E-mail a friendMartin Lawrence
airdate August 8, 2006
Martin Lawrence has made his mark on TV and in film. He turned his stand-up comedy act into a successful sitcom, hugely popular comedy albums and numerous box-office hits, including Big Momma's House, which he also exec produced, and Bad Boys. A military 'brat,' Lawrence was born in Germany and was encouraged to pursue a comedy career by his teacher in Maryland, where he was raised. An appearance on the talent show Star Search helped launch his career. Lawrence stars in Big Momma's House 2.
Martin Lawrence
Tavis: There are two things I've been wanting to ask you. Delighted to have you here in part because you went through a period in your life where you, it seemed to me, at least, as I've been trying to get you to sit down for, we know each other for years. But getting you to sit down for a conversation has been another issue. But for a while, you actually, like, stopped talking, in a sense. You stopped doing interviews, you stopped doing appearances. Was that a conscious decision, to pull away from doing a lot of media outreach?
Lawrence: No, I didn't stop. I just...
Tavis: You just didn't talk to me, is that what you trying to tell me?
Lawrence: Yeah, no, I just didn't...
Tavis: You just didn't come talk to me. (Laughs)
Lawrence: No, I just ain't had nothing to say. I was too busy trying to get me together. Me in order. I had so many things going on in my life. So, I had to get me in order before I could get out and talk about anything, you know what I mean? So, I took time off. Wrote, (unintelligible) so that I could tell my story in my way. I just had to take the time to myself.
Tavis: One of my friends says to me all the time, we are all cracked vessels. None of us is human and divine. We're all just cracked vessels; we are on a journey trying to become better people every day. And if we're Socratic, we're examining our own lives every day, trying to figure out how we can be better. And I admire you for the process you've gone through.
You seem to be at a place of peace and your work, obviously, is on the point. How did you, and I'm not going back into that, but we've all read about the challenges you had that you spoke of now. How did you get through that? How did you navigate your way through that to this place of peace that you appear to be at now?
Lawrence: First and foremost, my God. My faith and my belief. My family, my friends, truly were there with me every step of the way. When times were hard, I wasn't believing in this or believing in that, or getting in this, getting in that, they stuck with me all the way. And no matter what all the negative things that was being said about me, a much greater force was working in my life, which was my God.
Tavis: I went back and looked at, if you're doing your research when you talk to somebody, you go back and do a little reading. And I think I knew this, because we had met years ago at the Comedy Act Theater. So I think I knew this, but I had to remind myself that you were 27 when you hit it with "Martin," the TV show.
Lawrence: Yeah.
Tavis: That's, like, a lot of success to come in your twenties. How much of the challenge that you had in your career came from having so much hit you at one time? 'Cause we see examples every day of people who get stuff as an onslaught, and it's just like an avalanche.
Lawrence: Well, you get it, and you don't wanna give it back. (Laughs) You know what I mean?
Tavis: (Laughs) I ain't mad at you for that, now.
Lawrence: I got it, and I didn't want to give it back. I didn't mind sharing, you know what I mean? And bringing people along, along the way. But it was an opportunity for me to bring me and my family up, you know what I mean? And I was willing to go for it at any cost, you know what I mean? And making people laugh.
It wasn't nothing that I wouldn't do on Def Jam. Wasn't nothing I wouldn't do in concert, or say, to a degree. And I just went for mine. It was just like you had to seize the opportunities and the moments, and that's what I did.
Tavis: Looking back on it now, would you have changed anything about to way your success came? Anything?
Lawrence: No. 'Cause I'm one of the ones that got through. I'm one of the ones that they, all the odds were stacked against me. I was the underdog. So, you know what I mean? And I was able to get through the doors, you know what I mean? And crack some doors open that weren't open and things like that. So, I wouldn't change anything, you know what I mean?
Tavis: At this point in your life, when you have the kind of control you want to EP a project like "Big Momma's House Two,' when you look back in retrospect at having that success at an early age, and having gone through a difficult part of your life that you were blessed to get through, how does that inform you as a man now? How does that inform your decisions now?
Lawrence: It's big, because it was my trial, you know what I mean? And my trial and my error. And it lets me know as a man that, you know what I mean, what I need to be doing, what I shouldn't be doing, what don't work for me, what I can't be doing. (Laughs) And what I wanna be doing. And I'm a father, and I'm so proud of that.
And I'm a growing person. And I realize first and foremost I'm a human being. So, I never claim to be nothing but human to anybody. So mistakes that I make are mistakes that I make in my life. And if anybody could learn from me by example, and what I went through, you're welcome to it. Pull out the blueprint. Check it out. But I'm doing all right.
Tavis: You doing more than all right, brother. I'd trade places with you, I'll play your hand. I will play your hand. (Laughs) How did I miss, in all the success that you've had, how did I miss that you were, like, a Golden Gloves champion at 13? I better lean back as I say that, (laughs) I don't want you to have no flashback or nothing.
Lawrence: 'Cause people, that's something they don't really talk about too much. But I was athletic when I was young. Not in basketball or football, but always in the physical sports, like taking karate. Boxing. I'm not a tall guy. I'm not a big guy. So, I always had to protect myself. And boxing is just something that I always loved.
And when I had an opportunity to fight in the Golden Gloves, and I didn't get to win, but I got some experience. Then I went on to win the AAU championship. It feel good to me, 'cause I (unintelligible). (Laughs) It keeps them off me when they don't think I got these.
Tavis: (Laughs) Yeah.
Lawrence: But I like to be underestimated. (Laughs)
Tavis: That's our show for tonight. Catch me on the weekends on PRI, Public Radio International. Check your local listings. See you back here next time on PBS. Until then, good night from L.A., thanks for watching, and as always, keep the faith.
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