Chris Rock has been onscreen making us laugh since the 90s. With projects like Everybody Hates Chris, Fargo, Grown Ups and countless comedy specials and tours, it’s no wonder why he’s been in the game for as long as he has.
With his highly anticipated upcoming Netflix comedy, Selective Outrage, set to air on Saturday, let’s take a look at his rise to stardom over the years.
Rock began his career as a stand-up comic in the early 80s, garnering the attention of rising star Eddie Murphy. That relationship would later translate to his Rock’s first film role in the 1987 hit film Beverly Hills Cop.
Thanks to that role, Rock would later go on to appear as a comic on Saturday Night Live, where he garnered national exposure.
In between sketches at SNL, Rock found the time to play Pookie in the 1991 hit film, New Jack City. This role brought acclaim to the comedian, making people pay more attention to what he could really bring to the table.
Rock set his first comedy special with HBO titled Big Ass Jokes in 1994. But it would be his follow-up in 1996, Bring the Pain, that would lead him to take home two Emmys which made him one of the most successful comedians of his time.
He would later go on to do a total of five specials with HBO including Bigger and Blacker, Never Scared, and Kill the Messenger.
Due to the successes of his specials, HBO greenlit The Chris Rock Show, which aired weekly for five seasons from 1997-2000. The show would go on to win an Emmy for writing in 1999.
Five years after his first show ended, Rock got another show of sorts. This time serving as narrator and inspiration behind the popular UPN show, Everybody Hates Chris. Starring a pre-Abbott Elementary Tyler James Williams, Tichina Arnold, Terry Crews and more, the show lasted for four seasons, ending in 2009.
During its run, it earned an NAACP Image Award and multiple nominations from the Emmys and Golden Globes.
Given the success of his talk show and sitcom, Rock was tapped to host the 2005 Academy Awards. However, in a surprising twist, his performance throughout the night wasn’t well-received by members of the Academy or audiences.
In an effort to maybe redeem himself from the bad press of his first major hosting gig, Rock took a turn to documentaries and released the 2009 film, Good Hair.
What was supposed to be an examination of Black women and the nuanced relationship with their hair turned into a satirical piece that some Black women viewers felt made light and fun of their plight. To this day, the documentary garners mixed feelings.
Rock was tasked with hosting the 88th Oscars during the year that there were no Black nominees and the country was gearing up to elect one of its most divisive presidents in Donald Trump. Contrary to his first go-round, he was later praised for his opening monologue, which many felt addressed relevant topics head-on.
At the 2022 Oscars, while presenting the award for Best Documentary, Rock was slapped by Will Smith after making a joke about Smith’s wife’s bald head. The “slap heard around the world” resulted in a myriad of reactions from those in and outside Hollywood, the comedic circle and the world at large.
Smith has since apologized to Rock and the comedian has since made jokes about it during subsequent comedy tour stops.
