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Kevin Hart Is the Class Clown Aiming for the Corner Office

Kevin Hart has a new movie coming out in June, “Central Intelligence.”Credit...Chris Pizzello/Invision, via Associated Press

When planning an ideal buddy comedy, you presumably want two leads who are either perfectly matched or perfectly mismatched. “Central Intelligence,” which opens on June 17, gives audiences a bit of both. Its stars, Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson, are separated by about a foot in height and, oh, let’s say, more than 200 pounds in weight. Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber (“We’re the Millers,” “DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story”), the movie emphasizes their differences by casting the actors as former high school classmates brought together in unusual circumstances around their 20th reunion: Mr. Hart, president of his senior class and a star athlete, is now an unhappy accountant at a white-collar firm, while Mr. Johnson, a bullied student, has become a lethal (but likable) C.I.A. officer.

For all their obvious differences, Mr. Hart said he and Mr. Johnson share a dedication to their fans and a disciplined work ethic. Even so, there are few comic performers right now who can measure up to Mr. Hart, whose box-office draw continues to surge (“Ride Along 2,” “Get Hard”) while he still attracts crowds upward of 50,000 at his stand-up shows.

Mr. Hart spoke recently in a telephone interview about his own high school days, his seemingly boundless professional ambitions and the remaining goals he is very certain he will someday fulfill. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

Who had the idea to put you and Dwayne Johnson together in this movie?

D. J. started it off. When my name was thrown in the hat, I just jumped at it. To work with a guy that I admire, I’m not going to take it for granted.

Is “D. J.” what Dwayne Johnson asked you to call him?

It’s a nickname I gave him. He doesn’t get a choice. I just give nicknames. I don’t like saying his whole name. “Dwayne” takes way too long. So I just go with Deej.

Were there any opportunities to make sure that the two of you had chemistry before you went before the cameras?

We had conversations where we saw that we gel. We both give 120 percent to our days. And we both looked at this movie as something that was different for both of us. We were the same individual.

Do people often confuse the two of you?

No, we’ve never gotten mistaken for each other. I have been mistaken for being bigger than him, though. They say my arms are much bigger.

We see in the movie what your characters were like in high school and how different their lives are as adults. What were you like in high school?

You’re looking at a class clown. You’re looking at a guy who was always the life of the party. I was always big on laughs, giving and receiving. It wasn’t necessarily good for my teachers. Of course there’s times where you go too far. My mom had to tell me, “Boy, if I have to come down to this school one more time, you’re gonna get it.” She meant it.

Did you win any honors for athletics or academics?

Oh, definitely not. I would love to lie to you and say, “Yep.”

Have you gone to any of your high school reunions?

No, man. I was part of a great class — George Washington High School [in Philadelphia], Class of ’97. I had a great time, and those are relationships that I’ll never forget. But my schedule has been kind of crazy, and I haven’t been able to do so.

You wouldn’t want to go, just to show off what you’ve done with your life?

It wouldn’t be about, “Look at me now.” It would be from a place of, “It’s good to see you.” Not in an un-humble manner. I’m not that guy. I don’t have that in me.

I assume some digital effects were used to make you look like a high school student?

Oh, of course, yes. High school Kevin didn’t have that much hair. That was a lot of hair.

Before you turned to comedy, did you work in any soul-crushing office jobs?

I had my share of jobs in my younger days. I was a lifeguard. I was a shoe salesman. I’ve never been in that office cubicle setting. Now, in this part of my career, I am in an office, but it’s a different job — it’s my company.

Have you ever had a crisis of confidence like your character experiences?

No. When I got into the business of entertainment, I did it for a reason. I didn’t do it to not be successful. I did it to be successful. And to hopefully get to the highest level that I possibly could. Thus far, I’m achieving those goals. That doesn’t make you stop. That doesn’t make you complacent. It makes you want to do more. I want to reach the status of becoming a mogul. And the only way you get there is by work.

In your recent movies, you’ve been part of double acts: you and Dwayne Johnson; you and Will Ferrell; you and Ice Cube. Would you like to star in a solo vehicle?

That definitely is coming in my future. You just have to be patient with these things. You can’t do it all in one day. You’ve got to work it and tool it, and when the time is right, it explodes and it takes off the way it should.

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Dwayne Johnson, left, and Mr. Hart star in the comedy “Central Intelligence,” which comes out in June.Credit...Claire Folger/Warner Bros.

Are we talking more like Kevin Hart in “Die Hard,” or Kevin Hart in “Hamlet”?

[laughs] It would be “Die Hard.”

For all of your successes in Hollywood, have you experienced any limitations or obstacles because you’re not white?

For me, not really, because I don’t look at obstacles as obstacles. I look at them as things that were put there for a reason. You can approach these things negatively or positively. I think those that approach it with a negative mind-set only get a negative outcome. When obstacles have been put in front of me, I just get around them and move past them and laugh at them.

Even less blatant forms of racism, like a studio telling you it doesn’t think your movie will open overseas?

I have, in my past. You go, “Kevin you don’t have international success.” O.K., well, let me go get some, and I’ll be right back. Then there’s no excuses, and nothing can be said. You’ve got to put yourself in positions to take away what can be said.

You said at CinemaCon in April that you were thinking about ending your stand-up comedy tours. Is that still your plan?

When I said it, I meant at this magnitude. I’m not going to stop touring. I don’t know if I’m ever going to do a stadium again. But am I going to continue to write material and come up with new hours? Of course. Are those hours going to be as good as the last? That’s where I put an unlimited amount of pressure on myself.

Do you want to achieve other comedy milestones, like hosting the Academy Awards, for example?

I definitely see it coming, sooner than later. I’m patient, and I’ll wait for it. But there’s not a doubt in my mind that it’ll happen.

There’s another big production you’re involved in this summer ——

My wedding? It’s coming along good. I’m really excited about it.

It sounds like you don’t want to say too much about this.

I can’t. My future wife will kill me. She’s got it on the hush, because she doesn’t want it to be heavily publicized. I have to be as quiet as I can about it. A happy wife is a happy life.

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section AR, Page 26 of the New York edition with the headline: A Class Clown Aims for the Corner Office. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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