Die Hart : Kevin Hart Snaps Into Action

Kevin Hart's alter ego wants to ditch comedy and become an action star in upcoming comedy "Die Hart."

Hart ("Ride Along," "Fatherhood," "Me Time") plays a fictionalized version of himself who is trying to pivot from being pigeonholed as a comedy wingman to being taken seriously as an action movie star.

Hart attends “action hero school” run by Ron Wilcox, played by John Travolta ("Saturday Night Fever," "Pulp Fiction," "Get Shorty"), where he attempts to learn the ropes on how to become one of the industry’s most coveted action stars.

But did Hart do his own stunts in the movie?

"Yes, that was me," joked the 43-year-old actor to The Associated Press last Thursday (16 FEBRUARY 2023). "I want you to say, 'In your face Tom Cruise!' Yeah."

In reality, Hart's regular stunt double, Samuel J. Paul, is credited in the movie.

The satirical comedy - packed with 1980s and 1990s action movie gags - also stars Nathalie Emmanuel ("Game of Thrones," the "Fast & Furious" franchise), Josh Hartnett ("Pearl Harbor," "Black Hawk Down"), and Jean Reno ("Call My Agent!," "Godzilla," "Ronin"). Reno plays Hollywood's leading action director, who wants Hart to star in his next big movie and will go to any lengths to get a great performance from him.

Hart said he had the perfect cast for the film, with a particularly funny turn from Travolta.

"John Travolta is great. You know, we got a lot of fun from John by him doing this project. He elevated the material, you know, he gave us something to play off of, right?" said Hart. "And there's a nice balance of performances around John, myself, Nathalie (Emmanuel), Josh (Hartnett) - like, everybody did such a great job of staying in a good space and a good lane and, you know, the end result speaks for itself."

The movie is directed by Eric Appel ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") and written by Derek Kolstad ("John Wick: Chapter 1, 2, and 3").

"Die Hart" was originally a 10-episode series that screened on Quibi in the U.S., and was nominated for three Primetime Emmys. The series - and the feature film - were produced by Hartbeat, Hart’s global media company. Two sequels are in the works.

"Yes, we have 'Die Hart 2' and then 'Die Hart 3,' so 'Die Harter' is definitely the next in the making. I think people are going to be in for a treat when they see what we have in that one as well. But I wanted to be a trilogy, right? It's not going to be complete unless there's a trilogy. And then after that, then we'll see who I can get to take on the next version of such," said Hart.

Hart is also executive producing workplace comedy "The Regal" for NBC, and will produce and star in upcoming Netflix actioner "Lift" with Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sam Worthington.

"Die Hart" premieres on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on 24 February 2023.