Martin Lawrence revealed he turned down the opportunity to star in the hit movie “Rush Hour” before Chris Tucker claimed the leading role in the film.
The big revelation came during Lawrence’s June 4 appearance on “The Tonight Show,” starring Jimmy Fallon, which also included Will Smith. Fallon, Smith and Lawrence sat around a table to play the show’s “True Confessions” game and it took a while before everyone figured out that Lawrence was telling the truth when he recalled the moment Jackie Chan extended the offer for him to star in the film.
Lawrence shared the spotlight with his “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” co-star, Smith, when it was time to play the game, but nobody had any idea that this bombshell confession was about to see the light of day.
Fifty-nine-year-old Lawrence tried to stump Fallon and Smith with his statement and the two seemed baffled when he said, “Jackie Chan asked me to star in ‘Rush Hour’ with him, but I turned it down.'”
Fallon declared he believed the statement to be a lie, while Smith took a few stabs at comedic relief before drawing his own conclusion.
“Jackie Chan likes Black people,” Smith said.
Lawrence was then asked where he was when Chan called him to request that he join the film.
“Where did I take the call? He did my show, so we talked somewhere in between there. We talked in person and then we had a dinner.”
He continued to remain non-expressive when presented with questions, as Fallon and Smith tried to determine whether or not the statement he had just made was indeed the truth.
Smith finally said he believed the story to be true, which swayed Fallon to change his initial answer.
Lawrence confirmed this was indeed a fact. (RELATED: Martin Lawrence Makes His Comeback To Comedy)
“I was happy for Chris, that’s what it was supposed to be,” he said when he was asked if he regretted turning down the hit film.
“Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and they brought a beautiful franchise with Rush Hour,” he said.
The success of “Rush Hour” spawned two subsequent sequels.
