlining tour Rock Hart: Only Headliners Allowed — Jimmy Fallon, Chelsea Handler and Tiffany Haddish.

Other recent Mark Twain Prize honorees include Adam Sandler, Jon Stewart and Dave Chapelle.

"You remind me … why I love comedy so much," Chappelle said at the Sunday night ceremony, noting he had canceled a trip to Jamaica to attend.

"I am honored to know somebody like you. I really wish you had come when I won this award," he joked.

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Hart — known for the films "Ride Along," the rebooted "Jumanji" franchise, "Central Intelligence" and his stand-up specials "Seriously Funny," "Laugh at My Pain" and "Let Me Explain" — said he committed to comedy despite it being a "gamble."

"Life without a gamble is a weird thing, man," he said. "'Cause that's acting as if you know. You don't know. You don't know what your future will be. You don't have the answers.

"So sometimes a gamble is the best way to define what will be you or ultimately become the best version of you," he continued.

The Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize, named after the author born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, is given to someone who "has impacted American society," according to the center, and has been given to comedic legends such as Richard Pryor, Carol Burnett, George Carlin, David Letterman and Eddie Murphy.

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"It was clear from the moment we met that (Hart) was destined for superstardom, especially when he told me he was destined for superstardom," Handler said of a conversation she had with Hart on her talk show nearly two decades ago. "I admired his pluck … as well as his drive and determination and the unrelenting hard work that brought him here tonight, to a place where the talk show host he told he was destined for superstardom is now presenting him with a lifetime achievement award."

Rock said Hart had taken his advice to find his own voice and used it to surpass him as a star. He jokingly praised the entertainer's performance in the movie "The Upside" with Bryan Cranston.

"The best acting Kevin Hart has ever done because ... he had to act like he had less money than Bryan Cranston," Rock said.

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In 2018, Hart stepped down as the host of the following year's Oscar ceremony and apologized for "insensitive" words he had posted on Twitter about gay people. Deborah Rutter, president of the Kennedy Center, said that incident had not given her pause about presenting him with the award.

"The thing with ... comedy is that it makes everybody ... a little bit uncomfortable," she said.

How to watch Kevin Hart receive the Mark Twain Prize

The show will air on May 11 on Netflix.

Contributing: Jeff Mason, Reuters