Chris Tucker and This ‘Rush Hour’ Co-Star Nearly Derailed the Movie
Friday proved Chris Tucker could be a movie star. But the Rush Hour movies confirmed he was a straight-up A-lister. From 1998 to 2007, Tucker co-starred with Jackie Chan in that franchise. And their initial awkward meeting blossomed into a real-life friendship. Still, another of Tucker’s scene partners in Rush Hour nearly took the movie out of the hands of director Brett Ratner. Here’s what happened on the set of the movie that derailed filming.
Chris Tucker improvised a lot on the set of ‘Rush Hour’
Prior to Rush Hour, Tucker had appeared in several films. Naturally, Friday became a sleeper hit. And in the years between that movie and his first role opposite Chan, Tucker popped up in movies like Dead Presidents, Jackie Brown, and The Fifth Element. He even landed his first leading role in 1997’s Money Talks, Ratner’s directorial debut.
But way before all that, Tucker worked the stand-up comedy circuit. His high-energy delivery and manic comic persona were the perfect fit for the stage. And with a bit of finessing, the same skill set made him a naturally charismatic movie star. Much like Eddie Murphy, Tucker had that elusive presence that caught fans’ attention.
Another actor in the film brought a lot of ideas to his scene
Throughout much of Rush Hour, Ratner had to corral Chan and Tucker, working through language barriers to ensure that the two leads built up a natural chemistry on screen. But one scene in Rush Hour presented a very different challenge. At one point, Detective James Carter (Tucker) swings by Hollywood Boulevard to talk with an informant named Stucky (John Hawkes). And according to Looper, Hawkes’ penchant for improvisation rivaled Tucker’s.
As the story goes, Tucker and Hawkes — perhaps best known for his Oscar-nominated role opposite Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone — both heavily improvised their dialogue in the scene. And as a result, much of the material Ratner shot felt disjointed. It wasn’t until the editing process that the director was able to strip away much of the extraneous material to try and focus on the story at hand. In any case, Hawkes and Tucker are fun to watch.
Will Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan return for ‘Rush Hour 4’?
As for Tucker, he and Chan reunited for two more Rush Hour films in 2001 and 2007. And the actor even managed to earn a massive pay increase, famously receiving a $20 million salary for Rush Hour 2. But after the third film, the Rush Hour franchise has remained largely dormant, save for a short-lived attempt to reboot it for television.
In fact, Tucker has only made two movies since leaving James Carter behind. He appeared in 2012’s Silver Linings Playbook and 2016’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. Still, rumors persist that Tucker and Chan are interested in making Rush Hour 4 at some point. So perhaps the two actors could revisit their fan-favorite roles again soon.
